Chapter 24 - Lily meets a locked door
Therapy helped Lily.
Time helped more.
At first, any nighttime sound brought her into my room.
Then only unusual sounds.
Then storms.
Then sometimes because she wanted to avoid going back to bed.
Normal childhood slowly returned.
One evening, around a year after the break-in, she closed her bedroom door.
Turned the lock.
Then called me.
“Mom?”
I opened? No.
I knocked.
“What?”
“The lock works.”
“Yes.”
She unlocked it.
Opened.
“Can I lock it at night?”
My first instinct was no.
What if fire?
What if emergency?
We discussed safety with the pediatric therapist and our local fire guidance rather than letting fear decide.
We settled on a privacy rule that did not create unsafe barriers.
Lily was disappointed.
Then asked:
“Why do adults get locks?”
“Because adults are unfair.”
She laughed.
May you like
The door became a door again.
Not the thing between her and a shadow.
