When she returned upstairs the following day to put fresh linens away, the missing box was back, squeezed between two cereal boxes she could’ve sworn hadn’t been there before. She mentioned the missing-and-returned snack casually to Tommy, hoping maybe he’d taken it and forgotten. “Did you move something from the pantry the other day?” she asked gently.
Tommy shook his head. “I can’t reach the pantry shelves,” he said simply. He paused, then added, “Mommy says I shouldn’t play up here alone.” He shrugged. “Too many things fall.” Kayla didn’t know how to respond to that. She forced a smile and followed him back downstairs, but the words stuck with her longer than she expected.