"Keep heading north"I say through a mouthful of chocolate doughnuts. "Gotcha." Tony replies as he eases the car down the road and away from the gas station. Misha's mood seems to have changed. "Uncle Tony, turn on the radio." She calls from the back seat. He pushes a button and love story comes through the radio. I lean back and let the singers voice bring back memories of the beginning of my relationship with Jayson.
Misha sings along in the back. She knows every word. I've played this song for her over and over. It was our song. I'm so deep in thought that I don't realize that the ride is no longer smooth. Instead it's growing bumpier by the minute and I smell smoke. Tony pulls over cursing under his breath. He gets out of the car and looks under the hood. I turn the radio down and Misha looks intently out of her window. After a few minutes Tony slams the hood down and comes back to us. "Get what you can carry out of the car." He says. "Car's shot. Looks like it was tampered with." He whispers to me so that Misha can't hear.
I get the suitcase and help
Misha out of the car. We decide that for now it's safe to walk along the road . If we feel the threat of a retriever we'll slip into the woods. Tony and I don't vocalize it, but we are certain that's who tampered with the car. Misha walks on the side closest to the woods holding my hand. "I'm bored. Tell me a story." She says. "Ok. Once upon a time." I start
"There was a shy girl who lived in a small community of very special people. She had a mother and father who loved her dearly. They taught her how special she was because she possessed a rare gift. Do you know what it was?" I ask
Misha. She nods her head no and I continue. " Her gift was fire. Sadly her gift scared the members of her community. She was very powerful and they worried she would hurt them. This made the girl very lonely. Until one day when the girl was sitting alone outside of her house practicing her power a handsome boy stopped and smiled at her. She had created a little flame that floated above her hand. The boy reached one of his hands out and the flame grew bigger and stronger. The boy and girl became best friends. He was kind to her and protective. He wouldn't let anyone tease her and he was proud to be her friend. One day he realized that he loved her and that he wanted to marry her. His parents were against it and her parents thought it was dangerous for the both of them, but he was brave and reckless and and well the both of them were blinded by their love. So he asked her to marry him anyway. Do you know his name?" I ask Misha who appears to be enchanted by the story. "Jayson?" She asks.
"Yes, that's right his name was Jayson. He was tall and strong. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes and he loved her with all his heart." I stop the story. I don't want to go into the hard part. Instead I say. "The boy and girl got married and lived happily ever after." Misha sighs "that was a good story mommy" She tells me just as a wind picks up blowing through her curls, then over Tony and me. The hairs stand up on my arms. I worry that the intensity of the last few days have triggered Misha's power and she is using it unknowingly.
We continue walking, Tony looking around for signs of retrievers and me rolling the suitcase along behind me. We see no one.
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