Prologue
Prologue
Katie
Age 6
“Mommy!” I yell. “Mommy!”
She took me to the park this morning and I was supposed to stay right where she could see me. I saw a pretty butterfly and I tried to catch it. I ran and ran but I couldn’t catch it. Now I’m lost. Big trees are all around me and I can’t see my mommy. I run because I’m scared. I want my mommy. I trip over a root and fall down, scraping my knee. I cry out and sit down on the damp grass. I hold my knee and rock back and forth as I cry. I hear the leaves crunching near me and I look up, scared that an animal has come to eat me. A little boy stands in front of me and he looks down at me with a frown. He has short black hair and dark brown eyes. He has mud smeared across his face and hands, covering his already dark brown skin. He’s wearing a dark green t-shirt and black shorts. He’s barefoot and my eyes widen as he steps closer to me.
“Hi.” He says.
“Hi.” I sniffle.
“Why are you crying?” He asks me.
“I lost my mommy and I hurt myself.” I tell him, starting to cry again.
“What’s your name?”
“My mommy told me not to talk to strangers.”
“I’m Dylan.” He says, giving me a toothy smile. “Now I’m not a stranger.”
“Oh.” I say, thinking about this really hard. “Okay. I’m Katie.”
“Kitty?” He asks, crouching down to me.
“No.” I giggle. “Ka-tie.”
“I want to call you Kitty.”
“That’s not my name.” I laugh. He smiles and laughs with me.
“I know, but now you’re not crying.” He grabs my hand and helps me stand up.
“Ow!” I cry, holding my knee. I start to cry again, and Dylan hugs me.
“Don’t cry Kitty.”
“I want my mommy.”
“I’ll help you find her.”
“Okay.”
“Dylan!” We hear a woman shout. “Dylan where are you!”
A woman comes running into the woods. She has the same dark skin as Dylan and the same brown eyes. Her hair is short and light brown, and she has on a long green dress and a pair of black sandals. She smiles when she sees Dylan and her eyes widen as they land on me.
“Oh, who are you sweetie?” She asks me. I grip onto Dylan’s arm and bury my face in his shirt.
“This is Kitty mommy. She lost her mommy and hurt her knee.” Dylan says.
“Oh my.” Dylan’s mommy gasps. “Hi Kitty.”
“It’s K…Katie.” I cry.
“Well, Katie. How about we go find your mommy and get that knee fixed up.”
“Okay.” I nod, wiping the tears off of my face. Dylan grabs my hand, and his mommy smiles at us.
“Where did you see your mommy last Katie?” She asks me.
“At the park.” I tell her.
“Let’s go to the park then.” We walk out of the woods and I can start to hear the sirens from a police car. I see my mommy crying and talking to a policeman.
“That’s my mommy!” I yell. We quickly walk over to my mommy and her head turns at the sound of my voice.
“Katie!” She cries, running over to me. She scoops me up in her arms and I hug her tightly. “Oh, my baby! I thought I lost you. Thank you so much for finding her.”
“You’re welcome.” Dylan’s mommy says. “She was in the woods. My son found her actually. Your daughter has a scrape on her knee but she’s just fine.”
“Thank you so much, I don’t know how I can ever repay you.” Mommy says.
“You don’t need to do anything. If my baby boy was missing, I’d want someone to find him and return him to me safe and sound. I was just doing what’s right.”
I wiggle out of my mommy’s arms and turn to look at Dylan and his mom.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome sweetie.” Dylan’s mommy says.
“I’m glad we found your mommy.” Dylan says.
“Me too.” I smile. “Mommy can I play with Dylan?”
“I think we’re going to go home sweetie.”
“Oh.” I frown.
“How about we set up a playdate?” My mommy asks Dylan’s mommy.
“That sounds great. I’m Lara by the way.” Dylan’s mommy says.
“I’m Chelsea.” My mommy says. They give each other their phone numbers then my mommy grabs my hand.
“We’ll have a play day next week.” Mommy tells me.
“Okay. Bye Dylan.” I wave as we walk away.
“Bye Kitty.”
