Alaina had heard about the woods her entire life. No one goes there, because if they do, they never come back out. She grew up in this town, so she heard all the stories but never paid much attention. They were just tall tales meant to scare kids and keep them from wandering into the woods alone after dark.

She never once believed that they were even slightly true. One night, when she was a teenager, Alaina went to the woods with a group of friends. They drove down an old dirt road that twisted through the trees, ending at a locked gate. Just beyond the gate was a large, dark shape that must have been someone’s house in the past. They stopped the car, but everyone was too scared to get out, so they all went home.

Alaina always said she would leave once she graduated from high school and never come back, and she did for a while. However, after college and a few years living in the big city on her own, she decided all she wanted was to come home. After a year back in her hometown, she met Carl. Four years later, they got married.

On their fourth wedding anniversary, Alaina found out she was pregnant, and soon after, her beautiful daughter, Mila, was born. On Mila’s fourth birthday, Alaina was pregnant again, and another daughter, Maxene, arrived, who everyone called Max. The family joked that Alaina and Carl planned it that way so Carl would never forget their wedding anniversary.

Carl worked as a computer engineer and earned enough money for Alaina to stay home. The first four years with Mila had been perfect. Mila and Alaina had so much fun, and Alaina was deeply in love with her sweet and joyful little girl. Once Max arrived, Mila changed. She started to show some really nasty, jealous behavior.

She would steal Max’s pacifiers and bottles. When they were out somewhere and Max was in her stroller, Mila would push the stroller so hard that it almost tipped over. Or she would run while pushing the stroller and then let go, causing Alaina to scramble behind it before it crashed into something.

When Max would cry, Mila would lie on the floor, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs, which made it difficult to calm Max because of all the noise Mila made. Alaina knew she wasn’t handling any of it well, and it made her feel guilty. She didn’t know how to fix things, and she felt like a failure as a mother.

She knew Carl loved her and the girls, and he would help whenever he could, but he was often away at work, leaving Alaina alone most of the time. She felt helpless and as if she was doing everything herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she had an uninterrupted shower or slept through the night. She kept telling herself it would get better, but on days when both girls had spent the entire day crying, which was most days, it was hard to believe.

Mostly, Alaina felt like a zombie, just going through the motions until it was time to sleep. She was also extremely tired.

One week, it started raining on a Monday and didn’t stop until Thursday. Mila was going crazy and climbing the walls. Her tantrums grew worse because she was stuck indoors so long, and all her pent-up energy was bubbling over. Around this time, Mila began spitting chewed-up food all over her sister, which made Max cry. Alaina spent most of that week either calming Max, scolding Mila, or cleaning food off Max and the walls.

Friday morning, Alaina was happy to see the sun; they could get out of the house today. Alaina almost cried at this thought, wanting to get Mila out so she could release some of her pent-up energy; maybe today would be an easy day.

“We are going to the park today,” Alaina said cheerily at the breakfast table. Baby Max giggled and clapped her hands. Alaina smiled, clapped, and said, “Yay!”

Mila, seeing her sister’s happiness, folded her arms across her chest and, with a sour look on her face, said, “I’m not going.” She then spat her cereal and milk in Max’s face.

Max instantly started to cry. Mila smiled, filled her spoon with more cereal and milk, and aimed it at Max, but Alaina swatted her hand away before she could, causing Mila’s spoon and her bowl of cereal to fall into her lap. Then, Mila began to scream loudly.

Alaina’s frustration boiled over, “STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!” She yelled while banging her fists on the table hard enough to make it move across the floor an inch.

Both girls stopped screaming and looked at her, their eyes wide and mouths open.

“We are going to the park,” Alaina said while using a wet paper towel to wipe off the cereal and milk Mila spit on Max. “Mila, go get dressed.”

Mila stood up from her chair, her arms at her sides, elbows bent, and hands palm down in front of her. “OK, mother,” she said, then walked to her room.

She had started to do that a lot lately. It was a reaction to Alaina getting onto her or telling her to do something, always in the same way, and she would say, “OK, mother.”

