I am gone.

    t a fairy tale, but true ory of my double life, left be all began, in case I may be found again.

    My oory begins y years ago, on an August afternoon, I ran aain trivial and forgotten matters set me off, but I remember preparing for a long journey, stuffing my pockets s left over from lunc of tly t my mot not know I .

    From to t, our yard , as if a borderland to cross carefully, in fear of be-ing exposed. Upon reac safe and illness nestled in trees. topped singing, and ts  rest. tired of t, a tree groaned as if sing in its rooted position. t every rare and passing breeze. As treeline, I came across an imposing cnut  its base big enougo crao , to listen for to beckon, I  move. t sing quot;; in ternoon, in t of dusk, in tarry nigo anss bounced crazily among trees, and ty crasumbling over stumps and fallen logs, passing me by. Soon to tance, faded to eco ermined not to be found.

    I burroo my den, pressing my face against tree, ins s rot and dankness, t my skin. A lole sounded farao a  dreensified and quickened. t galloped toree and stopped s of my ing breatfall. I curled up tigo to my feet. Cold fingers wrapped around my bare ankle and pulled.

    to ted once before a small  my mouted a gag. In tures remained obscure, but tripped me of my clottle cionally strong boys and girls, had kidnapped me.

    t and ran. Racing t at breakneck speed on my back, I reaming by like a meteor sly from me in darkness. tic creatures moved about e ting terrain and obsta-cles of trees  a cumble. Gliding like an o forest, I o one an-ot sounded like t sounded like quot;Come a; or quot;; Most fell silent, altart o a canter along er dis-cerned to be ablisrails t served the woods.

    Mosquitos lit upon t, biting me at o itcely ed to scratcs, cicadas, and peeping frogs, er babbled and gurgled nearby. ttle devils ced in unison until to a sudden . I could o ter.

    Droerrible o go. It  t t alarmed me, or tual impact  taposition of er s. t come out of my mout loosed. Submerged, I could no longer see, and I tried for a moment to  t t and sinuses as my lungs quickly filled. My life did not flas call out for my moto God. My last ts  of dying, but of being dead. ters encompassed me, even to my soul, t, and  my head.

    Many years later, ion evolved into legend, it  ed me, out s a stream of er a-sadpoles and tiny fis memory is of a caked in my nose and mout of reeds. Seated above on rocks and stumps and surrounding me ly talking toget even ted ticed me a still, as muc of fear as embarrassment, for my body  like a waking dream or as if I had died and had been born again.

    ted at me and spoke ement. At first, t of tune, full of strangled consonants and static. But ration, I could ed Englisiously so as not to startle me, t approaced from its doe.

    quot;e t you mig make it.quot;

    quot;Are you ;

    quot;Are you ty? ould you like some er?quot;

    t closer, and I could see tribe of lost c and asting ss or old-fastoms of t angles. A fee set of original baby teeteet. Only one,  teet top of e. inized me, faint cro gat t eyes. t look like any c ancients in wild childrens bodies.

    t tings, and ts, tom tes at ta-sia. Not little redo t Santas rolls, and oters from tuck in time, ageless, feral as a pack of wild dogs.

    A girl, bro, squatted near me and traced patterns in t near my ;My name is Speck.quot; tared at me. quot;You need to eat somet; S tercress, and ed roasted beetles. I refused t but ables er from a ers, tcently,  my face from time to time, smiling w my eye.

    to take ay dis me a pair of trousers. Sruggled beneat, and t out laugried to button my fly  revealing my nakedness. I ion to sroduced himself and his cronies.

    quot;I am Igel,quot;  back ;t;

    Béka hers.

    quot;And t; Dressed in a boys striped s and s pants epped to t. Sed and smiled at me, and I bluso t-bone. ips o eat.  elboo get a bet-ter look at t of them.

    quot;Im ; I croaked, my voice rah suffering.

    quot;; Onions smiled, and everyone laug tion. to c quot;Aniday, Aniday,quot; and a cry sounded in my . From t time forime I forgot my given name, alt  of tened, my old identity began to fade, muc remember all t  is born. to lose ones name is tting.

    As troduced eac t my ears. to  ringed t, I ie me up to be baptized yet again, but most of took scant notice of my panic. t, anxious to begin, and Igel strode over to my bedside. quot;ere going on a scavenger , Aniday. But you need to stay . Youve been te an ordeal.quot;

    ried to stand up, I met tance of .  rength of a grown man.

    quot;; I asked.

    quot;Béka and Onions ay  some rest.quot;  a sound, and before I could raise a est, to t like gly o me, quot;Youre one of us no; to join thers.

    I lay back doaring into trees and across t, I ured into t I o suc, lonesome place. tnut, oak, and elm grealler  rimming trable.  umps and logs and ts of a campfire. A skink sunned itself on t Igel  upon. Nearby, a box turtle so its s up to take a closer look.

    Standing proved to be a mistake and left me ed. I ed to be  of my motening to o my baby sisters, but instead I felt to ent on ts-cradle in ized me ed, I laid my body do and y. ternoon drifted by cc t of consciousness, I could not move my tired bones, ts t o t troubles t led beneat. op of ing, and somacurned tourned aion and disgust cla one anoturned until t, so tle frog snored contentedly. My stomac, and nausea rolled into me like a fever. Friged to run arange place.