the boy had bothered her. His look hadn’t convey ed he was attracted to her. Instead, his gaze was predatory.
***
She found herself in an unfamiliar kitchen sitting at a small table cluttered with soda cans and candy wrappers . The air was stale and the temperature stifling. Parts of the floral wallpaper were peeling off the walls and the paint was yellowed with age. From a distance, she could hear someone softly humming, but could not recognize the tune. In her hands, she could see a forest green crayon broken in half and the picture of a cluster of trees in front of her. Except they weren’t her hands she was seeing. They were small with a few miniscule scratches on top.
The humming came to a stop and a middle-aged woman entered the room. Her hair was held back with a red bandana, but a few frizzy blond strands peeked out of the back. Her eyes were wild and her panicked gaze darted everywhere as if she expected someone to jump out of the shadows. Taking a deep breath, she finally focused on the picture on the table. “What are you drawing Max?”
As soon as she said the name, Kate felt alarm shoot through her. When she first entered his head, his thoughts were completely jumbled . She decided that this was the reason she initially had no idea whose memories they wer e . Since it had been days since he disappeared , Kate had assumed Max had been killed. Stopping her own inner monologue , she tried to concentrate on the scene taking place in front of her and glean as much information as possible.
Max was uncertain about the woman, but not scared. She seemed to sense his reluctance to speak with her as he mumbled, “ The park .”
She clapped her hands together. “ How wonderful! I love the park !” Max winced at her enthusiasm and a hurt look passed over her face.
Max replied, “Can we go there?”
His heart sank as she frowned at him. She gave him a stern look before speaking. “Max, I explained this to you over and over again. It’s not safe for you! The bad guys who killed your parents are still looking for you! We must stay here and be very quiet until the police catch them.” She chewed on a thumbnail before continuing, “I could never live with myself if you were hurt.”
“But what about my grandma? Can’t I stay with her?”
“They know where she lives, Max. She told me to take care of you until it’s safe again,” the woman assured him.
Tears filled his eyes, but he gave a small nod. He couldn’t believe his mommy and daddy were really gone and he would only get to see them again in heaven.
Max thought back to the first time he met the woman. The woman had come up behind him while he was trying to shake a gumball out of the machine at the mall. She let him know that his mommy and daddy were in trouble and he had to go with her right away. He didn’t see his grandma and figured he better go with her to stop anything bad from happening to them. When they drove away from the mall, she let him know the truth. His mommy and daddy were dead and they asked her to take care of him. She asked him to call her mommy, but he told her no way. Instead, she made him call her ma’am.
“It’s almost time for bed, sweetheart. Finish up your picture and I’ll be in to read you a story,” she said in a singsong voice. The humming began again and a distant look entered her eyes. As the woman turned away, Kate felt the vision dissolve around her… .
***
Her heart was pounding as she opened her eyes. It was pitch black in her room . Looking at the clock, she saw it was barely after three in the morning. Kate swore under her breath as she knocked over a glass of water while reach ing for the lamp. In the drawer of her nightstand she stored her hot pink leather journal. It helped to have the book nearby in order to jot down her visions as soon as she woke up. Immediately, recording the things she saw while sleeping helped her remember as many details as possible.
After Kate was finished