The kindergarten classroom hummed with the usual cheerful nois. Yet, tucked into one corner near the small shelves of storybooks, the twins sat quietly. They weren't drawing like the others, nor were they laughing.
When the bell rang for recess, the classroom erupted with delighted shrieks and chatter. Children rushed to the door, eager for the open playground and the chance to run free. The twins rose more slowly, their faces subdued, their feet dragging slightly as they followed the tide of classmates out into the courtyard. The playground was alive with laughter.
But the twins didn't join. Instead, they slipped to their usual spot beneath the broad old tree at the edge of the yard. They sank to the ground, knees touching, heads bowed, like they were guarding a secret too fragile to let slip.
