Mrs Johnson looked to her husband to respond. She could not believe the lack of surprise on the caseworker’s face. The interactions that had taken place between them in the past had seemed so much less mechanical than this. She found herself wondering if this coldness meant that they were being blamed for Aria’s disappearance or if the truth was that Aria was always just part of the protocol of the job.

“What do you mean it isn’t unusual to see kids just run away like this?” Mr Johnson said forcefully. “I’m sorry, but it can’t be usual for a child to disappear for almost two weeks into thin air.” Mr Johnson tried not to express his disdain for incompetence in his question, which was really a statement. Unfortunately he didn’t succeed.

“Many of these children have a long history of running away,” Nina replied. “Aria is one. As you know, she ran away on several occasions from multiple group homes that she was placed in before being placed with you.

“Some of the kids run away because they miss their families. Aria is one of those kids who, unfortunately, was separated from her mother at a later age and so there may be a desire to find her mother and force the process of reconnection. Others run away because they can’t abide by the rules of the houses they are placed in. Others run away because they are in bad foster homes where abuse is taking place.”

Mr Johnson recoiled. “Are you trying to imply that we should have been more lenient or that we didn’t provide enough love for her here?”

He could feel the discrepancy inside himself when he said it. He was terrified that the real truth of Aria’s disappearance had more to do with him than with anything else. But he would not admit this guilt to anyone but himself. Instead he covered it over with defensive bluster.

He need not have worried. Nina guessed at nothing anyway. Instead, she said “not at all” and proceeded to sit with Mr and Mrs Johnson for just over an hour, suppressing her nerves while calming theirs. She explained the facts and the realities of the situation at hand until the color had all but drained from their faces. There was something in her that liked to shock such obviously idealistic and therefore optimistically delusional people. Although she appreciated their interest in these forgotten children, she also felt that people like this were one reason why the children had been forgotten in the first place.