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Yes. Masks. Black ski masks. Sitting on the table next to the briefcase. And something shiny.
Do you stop to look at these things?
Not for very long. But I like shiny things. I pick it up. It’s gold. It’s a circle. It has letters on it.
You mean it’s engraved.
Yeah. Letters. T. And something else. I don’t remember.
Look around the kitchen once more. Do you see anything else?
No. I drop the shiny thing, and I run.
Where do you run?
There’s a door right by the table. A screen door, and then another door that’s locked. But I can unlock it from the inside, and I open it, and I run.
Again…where do you run?
I just start running. I’m in grass. I run and I run and I run… And then it’s different. I’m in a field, and now I have clothes on, and I see a house.
You escaped. But I need you to go back to the house, back where they kept you.
No! No, I won’t go back there. You can’t make me go back there!
You have to if you want to find anything else.
Nothing else! I won’t go back! No! No! No!
Everything is fine. You never have to go back. You’re not there. You’re on the beach, lying in the sun…
* * *
“Relax,” I said. “You’re not there, Talon. You’re here. In Jonah’s house. And you’re safe. Relax and count back with me. Nine, eight, seven…”
“Six, five, four, three, two, one.” Talon’s voice became calmer.
“You’re safe here. Now open your eyes.”
He opened his eyes and then sat up, clearly agitated. “Oh my God. I didn’t know what that thing was at the time. I was just a kid. But it was a cuff link.”
“It was?”
“Yeah. It was a gold cuff link. I wanted to keep it. If I found it anywhere else, I would’ve put it in my pocket. But I didn’t have a pocket.”
“Instead you left it there.”
“Yes. I threw it on the ground.”
“You said it had letters on it. One was a T. Can you remember anything else? Maybe the other letters?”
He shook his head. “I can’t believe I haven’t remembered that until now. It’s all clear as day. There was a T, and then I got scared and threw it down.”
“Are you sure there was more than one letter?”
“Yes, I think so. Damn!” He rose from the bed and paced around the room. “Why didn’t I stop and look harder?”
“Because your first thought was getting out of there, as it should have been. Don’t berate yourself. You were ten. You did the best you could.”
