t merciless t remains is memory to pensate. Our friends s t our poor minds could jure to fill loves absence. I am ed to tbreaking for Speck, too. S about asks grim aermined, as if by staying busy soms at bay.

        After ter in t, and ted Smaolac time in years, bound to one small clearing in t by Cy. to go back e at us all. Five years    our camp, and    it migo return. t time anyone    surely ne as nature reclaims its ruins, too, en about t boy lost in t. t life to remain as t it had been.

        it safe to travel again, Luc out, leaving t our makes camp to c day, our spirits quied at t of seeing our old s again. e raced like deer along trails, laugions as a promise ion.

        Climbing tern ridge, I ant laugy. to vieree limbs and branc road spot    trees. Branc trail, more streets and o to town.

        "Be it ever so ; Luchóg said.

        I looked far aling activity. From tation ied up ossed a football. A yello ttering curses as ring of ligo notice as day gave o nigs    on in the homes, as if on sudden signal.

        "S; Luchóg asked.

        e crept doo t. ty. t figures crossiasks. Glang in eacory unfolding. A cirred somet. Anoted a ared at minuscule figures playing games in a gler. -door neig in an easy co the noise and flickering images.

        "; I whispered.

        Covered to oes in blue terryclot in a small cage in tractedly ly colored plastic toys. For a moment, I t t I could not uand o trailed beail. So a boartled and sligo be caug sely not my moted    sound before. tc before joining to t into t t I surely had seen him before.

        e circled bato ted until t sky and most of ts popped off goodnig.

        "I dont like t; I said, my breat light.

        "You ten ring," Smaolach said.

        o t likely to enter any    to    door. A    roo tely tried on pairs until . tc of ts aables, flour, salt, and sugar. Lucfuls of tea bags into rouser pockets and on t copped a package of cigarettes and a box of mat minutes, disturbing no one.

        tubborn. All of tairs like room t sered a maze of plumbing. By folloually made our o terior of to make ourselves quieter, eps and sloo tche room smelled of remembered bread.

        ry, I tiptoed to locate t door and an easy exit. On tograpraits t read mainly as uing s as I passed by one, illuminated by a    ced to o face tton. t stare directly into t cyle and cloted anoted o burst out laug tograpriggered a ruso my brain. Dizzy and disoriented, I kne could not place, togrape dress standio a s I kept ing bay fingers on traced tours of ted to remember. Foolis to turned on the lamp.

        Someone gasped in tc as tures on to clarity. t baby. But I could see clearly tograp ranced me, and beside it anoturbed me more. tation of somet    time ture aken, and    not been in black) and    and cap, eyes aing—ossed football, a V of geese,    a strao o a little boy, to end up on ture offered no clues. It    bride.

        "Aniday, ; Luc;s."

        A mattress creaked over out of bed. I snapped off ts and scrammed. ttered in a ient tone.

        "All rig; t;Ill go c I didnt ; airook teps sloried t of tc could not figure out the lock.

        "t budge," Smaolach said.

        ttom landing, sc.    into ted seds earlier. Lug bar and unlocked t    click. e froze at the sound.

        "; t.

        "Fuck all," said Smaolaed t    by a small metal c;Lets go," o squeeze ttering sugar and flour be of us, for t "; again, but y la popped on like a flas ion. From top of tc up in sequeill terns. A dog began to yoook t as a sign to retreat , but, exed as imps, reasures, laugars.

        At top of topped to smoke one of tes, and I looked bae last time at to be. t ree, a stretcruck a deer, a clearing    space e anoteo ed in t made one doubt ones oory.

        "t man back t; I said, "t;

        "to me," Lueone I kno;

        "Could it be your long-lost brot;

        "I    one."

        "Pere a book you read in t;

        "I do not kno;

        "Pere t book you carry from place to place?"

        "No, not Mes. I do not kno;

        "A man from a magazine? A pograp;

        "Someone I kne;

        "Could it be t t; te and bleeam engine.

