“Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xsG2Ysk3q
Children’s voices ring through the air. One of them is his own.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvzJZPoXn0
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4EOthDEX1
Songs turn to screams. There’s fire in his veins.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nJ2gC7ePM
“One for the master and one for the dame.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PRY2Xdb5m
Green eyes fill with tears. The closet door closes us in.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPkikVHXDQ
“One for the little boy who lives down the lane.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJC1rUoGG1
The door opens again. Hands grabbing at his waist.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VnY8evrre
“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWma7VhG69
Green eyes close, and so do his.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oA4U6CGEL
“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecJNCz06Er
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoM3nLpH4M4
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlzoWT8Q95
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC3pmGy1zd
Zak mumbles, “I just had a dream.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcc7Xs7BGWB
“Why did it make this little closet so appealing?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzzUOUvsjy
He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, “I’m safe in here. That’s what it feels like at least.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI3tAgJGVq
“Interesting choice,” she sighs, “I bought Danish, and do you want some?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrZywPGfpW
“Sure,” he says as his stomach growls. They share a laugh together.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1UW210Bwo
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg45n551KKQ
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. 493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNB3UjRYbh
“What happened to me to make me lose my memory?” he asks.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduADQ19G3w
“You fell off that tree and hit your head,” she points to a ancient cedar rooted at the corner of the clearing.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk07bD6CjR
“Why doesn’t my head hurt then?” 493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOi0nlJ1tIL
His mother pauses for a short bit.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5YsGg6GCw
“Well, you're right, that’s a good question. You must be a fast healer.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6lOJFOlXY
“When did I fall?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgefhiGFYx7
“About two weeks ago.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSUV49eQ2v
“Where did you take me to get checked on?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOEsTdVyar
“The hospital where your dad works. Why all of the questions?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWtbLtczKU
“Sorry, just wondering,” he mumbles.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyevalLawEL
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEtJbLpCBq
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO0kRXMBwC
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. 493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0q1WHjtU0H
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBqd1sYzwY
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsd8TFU631
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxezv5ZhQ4
493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT21fTYHWfM
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