Hidden Deep Read Free

child of two only-children.
    The grownups stayed at the table for what seemed like hours, drinking coffee and talking about things I didn’t remember. Bored, I sought out my favorite reading spot, a cozy chair by the picture window overlooking my grandma’s backyard.
    As the sun set, a spark in the gray winter landscape outside caught my attention. Fireflies. In January. Even at six years old I knew that was strange. Still clutching my book, I slipped out the door to get a closer look and maybe capture a few for a nightlight like I did every summer.
    The mysterious lights multiplied, changing colors. Pretty. Fascinating. I followed them down the path then off it as they danced over the ground in the darkening woods. By the time they rose up into the trees and blinked out, it was completely dark. I looked around. I couldn’t see the house, couldn’t even see the smoke I smelled from the chimney.
    I wandered for hours trying to get back, finally collapsing at the base of a big tree. It was way past my bedtime. Huddling against the trunk, I wished for Mommy, Daddy, my white canopy bed with the warm purple unicorn comforter.
    I’d never forget the nighttime noises that filled those dark woods. I fell asleep with my hands tightly cupped over my ears. Once during the night I awoke to the faint sound of voices calling my name through the trees. No one heard the weak croak that came when I tried to answer. My throat was dry and raw.
    The next time I awoke, I was in pain. I had wet my pink corduroy pants, and I couldn’t stop shaking. My thin sweater was useless against the freezing temperature. My fingers and feet would no longer move. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I could stop waking up, stop feeling anything, and sleep forever.
    And then he was there.
    I opened my eyes, my breath coming fast. Something very warm had touched my face. A boy, a little bigger than me, squatted in front of me, smiling. When I let out a surprised sound, my breath clouded the moonlit air between us. The boy jerked his hand back. We both jumped. Then his smile widened, and he laughed.
    He had on even less than I did—no shirt at all and bare feet poking out from under his pant legs. He should have been freezing, too, but he didn’t seem to notice the cold. I wasn’t afraid of him. He looked friendly… and curious. He reached out again slowly and put both his warm hands against my cold cheeks, holding my face. It was the nicest thing I’d ever felt.
    I smiled at the silent boy with wide eyes and messy blond curls. “What’s your name?”
    He didn’t answer, but only stared at me, his eyebrows pulling together as he studied my mouth. I started to repeat the question, and he put his fingertips across my lips. Touching his own lips, he breathed out with a puff. I giggled at that. He laughed, too, but his smile went away when he saw my hard shudder.
    The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bottle made of metal. Holding it out to me, he tipped it toward my mouth. He wanted me to drink. I expected water, but it wasn’t. It tasted like—I don’t know—nothing I’d ever tasted before, sweet and sort of warm, bubbly almost.
    I was so thirsty I didn’t care what it was. I drank it all, and immediately heat filled my stomach, spreading quickly throughout my body, finally reaching my fingertips and toes. I felt… perfect.
    The next thing I remember was the sound of boots crashing through the underbrush, a man’s frantic shouting. “I found her. She’s here.” There was a lot of walkie-talkie noise.
    It was just after dawn. Someone had spotted me on the shoulder of the county road that bordered one side of my grandma’s land. I’d been missing for fourteen hours.

Chapter Three
Icing on the Cake

     
     
    I looked at the grown-up version of the strangest, most magical memory of my life. All I could manage was a whisper as it truly hit me. “Is it you? Are you real?”
    Lad reached out and gently cupped my face in his large