Aliana wondered if she had seen it on a TV show or something. Still, she couldn’t dwell on it now because she had to get Max ready to go, make sure Mila wore appropriate clothing for the weather, and load them and their belongings into the car. She was glad she had pulled into the garage the night before.

Alaina picked Max up from her high chair. Lost in thought, she wondered how she was going to fix Mila’s intense jealousy toward Max. She went to Max’s room to change her clothes, so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t see Mila come in. When Alaina turned around, Mila screamed, scaring her. Then Max started to cry. Alaina picked Max up, and Mila fell onto her back on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs, “MOOOOOOOM I CAN’T FINNNNNND MY SHOOOOOOES MOOOOOOM!”

Alaina walked past Mila and toward the door of Max’s room, tripping over Mila’s shoes. She was holding Max, so she went down on one knee, causing her knee to hit the hardwood floor. Alaina thought she heard a faint crack. Max started crying again, and now Alaina, who was getting up, was almost crying too. She grabbed Mila’s shoes and threw them at her, hitting her in the stomach.

“Put them on, Mila,” she said as calmly as she could. “We will have punishment for this later.”

Threats of punishment had never worked before. Punishment threats bounced off Mila’s back. Mila did not care. This time, though, Mila stopped screaming and put on her shoes. Then, they walked to the garage door, and Alaina put both girls in the car. When she was at the back of the car, she stopped for a moment with the trunk hood up and took several deep breaths. ‘I am going to get through this day,’ she said, hoping that was true.

Alaina didn’t know which park they were heading to until she started driving. She had heard that they just built a park in the mysterious woods she had heard so many stories about as a kid and teenager. She thought a change from their usual routine might be good for all three of them.

The town built the park the year before, but it was 20 minutes away from Alaina’s house, and there was a smaller park closer within walking distance. However, today Alaina needed a drive and a bigger space for Mila to run, so she made up her mind. She was going to the mystery woods park. The stories told by old-timers about children going missing in the woods came back to her, but she pushed them aside. They weren’t true. A park had been built there by the town council, and Alaina hadn’t heard of any children going there and not making it home.

Alaina pulled into the small parking lot right in front of the playground. Recently, she had been parking as close as possible because Mila learned how to unbuckle her car seat and would jump out of the car to run off while Alaina was getting Max out of the vehicle. It didn’t matter whether they were at home, at the park, or in the middle of the grocery store parking lot, while cars were passing by.

She would sometimes unbuckle her seatbelt while Alaina was driving and climb around the car, screaming with laughter, unaware (Alaina was pretty sure) of how dangerous it was to move around the car while it was in motion.

When they reached the park that day, Mila didn’t disappoint. She unbuckled her seatbelt and ran straight to the playground. As soon as Alaina stopped the car, she hadn’t even put it in park. The engine was still running.

Alaina quickly jumped out and yelled to her, “Mila! Stay on the playground while I get your sister.”

Mila turned and assumed that same strange pose again, her knees bent, arms by her sides, elbows bent, hands in front of her with palms down. “OK, mother,” she said, and stayed like that until Alaina pulled Max from the car and placed her in her stroller. Mila remained in that same position as Alaina pushed the stroller past her onto the sidewalk.

“Mila, go play,” Alaina said. She was a little amused by what her daughter was doing. The girl stood very still. Alaina stood behind her on the sidewalk and looked around. The park was gorgeous. The playground sat in the center of a large circular sidewalk.

The playground was large, with monkey bars, swings, and at least three slides, all set in a gravel bed. It sat in the center of a circle of sidewalks surrounding it. There were benches every few feet, and Alaina was about to do a few laps around the playground while Mila played. However, Mila was still standing in the same spot. She hadn’t moved.

Alaina sighed. She didn’t want to yell at Mila again, so she ignored her and started walking, pushing the stroller in front of her while looking around at all the trees and the trails they had laid out. It really was awe-inspiring. The clump of trees near the playground was a bit thicker, and Alaina didn’t see a sidewalk through the trees, but she could see that it wrapped around the other side. She would have to come back someday and see how far she could go on all these sidewalks.

Alaina was soaking it all in when she saw a flash of movement. Mila had moved from her spot, grabbed two handfuls of gravel, and threw them in Alaina’s direction.

