When Carrie-Ann was born, the doctors told us that we had a very special girl. We didn’t really know what that meant, only that it seemed to involve sending her to “special schools” because she couldn’t handle being in a normal one. So we sent her to the newly opened St. Mary’s Boarding School for Gifted Children. She seemed to be happy there. She even made a friend called Ava. I didn’t like her, though. Ava told Carrie-Ann stories, disturbing ones, about things her parents and other people allegedly did to her. I told Carrie-Ann to stay away from her, but I don’t think she ever listened.

One day Carrie-Ann called us saying that some of the students had gone missing. We spoke to the teachers but they said it was just a story: a made up urban legend. We tried to speak with some of the other parents, but nobody seemed to be talking about it. Not too long after, the school closed down. “Structurally unsound” they said. Oh, if only I’d known then what I know now.