Why won’t you let Kira be friends with us?” Daniel couldn’t help but question. “We’ve never been mean to her! For the past two times she ran away from home, my mommy’s the one who took care of her really well, and we’d play with her too. She has fun playing with us, and she likes us a lot, so why can’t she be friends with us? It’s not like we’re bad guys!”

Certainly not expecting to be reproached by two little boys, Stephen remained stone-faced, not knowing how to respond.

He didn’t want Kira to be friends with them just because he was being considerate, yet they were now...