“Yeah, it’s been good. We went to the park yesterday, and I drew some pictures this morning. I drew a dog, a tree, and… I wish I had a blue marker so I could draw blueberries.”
Her words hit me like a shockwave. Hidden among her childish chatter was our code word—“blueberries.” For a moment, my heart stopped. I had taught her that word for emergencies, hoping she’d never need to use it.
When she was younger, I explained that if she ever felt unsafe but couldn’t say so openly, she could slip that secret word into conversation. “Blueberries” meant only one thing: Get me out of here immediately.
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