“Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGMa66wZ8B
Children’s voices ring through the air. One of them is his own.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqGOa9vphj
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51gx3CgsS3
Songs turn to screams. There’s fire in his veins.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAE9KPyxk4
“One for the master and one for the dame.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOG4DSzo7T
Green eyes fill with tears. The closet door closes us in.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFiHxnvweN
“One for the little boy who lives down the lane.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzAfhe5xiz
The door opens again. Hands grabbing at his waist.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqWwLDLqWh
“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQba9AjDNVI
Green eyes close, and so do his.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡat3VpynQNv
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ617cCSUX6Y
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKUCu8V14i
The boy wakes with a start. It’s still dark out. He looks at the alarm clock on his nightstand. 3:47, it reads. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and sighs, the adrenaline leaving his body. With caution, he moves his attention to the closet. The closet suddenly looks very cosy to him. It looks safe. This room is too open for him now. He’s exposed. With a start, Zak wraps a blanket around himself, picks up a pillow and crawls to the safety of the closet door. He doesn’t sleep.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZK8u45LWI
“Zak?” a voice calls outside the closet, “where are you?” The corner of his blanket is sticking out from under the door, catching the voice’s attention. Sunlight floods into the small closet. The voice belongs to mother. She smiles, “What are you doing in here?” Her laugh fills the room.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkTXEwjDSY
Zak mumbles, “I just had a dream.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsiLGbJhmi
“Why did it make this little closet so appealing?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnxfa6UlnE
He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, “I’m safe in here. That’s what it feels like at least.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNi0Cfy0bsn
“Interesting choice,” she sighs, “I bought Danish, and do you want some?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ4Dc9zHkX
“Sure,” he says as his stomach growls. They share a laugh together.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBj42P9TYWG
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3zzVpSITW
Zak sits at the table in the chair closest to the window. Even though the sky is grey and the trees have lost their colour, he can still find beauty in the clearing. He eats his Danish as he watches crows caw and fly off their perches. He remembers the question he had earlier and beckoned his mother, her hands covered in oven mitts. 593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4XrKV6hjU
“What happened to me to make me lose my memory?” he asks.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0hbGKfYjC
“You fell off that tree and hit your head,” she points to a ancient cedar rooted at the corner of the clearing.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNhu49HZkO
“Why doesn’t my head hurt then?” 593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HXVaSK8CD
His mother pauses for a short bit.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1B716pzvgN
“Well, you're right, that’s a good question. You must be a fast healer.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlS6ozEKCsE
“When did I fall?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8v9ykHKhGe
“About two weeks ago.”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDk1wFFy55B
“Where did you take me to get checked on?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pZE8aEZdg
“The hospital where your dad works. Why all of the questions?”593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClojbPFmMi
“Sorry, just wondering,” he mumbles.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10cfl6L6r1
There’s something wrong in her explanation and he knows it. A fast healer? He can’t believe that. His dreams, his mother’s outburst, the closet? Someone isn’t telling the truth -- and he’s going to figure out why.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUD9Sj62o8y
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNJsA1E6dn
Throughout the week, Zak decides to collect as much information as he can about where he is and pick out the truth in the lies his mother tells him. Every day at breakfast, he asks his mother questions handpicked the night before. They vary from small talk to her and dad to questions designed to make her squirm. A quick look on his dad’s laptop revealed that they are on the edge of Connecticut, the ocean just miles away. The satellite shows that there is a house nearby, and he makes a mental note to investigate soon. 593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4SpiK4JJi
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtW5Gniyz5
On Sunday, Zak lounges on his chair by the window and reads a book he found in one of his drawers. He asked his mother if he’s read it before, and she says it was his favourite. So - wanting to learn more about himself - he dives into the book and soon becomes lost in it. It’s an older book about a group of rabbits leaving their warren in search of a new home. For a book about rabbits, this book is really complex, he thinks. He closes the book and sighs before coming up with a question for the woman next to him.593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHoyYsaizK
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPuw5lp6ZG
593Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66x8Shw6TT
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