-dontbreakme- Kharlie Stone -01.11.2016- -

The subject line lands in my inbox like a stone dropped into still water:

The file’s metadata leads to a case I’d buried. A foster kid shuffled between homes like a library book no one wanted to check out. A string of petty thefts, a juvenile record that read like a cry for help typed in all caps. Then, a disappearance. Then, nothing. -DontBreakMe- Kharlie Stone -01.11.2016-

Somewhere out there, a girl with rust-colored hair is living a life she built from the wreckage. And somewhere inside me, the part that almost broke on January 11, 2016, finally lets go of the fence and starts walking. The subject line lands in my inbox like