A teen girl tried to steal a book from our store

surprise to something heavier, almost emotional, like a door inside her has just been pushed open without warning.

“What girl?” she asks, her voice softer now but no less intense.

“I don’t know her name,” I admit, replaying the moment in my mind—the trembling hands, the tear-filled eyes, the way she clutched that book like it was the last piece of someone continue reading …