Tim and Anna stood right behind the door for a very long time, as quiet as they could. After some time had passed, Anna said, “I think we’re okay. I don’t think whoever came in knows we’re up here.”
“I think so too, but whoever they are, they’re still downstairs. I can hear them. I think they’re packing up the dishes and glasses in the kitchen.”
“Well, should we see where this door leads?”
Tim nodded. He already knew he was in another hallway. He had realized that when they had been waiting to be discovered. It was dark and he could barely see Anna, who was right next to him. They both started looking for a light switch by running their hands along the walls in the hallway, as they walked. “I wish we could find a light!” Anna exclaimed.
By the time she had finished saying the word light, a strange thing had begun to happen. Her hand seemed to be glowing. “Tim!”
Tim stopped and looked in the direction of Anna’s voice. Immediately he noticed her hand. “Um, did you know you could do that?” was all he could think to ask.
Anna shook her head. “Well, I guess you found your power.”
Anna nodded. She held her hand out in front of her. The light wasn’t very bright. She could see about a foot in front of her and then it was dark. “This won’t be very helpful if we have to look through anything in there,” she said gesturing ahead, “I wish it was brighter.”
Again, as soon as she finished her last work, the glow changed into a bright light. The entire hallway was lit, and they could see into the secret room, she could make out a desk, against the far wall. Tim grinned. “Come on!” he said, grabbing her unlit hand and pulling her into the room.
They stopped just inside the doorway. Tim took in the room, a section at a time. There was a desk straight across from him, filled with scattered paper, books, and pictures. On either side of the desk were bookcases, filled with books, which sort of resembled his dad’s office downstairs. To his right, there was no furniture, but instead, what looked like a window. As he looked closer, he realized it wasn’t a real window, but something tugged at his memory. Not being able to bring whatever he was thinking to the surface, he continued his survey of the room. Across from the fake window, to his left was a large, overstuffed chair and ottoman. The room looked well used. Tim couldn’t help but wonder when his parents used it, since he couldn’t think of a time when he couldn’t find them. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this room. I guess we should start looking around, since we’re here.”
Anna moved toward the desk. Tim looked at the window. It seemed so odd. He approached it and touched the glass pane. Nothing happened. He tapped along the edge of the frame. Still nothing. He tried focusing hard, to figure out why this window seemed so important. Nothing happened. Unable to figure anything out, he turned to move away. The curtain he had been holding back floated back into place, which he saw from the corner of his eye. Suddenly a memory came flooding back.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tim is very small. He is sitting on the floor and above him is a floating piece of fabric. He tries to grab it, but it’s just out of his reach. A laugh reaches his ears. He looks past the fabric and sees Mommy. Mommy is looking at Daddy, who just walked into the room. “Da-DEE!” he yells and raises his arms.
Daddy looks down at him and smiles. He steps closer and lifts him into the air. Tim loves being lifted high. He squeals in delight. Daddy looks at Mommy and says, “You know you can’t bring him in here much longer, if you want to keep everything from him till he’s older. He’s going to start remembering things soon.”
Mommy looks sad. “I know. He’s not going to be my little baby much longer.”
Tim doesn’t like that. Whose baby will he be, if not Mommy’s? The happiness he felt being lifted into the air fades. He starts to cry. Mommy walks towards him and takes him from Daddy’s arms. She bounces him up and down on her hip. “Shhh, baby. What’s the matter?”
Tim looks at Mommy through his tears. She’s smiling again. He still isn’t quite sure what to feel. What was it that made him sad? Was Mommy leaving him? Mommy walks to the window. Tim likes the window. Mommy makes it do pretty things. Mommy holds her hand in front of the window and closes her eyes. Tim watches as pictures start flickering across the glass. Tim sees himself. Mommy and Daddy are on either side of him and he seems a lot smaller than he is right now. He has no hair! That makes Tim smile a little. Mommy moves her hand again and Tim sees Mommy with the people she says are called Mom-mom and Pop-pop. They’re looking at her and smiling. They look nice. Mommy whispers, “They would love you so much, Tim.”
Tim feels this makes Mommy a little sad. Tim wishes they would come see him for real, so Mommy would be happy. The pictures stop and Tim sees what he thinks is Mommy’s favorite one. She always leaves it there. Tim sees grass and hills and a big sun. Mommy smiles again. “That’s home, Tim. I wish I was home.”
Daddy comes and stands behind them. He puts his arms around both Tim and Mommy. He doesn’t say anything. Tim knows something happened
