Floorboards creak as the man steals towards the sleeping girl.

Standing over her peaceful form, heart pounding against his ribs, he leans and sticks his hand under her pillow to replace the hand-stitched bag containing her incisor with a dollar. She stirs but does not wake.

“Goodnight, pumpkin,” he whispers.

Tasie E. George is a twenty-year old, as-of-yet unpublished writer, born, raised, and residing in Nigeria.