Haven’s POV

I dressed Blue carefully that morning. Her little coat was buttoned wrong the first time, then fixed. My hands shook as I smoothed her hair, the motion mechanical, rehearsed, as though repetition could erase the dread coiled beneath my ribs.

“Remember what Mommy said,” I told her, crouching to her level.

She nodded, wide-eyed.

“Don’t talk about colors,” I said. “Not to your teacher. Not to your friends.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because,” I answered too ...