In My Mind's Eye

Chapter Five

Kadan drove for what seemed like forever. I took numerous naps and had, somehow, tons of new toys to keep me occupied. I had countless Rainbow Fish books and Barbie dolls. I somehow had Beanie Babies, which I found out existed by their sudden appearance in the car.

At night, Kadan would find an almost completely deserted road and we would sleep in the car. I would lay across the back seat while Kadan would recline his seat as much as he could and sleep in that. Once in a rare while, Kadan and I would gather all of my toys and ditch the car. We would spend the day in some forest that was usually pretty far from our car. If someone found the car, there would be a slim chance that they'd find us.

Kadan carried my box of toys as I ran ahead. I couldn't see the forest yet, but I knew it was somewhere. "Don't go too far ahead, Aamori!" Kadan warned me.

"Tayy (Kayy)!!" I answered, not slowing down. It felt good to stretch my legs and feel the wind in my face. I welcomed the warm sunlight and pleasant weather. Kadan was way behind me when I found the forest. I looked at the trees in awe. They were giants compared to my tiny, three-year-old body. "I fon ih (I found it)!" I called to Kadan. I hear him chuckle and reply "good". I waited as patiently as I could for him to get to me. When I got sick of waiting, I ran up to him, grabbing his hand and attempted to pull him toward the forest faster. "Tum onn (Come on)!" I whined impatiently. He laughed, picking up his speed a little.

We walked deep into the immense forest, getting ourselves lost somewhere inside. I wasn't worried about getting lost: a three-year-old doesn't worry about such stupid little things. Kadan didn't either, apparently. He laid on the ground and closed his eyes while I explored the small clearing. I quickly grew tired of it, considering that all there was were trees. "Kaykay," I whined. "pay (play)?"

"Play what?" he mumbled lazily.

"Tase (Chase)!" He didn't move. "Peas?" I walked closer to him after a while.

Suddenly he grabbed me. I squealed. "I win," he said triumphantly (as if it was hard to beat a three-year-old at tag)

"No faiw (fair)!" I complained.

"Fine, retry. I'll count to five, then I'll get you. Okay?" I nodded. He closed his eyes and slowly counted to three. "One... Two... Three..." he opened on eye.

"No peeting (No peeking)!" I cried.

He closed his eyes again, chuckling quietly. "Four... Five!" I dashed away from him, laughing as he chased me. He reached out to me, acting like he was about to get me. I screamed, picking up my pace. "I'm gonna getcha!" he warned.

"No, you awen't (No, you aren't)!" I answered with all the confidence could muster. He laughed, still running after me. I was a ball of energy back then, so he was tired out well before me, even though he was very fit for his age, which was about 18. Foolishly, I stopped and turned around, seeing where he was. He was right behind me, I realized, as he reached out, ticking me. I squirmed, giggling. "Stah (Stop)!" I managed to command in between my fits of giggles. He didn't at first, but then he suddenly stiffened, concentrating carefully on something. His expression was blank. "Kaykay?" I poked at him.

He looked at me, confused, like I had just appeared where I was out of thin air. His expression quickly turned to horror. I wondered why until I heard footsteps. They were coming from all around us: as if we were surrounded.