I scribbled a note to her—Kaavi, please call me. We need to talk. “We need to talk” was probably the understatement of the century. I left the note on her bedside table along with the box. There was another picture here. An eight-by-five photograph in a rose gold frame. It was taken here at the Fonsekas’ house. A group shot of the entire family standing in front of the staircase—big smiles on all their faces. It was probably before an event because all the women were in saris and Mr. Fonseka was in a suit and tie. He smiled widely, carrying little Nadia, who wore a puffy dress. His three girls.

I put the photograph down. This was wrong. This was all wrong. I shouldn’t be here. I should have never come.

It felt hard to breathe, like my throat was closing in on itself, and the magnitude of what I was doing crashed down on me. My legs felt weak. I looked around the room for a clock or a calendar, and when that failed I looked at my own watch. 3:45 p.m. Consecutive numbers weren’t the best sign, but they weren’t the worst either. Better than no pattern at all.

I sat down on the side of the bed and held my head in my hands. I should just go back to LA. I’d walked away before; I could do it again.

I kept my eyes closed and tried breathing deeply, just like Dr. Dunn says. One deep inhale. Hold it for five counts. Then exhale thoroughly for five. One deep inhale.

Something grabbed my ankles from under the bed and pulled.

I slid right off and crashed down onto the floor, a scream escaping my chest.

It had come for me.

I kept my eyes closed, bracing myself to finally meet my demons.

After so many years, it had finally caught up to me.

“Please . . .” I pleaded.

Pleaded for what?

But I just heard giggling.

Huh?

I was in a heap on the floor. Prying my eyes open, I looked across to the bottom of the bed.

It was Nadia, curled under the white frame, giggling hysterically.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I still had the wind knocked out of me and hadn’t recovered yet.

“I was waiting for Kaavi Akki,” she gasped, giggling harder. “She loves this prank.”

“Oh.” I didn’t have words. My breath was coming in short gasps now, and I willed myself to calm down.

It was just a prank.

I took a deep breath.

Just a prank.

It was also my first time alone with Nadia.

I used this moment to really take a look at her.

Nadia, who I’ve never had the chance to get to know.

“Do you need help getting out from under there?” I asked, offering her my hand.

“Okay.” Her smile was so pure. Who did it remind me of?

I reached in and she held on to my palms. It was getting hard to breathe again.