On her way down the stairs, Linda Madison paused suddenly. It was strange. She felt ... well, she wasn't sure what she felt. But it caused her to stop in mid-step. It was almost like a chill ran down her spine, but there was no apparent reason for it.
Mikey ran to the stairs and saw that his mom stopped descending and got a weird look on her face. His heart leapt with joy. She heard him! Maybe not exactly the way he wanted, but she did have a reaction to him.
Behind him, he heard the bathroom door open and turned to see his sister Zoe walking back to her room. She made no reaction to Mikey's presence.
