“Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7yKFXgfM4
Children’s voices ring through the air. One of them is his own.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoebdyig5D
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLTjwSwVaA
Songs turn to screams. There’s fire in his veins.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXiHCSPeGK
“One for the master and one for the dame.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0n8IJSvZl
Green eyes fill with tears. The closet door closes us in.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYDbDkKc5E
“One for the little boy who lives down the lane.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHImmVDpEnT
The door opens again. Hands grabbing at his waist.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMIDbZQ1ZA
“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgmnjZssBT
Green eyes close, and so do his.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjTvVOwLQa
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXKkgbjj3D
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIwKcdn3HP
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.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPFvp61gNl
“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.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEsAN76ZDE
Zak mumbles, “I just had a dream.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtp3QYSaERn
“Why did it make this little closet so appealing?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSAmbRN13F
He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, “I’m safe in here. That’s what it feels like at least.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNaRtAksFj
“Interesting choice,” she sighs, “I bought Danish, and do you want some?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9Kt2nADM1
“Sure,” he says as his stomach growls. They share a laugh together.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdJhMGa8a3
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYOW6MYUC9
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. 509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuf2pJMrFN
“What happened to me to make me lose my memory?” he asks.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEHEkViyEG
“You fell off that tree and hit your head,” she points to a ancient cedar rooted at the corner of the clearing.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZYXbOWD57
“Why doesn’t my head hurt then?” 509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IYhXqrwNj
His mother pauses for a short bit.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTVWG5Z5tn
“Well, you're right, that’s a good question. You must be a fast healer.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9eXBwFtQh
“When did I fall?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT60QO8Darl
“About two weeks ago.”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK9H2DcMeH
“Where did you take me to get checked on?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRfyUR5zwV
“The hospital where your dad works. Why all of the questions?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpcOex7f2z
“Sorry, just wondering,” he mumbles.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHJkruPLqD
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.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tP6UkK7Tk
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjG4VMzvaUX
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. 509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE15hjJB4I
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXraEUNzhp
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.509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKK1LeKIpps
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LSQ0J8J2p
509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqvBidNz0B
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