I knocked gently. “Hello? Everything alright in there?”

No answer.

I waited a beat, then knocked again, a little firmer. Still nothing. That’s when I decided to use my key. The door swung open slowly, and what I saw made my heart jolt.

There, sitting on the closed toilet lid, was a little girl—couldn’t have been older than six. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and her tiny arms were wrapped around a faded, one-eyed teddy bear. Her face was blotchy from crying, and she looked up at me like a deer in headlights.