Mila! Don’t throw rocks,” Alaina yelled. She wasn’t close enough for any of them to hit, but it still made Alaina angry.

Then Mila smiled, took off her shoes, and threw them as hard as she could to the side of the playground. Alaina sat on the bench, thinking, ‘let her run around with no shoes.’ Some battles weren’t worth fighting. Alaina turned the stroller to face her and noticed that Max had fallen asleep. She began gently rocking the stroller back and forth with her foot and leaned back. She looked over at Mila, who was running around the playground and going down slides, and she closed her eyes.

She heard Mila running toward her before she opened her eyes and saw Mila slam as hard as she could into the stroller. The stroller tipped, and Max was leaning out, but Alaina caught it before it fell.

“Mila!” Alaina yelled. “How many times have I told you not to do things like this? You could really hurt your sister.”

Mila looked at Max, then at Alaina, then said, “Na, na, na, na, na, you’ll never catch me.”

Then she turned and ran as fast as her four-year-old legs could carry her straight into the cluster of trees at the edge of the park.

“Mila, Mila, stop!” Alaina yelled. She scrambled to get Max out of her stroller and ran toward the tree line. “Mila!” she yelled as she dashed into the trees where her daughter had just gone.

Alaina continued walking quickly through the trees, yelling Mila’s name. Soon, she appeared on the other side, where another sidewalk cut through the trees and climbed a hill on one side before curving back around to the playground. Opposite the sidewalk were more trees. Alaina turned around and headed back, thinking Mila was probably hiding somewhere in that first clump of trees. She walked around and around as much as she could before reappearing at the playground, but Mila wasn’t there. Alaina circled the trees along the sidewalk until she returned to the spot where she had first come out of the trees, then went back in, shouting Mila’s name above Max, who had started crying as soon as Alaina took her out of the stroller.

On the third walk through the woods, Alaina was frantic. She scanned the playground until she spotted someone coming out of a car in the parking lot. She hurried toward them. It was a woman.

“Help me, please,” Alaina cried. “I can’t find my daughter. She ran into those trees, and now she is gone. Please help me find her.”

The woman looked over to the driver’s side of the car, where a man was getting out, and asked, “OK, what’s your daughter’s name?”

“Mila,” Alaina said. “She is wearing a pink shirt and jeans. She ran into those trees.” Alaina pointed to the cluster of trees on the other side of the park. “I have looked through there three times, and she is gone. Please help me find her!”

The woman glanced at the man, and he shook his head, “We will find her, OK? You wait here in case she comes back to the playground.”

Alaina sat back down on the bench where she had left the stroller. She couldn’t stop crying, and she couldn’t stay still. She kept pacing back and forth along the bench, walking to the tree line, and calling Mila’s name. She could hear the man and woman at first, but as they moved further away, their voices faded. More people arrived, and Alaina told them what happened, and they started searching for Mila. The first couple returned and told Alaina they hadn’t found her but would keep looking. The man left to find a phone and call the police. Mila had been gone for 30 minutes.

The day dragged on. The police arrived, and several people started searching the park. Someone had obtained Carl’s work number from Alaina, and he showed up. He tried to take Max from her, but she wouldn’t let go of her baby. Alaina sat on the same bench where she had been all day. As the sun began to set, she saw flashlights flick on, then lights illuminated the park. She could hear everyone calling for Mila, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

At some point, a woman stepped out from the trees holding a large doll. “Is this your daughter’s doll?” she asked, and Alaina shook her head. “Yes,” she replied, but she knew it wasn’t Mila’s. She had never seen the doll before. The woman who asked about the doll took a group of people back to where she had found it and began searching there. About an hour after the sun set, the police told Alaina and Carl to go home, and they said they would call if they found anything.

Carl helped Alaina into his car and they drove home in silence. It wasn’t until Alaina got home and sat on the couch that she realized she was still holding the doll the woman had found in the woods. She looked closely at the doll, which was wearing a pink shirt and jeans. Alaina thought it looked like a doll meant for someone—perhaps a mother for her daughter. She couldn’t tell what material the mother or whoever made it out of, if it was plastic or something else.

