Caleb laughed when he found her there. “You know the gates don’t even open for another hour, right?” he said, patting her head. “Then we’ll be first,” she said with a grin. The sky was pale blue and streaked with thin clouds when they pulled into the gravel lot. The wooden archway at the sanctuary’s entrance gleamed with dew, carved with owls, foxes, and deer.
Lily ran ahead, hopping over puddles, while Caleb called after her, “Stay where I can see you!” At the turnstile, a tall man in a green jacket waved. “Morning, Lily!” “Hi, Ethan!” she beamed. Ethan had worked at Maplewood for years; one of the senior keepers who never seemed to mind a child’s endless questions.