        "I t it mig t t be rig strange ;

        " year is it, little treasure?" Luchóg asked.

        It could ruth, I was no longer sure.

        "By no be a young may years. And ure ;

        "Id guess about t;

        "And ;

        "t," I said, and smiled like an idiot.

        "Your fat as old as I am."

        I sat doime    seen my parents; tery.

        Luc do;After a paint you a picture of my dear yout real—just figures in a fairytale. My mammy could e and say, Sonny-boy, and I    kno knoy."

        "But try ;

        "Mig all."

        "And t;

        "to me. A boteet all time     talk, t s bet is a baby—to learn—but ts moving backime. You so look after for a ;

        "I do not    to steal any c ;

        to make it ten blas and a s from tion Army store, and e small meals, subsisting mainly on eas bre of January and February, en did not stir at all, but sat alone or in clumps of t or stone cold, ing for tion of our lives. ger by and by, and eps ance. Eaove,    miserable duable er, a mile or so norts, t as secluded, it afforded us adequate prote. As    first day, restlessness s over me. Smaolac down beside me and draped an arm ay she sky.

        "Ní mar a síltear a bítear," he said.

        "Smaolaco be a tand your old language. Speak Engliso me."

        "Are you te and lameter off ernal ing. Or is ttle treasure?"

        ";

        "Ond only o;

        "Luc;

        "I dont remember mu ts n recall."

        "Every plae disappears."

        "Norapping felloac t o t. as a long time ago, and Im not really sure w was or w;

        te.

        "ts t and give o one anotisnt o be too attay s people."

        Mystified by Smaolacottered off to my neurned over ts, and looked at ried to picture my mot recall to me as my iful    just as muc merely read about in books, remains unknoo me. A moto a sleepy caire. A pair of lovers unbutton one anotumble into bed. Unreal as a dream.

        I did not fess to Smaolacation. Speck    abandoned our friendso some er ed o making our ne eaco o a deep sleep early eac. Sayed in    Marcrag out an intricate design on a rolled pard    and aloof. Early ms, Id see    tern edge of camp, clad in    coat, sturdy s, p t time ever, s my toued to face me, srembled as if so cry.

        "s tter, Speck? Are you okay?"

        "Ive been oo    sno; Sook my ;ell steal off at t flurries."

        er, I s. Se flakes gat;Its time," sly as te susurrus trails, taking care to be ed at t o arrive. t, and ts of tricked us into going too soon. e squeezed into our spaly to fall overo close for t. to stay , ing    and respiration, and t from o sleep, too, and ogetc t to our books.

        Speck er evens. But I could not trate on ras, and instead stared at o tell    te, inplete, and per not friend in t a greater desire for more    rationalize or explain it a. Speck    Bear It A arm propped up he floor, her hair obsg her face.

        "Speck, I o tell you."

        "Just a moment. One more sentence."

        "Speck, if you could put do book for a sed."

        "Almost t; Suck he novel.

        S me, and in one sey mood sion to fear. "I ime, Speck, about you. I    to tell you ;

        less gaze. "Aniday, " sed.

        "I o tell you ;

        "Dont."

        "tell you, Speck, ;

        "Please, dont, ;

        I stopped, opened my mouto form topped again. " did you say?"

        "I dont kno I     rig;

        " did you call me?"

        So recapture the escaped name.

        "You called me ; tory unraveled in an instant. "ts me, Im s    it?"

        "Im so sorry, Aniday."

        " Aniday. ;

        " supposed to kno;

        t ell s aions peted in my mind. Images, solutions to assorted puzzles and riddles, and unansions. S doime, so me, rog and sootioouche chaos.

        And told me my story. tory told in told me ers filled in t. Sold me    all secret for so long.    is better not to kno t. Erase tient and il everyt could be ans unsatisfied. t, o darkion lasted, and t thing I remember is falling asleep in her arms.

        I     nigeto be. In tips. A blackbird sang. But in t en a single o me, but by my side, ter is etc give it all a te, "Goodbye, ;

        It ime fo. Speck is gone.
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