Alaina took it to Mila’s room and placed it on her bed. Then, she lay on the floor and cried. A few minutes later, Carl came and laid next to her, and that’s where they both fell asleep.

Loud knocks on the door woke Alaina. Carl was no longer lying next to her, and sunlight was shining through the small window in Mila’s room. Alaina heard the familiar crackle of police radios. “Mila,” she said aloud, then jumped up and ran out to the living room.

Two police officers stood in the middle of the room. On one side were Carl’s parents, and on the other was Alaina’s mom holding Max. Carl was standing in front of them, and Alaina stood next to him. “Mila,” she said again, “you found her? Where is she?”

One officer was tall and towered over everyone else. The other was short. The shorter one was in front, shaking his head no. Alaina recognized them from the day before, as they were the first to arrive, and she had told them what had happened.

“No, Ma’am,” the short officer said. “We haven’t found her. We need to ask you more questions.”

Alaina started to shake all over. She was trembling so much she had to sit down. Mila was still missing. She heard someone speak, but all she could do was stare at everyone’s feet. She watched their feet as they moved around, and then she realized someone was talking to her, “Alaina?” It was Carl sitting next to her. She looked at him, then shook her head.

“What was the question?” she asked.

“Are you sure there was no one else at the park?” the short officer asked.

“Yes, no one was there until later…,”

“You stayed there?” the short officer asked. “You didn’t leave, then come back?”

Alaina looked at him. She couldn’t remember his name, even though she knew he had told her. She just couldn’t recall it.

“No,” Alaina said. “I was there the entire time.”

The short officer looked at the tall one, then they both turned back to Alaina.

“Are you sure you didn’t leave?” the tall one asked. “You were there the whole time, you didn’t leave, then come back?”

“What are you getting at?” Carl asked. “No, she didn’t leave. I came right after you showed up and sat with her. She was there the whole time. Alaina did not leave.”

“OK, OK,” said the short officer. “We just had some information we needed to check on. Thank you for your time.”

The officers got up and left. Carl’s dad walked them to the door. Alaina’s mom mentioned breakfast and waddled to the kitchen with Max. Alaina left Carl and his mom sitting in the living room and stood at the door to Mila’s room. The doll from the day before lay on its side, facing the door, with both hands under its head, looking at Alaina.

Had she put it that way? She couldn’t remember. She remembered lying on the floor when they came home, and she recalled doing something with the doll, but she didn’t think she had posed it. Carl walked up next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Mommy? Daddy?” It was faint and muffled, but it was Mila’s voice.

“Mila?” Alaina asked, and when she looked at Carl, he was scanning the room. “You heard it too?” Alaina asked him.

“Yeah,” he said. “Is Mila in here somewhere? It’s not possible.”

Alaina and Carl searched everywhere in Mila’s room. They looked behind her dresser, emptied her closet, and Alaina took all the stuffed animals off the window box. Then, she looked inside the window box. They tore the room apart, but they still didn’t find Mila.

“I don’t understand,” Alaina said. “We both heard her, right? That was Mila’s voice, right?”

Carl was nodding his head yes. “I heard her too. Look, we are both tired and need to rest. Let’s eat something, then come back in here and clean up. After that, we can both try to get some sleep.”

Alaina wasn’t hungry. She didn’t want to sleep. All she wanted was to curl into a ball and cry, but she knew she had to keep going. They had to find Mila. There was no other choice.

After they ate, Alaina and Carl sat on the couch watching TV. The news was on, and Mila’s face was all over every local news channel. Then they saw why the police were there that morning. One of Alaina and Carl’s neighbors was on the news. The neighbor told the reporter that they didn’t think Mila’s disappearance was an accident. Their neighbor thought Alaina and Carl staged Mila’s disappearance to cover up for Alaina. She told the reporter she saw Alaina at the park. Alaina had driven up, taken Mila out of the car, and slapped her so hard she fell back and hit her head. Mila started screaming. Alaina then put Mila back in the car and drove away. The neighbor went on to say that later, Alaina came back with just the baby, not Mila.

The shots of the park on the news were from the park down the street from their house, not the park Alaina went to the day before.

“Is that true?” Carl’s dad asked.

