What Fell Out of Her Backpack
It happened on a Tuesday.
No drama. No warning. Just normal life.
Lily came home from school, dropped her backpack in the entryway, and ran to the kitchen to tell me about a class pet hamster that “looked like a tiny potato.”
I smiled, made her a snack, and bent down to unpack her bag.
That’s when something small slid out of the side pocket and hit the floor with a soft plastic tap.
I froze.
It was a laminated visitor badge.
Not for a museum.
Not for a school.
A hospital visitor badge.
