“Nothing, really; we spent the first part of the day studying history and we had a playtime learning to play hide-and-seek.”
“Tell me about how you played hide-and-seek.”
“It was really pretty simple and fun. When the teacher closed her eyes, I walked around behind her and then moved so she couldn’t see me.”
“She thinks you left and hid outside the blue line against her instructions.”
“No, Mom! I was right behind her the whole time. All the other kids saw me. You know how you move when you don’t want someone to see you.”
His mother looked him in the eye with a furrowed brow and slowly said, “No, Thomas, I don’t. What do you mean, so they can’t see you?”
“Well, you know how there are shadows around every person that shows where they are not looking or going to look.”
His mother looked even more puzzled and said, “I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Why don’t you show me?”
“Great, do you want to hide first?”
“No. I want you to do exactly what you did today. I’ll count to ten and you hide, but you can’t leave this room.”
“Okay.”
She stood up and placed her hand over her eyes, counted to ten, opened her eyes, and began searching for Thomas. She looked behind the sofa, the desk, the chair, and in the hallway. After five minutes she was certain that he was nowhere to be found in that room. Then she had a thought. “Thomas,” she said, “stay exactly where you are and don’t move.” She turned around and there he was, right behind her.
“How do you do that?” she asked.
“You know, Mom. I just move away from where you’re going to look.”
She looked at her little boy and said, “I’m still not sure I understand. Do you mean to say you know where my eyes are looking?”
“No, I just know where you’re not looking; the shadows around you show it. Don’t you know where I’m not going to look?”
“Let’s try it this way, Thomas. You’re standing right here in front of me. How long would I have to close my eyes for you to hide?”
“Mom.… Just close your eyes and count to one.”
“Oh, one more thing, Thomas. When I say Neil, you immediately reply with Armstrong. This will make it harder for you to hide. Understand?”
“Sure, Mom.” He liked this because Neil Armstrong was one of his favorite ancient heroes.
She blinked and Tag disappeared. She would say Neil and she would immediately hear from right behind her, “Armstrong.” Try as she might, she could not see him. She turned left, jerked back to the right, and turned circles, saying Neil as fast as she could and hearing Armstrong in reply each time, but she was still unable to see him. Finally she just lay down on the floor and turned her head from side to side. It was then that she saw him right next to her, laughing.
“I knew you were going to lie down, but you told me not to leave the room. So you win, you caught me.”
She laid there on the carpet for a moment and then said, “Thomas, if you could leave the room, would you have avoided me seeing you when I lied down?”
“Sure, but rules are rules. You always taught me to play by the rules.”
“So you didn’t leave the playground this morning.”
“No, Mom. Rules are rules.”
She got off the floor and went back to her chair. Then she said, “Thomas, tell me how you do this. I need to know what you do to avoid being seen.”
“Mom, I just go where the person looking for me is not looking. I move into the shadows I see around them. As you turned around, I moved toward the shadows I saw on the side away from your turn. The shadows appear whenever I want to avoid being seen. Unless I look for them, they aren’t there.”
“How do you know where I will be looking?”
“There won’t be any shadows. There’s a sort of shadow that I see when I move to hide. It looks like the shadow
“Tell me about how you played hide-and-seek.”
“It was really pretty simple and fun. When the teacher closed her eyes, I walked around behind her and then moved so she couldn’t see me.”
“She thinks you left and hid outside the blue line against her instructions.”
“No, Mom! I was right behind her the whole time. All the other kids saw me. You know how you move when you don’t want someone to see you.”
His mother looked him in the eye with a furrowed brow and slowly said, “No, Thomas, I don’t. What do you mean, so they can’t see you?”
“Well, you know how there are shadows around every person that shows where they are not looking or going to look.”
His mother looked even more puzzled and said, “I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Why don’t you show me?”
“Great, do you want to hide first?”
“No. I want you to do exactly what you did today. I’ll count to ten and you hide, but you can’t leave this room.”
“Okay.”
She stood up and placed her hand over her eyes, counted to ten, opened her eyes, and began searching for Thomas. She looked behind the sofa, the desk, the chair, and in the hallway. After five minutes she was certain that he was nowhere to be found in that room. Then she had a thought. “Thomas,” she said, “stay exactly where you are and don’t move.” She turned around and there he was, right behind her.
“How do you do that?” she asked.
“You know, Mom. I just move away from where you’re going to look.”
She looked at her little boy and said, “I’m still not sure I understand. Do you mean to say you know where my eyes are looking?”
“No, I just know where you’re not looking; the shadows around you show it. Don’t you know where I’m not going to look?”
“Let’s try it this way, Thomas. You’re standing right here in front of me. How long would I have to close my eyes for you to hide?”
“Mom.… Just close your eyes and count to one.”
“Oh, one more thing, Thomas. When I say Neil, you immediately reply with Armstrong. This will make it harder for you to hide. Understand?”
“Sure, Mom.” He liked this because Neil Armstrong was one of his favorite ancient heroes.
She blinked and Tag disappeared. She would say Neil and she would immediately hear from right behind her, “Armstrong.” Try as she might, she could not see him. She turned left, jerked back to the right, and turned circles, saying Neil as fast as she could and hearing Armstrong in reply each time, but she was still unable to see him. Finally she just lay down on the floor and turned her head from side to side. It was then that she saw him right next to her, laughing.
“I knew you were going to lie down, but you told me not to leave the room. So you win, you caught me.”
She laid there on the carpet for a moment and then said, “Thomas, if you could leave the room, would you have avoided me seeing you when I lied down?”
“Sure, but rules are rules. You always taught me to play by the rules.”
“So you didn’t leave the playground this morning.”
“No, Mom. Rules are rules.”
She got off the floor and went back to her chair. Then she said, “Thomas, tell me how you do this. I need to know what you do to avoid being seen.”
“Mom, I just go where the person looking for me is not looking. I move into the shadows I see around them. As you turned around, I moved toward the shadows I saw on the side away from your turn. The shadows appear whenever I want to avoid being seen. Unless I look for them, they aren’t there.”
“How do you know where I will be looking?”
“There won’t be any shadows. There’s a sort of shadow that I see when I move to hide. It looks like the shadow
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