“Of course it’s not true,” Carl said. “That’s not even the right park.”

“But was she there yesterday?” Carl’s dad asked.

“No, I wasn’t,” Alaina said. “I don’t even know that woman. I was nowhere near that park yesterday. I went to the one by the woods because we hadn’t been there yet, and it was bigger. Mila likes swings. That little park didn’t have any. I wanted her to be able to swing.”

Alaina couldn’t watch anymore. She got up and stood in the doorway of Mila’s room. Alaina and Carl’s neighbor planted seeds of doubt in Carl’s parents’ minds, and even if it wasn’t true, they were there, growing like ravenous weeds. Alaina looked at Mila’s bed. The doll was sitting up now, its legs stretched out in front, with its arms at its sides and hands by its hips, just as Mila would sit in the mornings when she was waiting for Alaina or Carl to get her before breakfast.

“Carl!” Alaina shouted. “Come here!”

Carl came and stood at the door, looking all around the room. Alaina pointed at the doll and asked, “Did you put it like that?”

“No,” Carl said, stepping over everything they had scattered on the floor. “I didn’t touch it.”

Carl crouched slightly to the side of the bed, and just as he did, the doll’s head moved toward him. Carl yelled and fell back, “DID ITS HEAD JUST MOVE!”

Carl was scooting backward on his hands and feet like the crab walk Alaina remembered doing in elementary school. She looked back at the doll and saw its head turn and look at her. “DID ITS HEAD JUST MOVE AGAIN?” Carl asked.

“Yes,” Alaina said. “It did, it moved its head by itself.” Carl had crab-walked all the way to the door but was sitting there. He didn’t stand.

“I think we’re so tired that we’re delusional,” he said. “We need to get some rest.

“Yes,” Alaina said. “I think you are right.”

They both stood in the doorway in the same positions, both staring at the doll, but it didn’t move again.

“OK,” Carl said, standing. “Let’s at least lie down, maybe we can take a short nap.”

Alaina and Carl did not take a nap. They both lay still for a while, then got up and started pacing around their bedroom. Carl’s mom came in and told them they were making lunch that they didn’t eat. They tried to go back to sleep, but it didn’t work. They just kept pacing. Later, Alaina’s mom came into their room and said she was making dinner, and they better come and eat. Alaina and Carl followed her to the kitchen.

At dinner, there wasn’t much conversation. Alaina could sense the tension. She knew that Carl’s dad still doubted her, and she didn’t know what to say to convince him otherwise, so she stayed silent. There was a discussion over who would sleep where. Finally, they all agreed that Carl’s parents would sleep on the fold-out couch in the living room, and Alaina’s mom would sleep in the room they used as an office across from Mila’s room.

Then, once everyone had eaten enough, they all went to their respective sleeping areas and tried to sleep for the night. Alaina was in the shower, letting the water run over her, unsure why she was there. She didn’t use soap; she just got wet. After about five minutes, she got out and got dressed. Carl was already lying under the covers, so she quietly got into bed next to him and fell into a restless sleep. Sometime later, she heard it: “Mommy, Daddy, I’m sorry, please help me.”

It was Mila’s voice again, muffled like before. Alaina was dreaming. She had to be, she was, wasn’t she? Alaina turned over to face Carl, he was sitting up and pointing at the door. Alaina followed his arm to where he was pointing, and there in the doorway was the doll. The doll’s knees were bent. Its arms at its sides, bent at the elbows, hands out, palms down, just like Mila had started to do when she was frustrated with her mother. 

Then, Mila’s voice rang out again, “Mommy, Daddy, please, please help me.” Muffled sobs started coming from the doll.

“I’m dreaming, this is all a dream,” Alaina said.

“No,” Carl was shaking his head. “I’m awake too, Alaina. I hear her too.”

They both got up, Alaina was closest to the door, but she stayed where she was. Carl walked around the bed and stood in front of the doll. Just then, the doll dropped its arms and moved forward. Carl yelped and stepped back quickly, running into the bedside table and knocking over the lamp, which broke. The commotion woke Max, who started to cry. Alaina’s mom came out of the office, and Carl’s mom and dad emerged from the living room. Everyone stared at the doll, which continued to cry.

