Saxon Andrew: Love conquers all

“Okay.”

She stood up and placed her hand over her eyes, counted to ten, opened her eyes, and began searching for Thomas. She looked behind the sofa, the desk, the chair, and in the hallway. After five minutes she was certain that he was nowhere to be found in that room. Then she had a thought. “Thomas,” she said, “stay exactly where you are and don’t move.” She turned around and there he was, right behind her.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

“You know, Mom. I just move away from where you’re going to look.”

She looked at her little boy and said, “I’m still not sure I understand. Do you mean to say you know where my eyes are looking?”

“No, I just know where you’re not looking; the shadows around you show it. Don’t you know where I’m not going to look?”

“Let’s try it this way, Thomas. You’re standing right here in front of me. How long would I have to close my eyes for you to hide?”

“Mom… Just close your eyes and count to one.”

“Oh, one more thing, Thomas. When I say Neil, you immediately reply with Armstrong. This will make it harder for you to hide. Understand?”

“Sure, Mom.” He liked this because Neil Armstrong was one of his favorite ancient heroes.

She blinked and Tag disappeared. She would say Neil and she would immediately hear from right behind her, “Armstrong.” Try as she might, she could not see him. She turned left, jerked back to the right, and turned circles, saying Neil as fast as she could and hearing Armstrong in reply each time, but she was still unable to see him. Finally she just lay down on the floor and turned her head from side to side. It was then that she saw him right next to her, laughing.

“I knew you were going to lie down, but you told me not to leave the room. So you win, you caught me.”

She laid there on the carpet for a moment and then said, “Thomas, if you could leave the room, would you have avoided me seeing you when I lied down?”

“Sure, but rules are rules. You always taught me to play by the rules.”

“So you didn’t leave the playground this morning.”

“No, Mom. Rules are rules.”

She got off the floor and went back to her chair. Then she said, “Thomas, tell me how you do this. I need to know what you do to avoid being seen.”

“Mom, I just go where the person looking for me is not looking. I move into the shadows I see around them. As you turned around, I moved toward the shadows I saw on the side away from your turn. The shadows appear whenever I want to avoid being seen. Unless I look for them, they aren’t there.”

“How do you know where I will be looking?”

“There won’t be any shadows. There’s a sort of shadow that I see when I move to hide. It looks like the shadow you have behind you when a light is shining in front of you. If the light moves right, then your shadow moves left and I move left to stay in the shadow. I guess if you think of your eyes as looking in the direction of the light, then the shadow will move away from where you’re looking. Then all I have to do is go wherever I see the shadow, and I won’t be where you’re looking. I don’t even have to watch the person looking for me, I just move toward the shadows I see behind them. When you turn as fast as you just did then I have to move quickly, but the shadows show me where to go.”

“Are you telling me that you know where someone will look before they know?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I just see the shadow and know they won’t be looking there. I’ve noticed them before, but I didn’t really pay attention to them unless we were playing tag; that is until the game today, and it worked.”

“What else do you know about someone looking for you?”

“Well, I know whenever anyone is deliberately looking at me.”

His mother gave a startled look and said, “What? What do you mean?”

“Well, you know the machines that are on all the walls in town that take your picture?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I like playing a game with them so that I always turn my head when they turn toward me. I don’t think they’ve ever gotten a picture of me and I can see places around me where the machine isn’t looking.”

“So you can tell if anything or anyone is looking at you whether it’s a man or machine?”

“Sure. I know at night when you’re watching me. Can’t you tell when you’re being watched?”

She thought about what he was saying and then said, “Thomas, stand in front of me looking away from me.” Tag got up and did as she asked. “Now, whenever I look at you say ‘now.’”

Tag closed his eyes and sensed his mother behind him sitting in her favorite green chair. She looked out the window and then quickly looked at Tag and heard him immediately say, “Now.” She looked at the floor and then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Now,” Tag said. She waited a minute, then again quickly looked. “Now,” Tag said.

This is impossible, she thought. “Thomas, if there were many people looking for you at the same time, would they see you?”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t if there were shadows to hide in. Besides, I just learned to play today. I’ve never tried to do this like today. It sure is a lot of fun though.”

“Thomas, I want you to listen to me. This is important. The most important thing I’ve ever told you.” She lifted him up and sat him in her lap. “This ability that you have to see shadows and know when you’re being watched or where someone will look for you is a gift that no one else has. It could get you into a lot of trouble if other people learned about it. You can’t let anyone else know about these things you’re able to do.” His eyes got big and he thought that his mother must be wrong. “Thomas, what other times do you use this gift?”

“Well, whenever we play tag I use it to not get caught. I also sometimes use it to sneak to the front of the lunch line.” Tag laughed and said, “People wonder how I got there, but no one has caught me yet.”

“Thomas, no one can do the things you just described to me; absolutely no one. You’re able to sense things no one else can. This is a unique gift, but it’s dangerous,” his mother said very seriously.

She then explained to her seven-year-old that the world operated by everyone strictly following the rules, and a lot of his education was designed to teach him to follow every instruction he was given. That’s why his teacher was so upset when she thought he had disobeyed a rule by leaving the playground. Tag’s mother told him that he could be smart and learn all his studies, but if he could not follow the rules the government would place him in a job that would let them keep a close eye on him in the future. She said that those who could not follow rules were also not allowed to marry and have children. If the government had the slightest idea that he could prevent them from watching him, then they may put him in a place where he would have no freedom.

“Mom, I didn’t break any rules.”

“I know,” she said. “But if you have the ability to break the rules without being seen, then the government would be very nervous about someone like you. Thomas, it’s extremely important that only your father and I ever know about your gift. I know it’ll be hard not to share it or use it with your friends now that you know they can’t do what you do. But someday they will tell someone and the government will come looking for you. Promise me, promise me to the bottom of your heart, that you will never reveal or use this gift you possess. Have you told anyone else about what you’re able to do?”

Tag sat back down on the footstool in front of his mother and thought for a few moments and remembered starting to tell Eric, but he remembered that they had been interrupted. “No, I’ve only really learned about it today. I promise! I promise, Mom, I’ll keep it hidden.”