Alaina’s mom hurried to Max’s bedroom and quickly came out holding Max. Carl’s mom and dad hadn’t moved. The doll spoke again, “Mommy, Daddy, why won’t you help me? Please, help me, please,” it said.

“Mila?” Alaina said as she walked over to the doll and crouched in front of it. “Are you Mila?”

“What is this?” Carl’s dad asked. “Is this some kind of joke? What is wrong with you?” He was looking at Alaina.

“No dad,” Carl said. “This is really happening.”

“Have you all gone crazy?” Carl’s dad was yelling now. “We are supposed to believe this doll is speaking? It’s not, be reasonable. It’s her!”

Carl’s dad’s face was red as he pointed at Alaina and stepped closer.

“She is doing this,” Carl’s dad yelled. “Alaina, stop it! It’s not funny.”

“DAD, BACK OFF,” now Carl was shouting at his father. “Alaina’s not doing ANYTHING, I can’t explain what is happening but Alaina is not doing this.”

“I watched it open the door to Mila’s room and walk down the hall,” Alaina’s mom said now, holding Max and stepping closer. “Alaina is smart but not smart enough to build a robot.”

“I saw it move on its own too, Henry,” Carl’s mom said. “I was trying to straighten up her room, and I saw it sit up. Then you walked in, and it said ‘Grandma?’ I was sure you heard it too, but you just turned and walked away.”

Then, the Mila doll fell backward, its knees pointed to the ceiling, arms straight out at its sides forming a T. It started crying and said, “Please, please, please help me. I’m cold, I’m hungry, it’s dark, and I’m scared.”

Alaina picked up the Mila doll and took it to the bathroom. She placed it on the sink, wet a towel, and began cleaning the dirt from the doll’s face. That’s when she noticed the tears—the doll was crying real tears. She heard a click and looked up to see Henry with her camcorder, recording. Carl, who was standing next to Alaina, looked over at his father.

“Dad,” he began to walk over to him, but Alaina grabbed his arm.

“Just let him,” she said.

After Alaina cleaned up the Mila doll a bit, Carl took her and, with everyone following behind, set the doll down in an armchair in the living room. He crouched down so he was level with the doll’s face.

“Mila,” Carl whispered. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

The Mila doll nodded yes. It was Mila. Then it blinked and said, “I fell in the woods under a tree root, I saw mommy, but she didn’t see me, I tried to say something, but I couldn’t breathe.”

The Mila doll kept talking, “I’m sorry mommy, I’m sorry I ran away. Will you get me, please? I won’t run away anymore. Please, Mommy, I want to come home.”

“We need to return to the park,” Alaina said. “Carl, please, we have to go there now.”

“Mila, if we take you there, can you tell us where you are?” Carl asked. The Mila doll shook its head yes.

“I’ll go get flashlights,” Carl said as he stood up, “Alaina, get dressed as fast as you can. We are going to get Mila.”

“I’m coming too,” Henry said.

“Me too,” Carl’s mom said. “I’ll help look.”

“Well,” Alaina’s mom said, still holding a now-sleeping Max. “I guess I’ll stay here.”

Alaina got dressed quickly and met Carl, his dad, and his mom at the front door. Carl’s dad, still filming, sat in the back seat with Carl’s mom. Alaina, still holding the Mila doll, got in the passenger seat, and as soon as her door was closed, Carl backed down their driveway.

At the park, Carl took the Mila doll and walked across the sidewalk and playground to the tree line. “Are you in these trees?” he asked the Mila doll. The Mila doll shook her head yes. Carl turned on his flashlight and walked into the first clump of trees.

“OK Mila, now where?” The Mila doll’s head slowly turned and pointed toward a large tree near the edge of the woods. The tree was enormous with wide roots sprawling out from the ground. It looked as if it was glowing to Alaina. The big tree appeared lighter than the others.

Alaina walked to the front of the tree, her light pointing at the ground as she slowly moved to the left. “Not there, mommy, the other way.” Alaina directed her light at Carl, who was still holding the Mila doll. Then she shifted her light back to the ground and started moving to the right, and that’s when she saw something. It was the light glinting off of something, followed by just the slightest movement.

Alaina crouched down. There was a tiny opening beneath one of the roots, and Alaina could see something underneath it. She started brushing the dirt away and realized it was hair—Mila’s hair. She dug a little more and felt the back of Mila’s head. “Oh my god Carl, SHE’S DOWN HERE!”

Alaina began digging frantically with her hands. Carl started digging beside her on one side, while Carl’s mom did the same on the other. Henry kept recording.

The three of them kept digging until they saw shoulders. Alaina put her hands under Mila’s armpits and pulled her out of the hole. Holding her tightly, she ran to their car, where she collapsed with Mila and sobbed. Carl sat next to them and wrapped his arms around both of them. Mila was crying and saying, “Mommy, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry mommy.”

Alaina couldn’t speak. She shook her head, hugged Mila tighter, and kissed the top of her head. After what felt like hours, they all got in the car. Alaina, unable to let go of Mila, sat next to her in the back seat, happy to have her little girl back.

Once they were home and Mila was fed and cleaned up, Alaina lay next to her in her bed, and they both slept for hours. Alaina would sleep next to Mila until shortly after her sixth birthday. That was when Mila asked her to stop. That is also around the time they stopped talking about what happened that day.

Mila couldn’t remember much, just that she had been running and fell. She tried calling out, but she said the mommy kept telling her to be quiet and pushed on her chest so hard she couldn’t breathe.

The video Henry recorded, which annoyed Alaina at the time, ended up being a lifesaver for everyone. The neighbor who came forward retracted her statement, admitting she hadn’t gone outside her house that day. She was merely seeking attention.

The doll had disappeared. Carl set it down by the tree and forgot about it amid the excitement of finding Mila. They came back the next day to see if it was still there, but there was no sign of the doll. Since Mila was home, they didn’t keep searching. After that, Alaina never returned to that park.

Mila and Max grew very close, and Alaina didn’t notice any of the jealous, awful behavior she had shown before Mila disappeared.

Three years after Mila vanished, the town tore down the park, replacing it with a shopping center that houses a Walmart and Home Depot. Later, when Mila graduated from high school, the town cut down more trees behind the shopping center, and a neighborhood planning board built some houses.

Alaina and Carl discussed what had happened for the last time after the contractors finished building the neighborhood. They were both always curious about the mommy Mila had mentioned, and Alaina shared the stories she had always heard about the woods. They searched the internet for information about it but found nothing. It was as if the legends and the woods had never existed.

Years went by, and Mila and Max went to college, moved far away, and had children of their own. Alaina, well into her sixties, was reading the paper when she saw a story about a little girl who had gone missing in the neighborhood behind the shopping center. She and Carl had moved to another town, but they went back to help with the search. It was the first time they had both returned since their own daughter had disappeared.

Alaina and Carl were surprised to see that the tree where they had found Mila was still standing, and they found the little girl under the same root where they had discovered Mila years earlier. The parents were thankful and talked about a strange doll they had found, but it had vanished once the girl was located, just like the doll that had mysteriously disappeared when Alaina and Carl initially found Mila.

Alaina tried researching the woods and the tree again, but found nothing. Soon after, Carl passed away. She lost the energy to investigate further and moved closer to her daughters so she could spend time with them and her grandchildren.

She had thought that, years ago, before anyone recorded anything or settlers arrived in this part of the world, a mother must have lost a child near this tree and couldn’t let go. Perhaps there was some curse placed on a family. Alaina never knew for sure, but eventually, eminent domain claimed the neighborhood behind the shopping center so the town could build a road.

The road connected the small town where Alaina once lived to a larger city, making it easier for people to commute to work. To save as many trees as possible, most of the road was built around the trees and split into two parts. One side leads away from the small town, and the other side leads back to it.

There were no other missing children. Mila and the other little girl were the only ones who had gone missing.

Sometimes, though, when someone had a blown tire or car trouble and had to pull over to the center median, they would talk about an eerie feeling of being watched. If any of those stranded travelers had ventured into the copse of trees left between the stretch of road, they would have seen a massive tree with a doll sitting next to it and heard the weeping of a mother looking for her child.