“Look, Mommy! Look at me!”

There was that electric zap of guilt in my jaw again. Why couldn’t I leave my phone alone for five minutes and enjoy an afternoon in the park with my son?

I shoved it deep into the pocket of my cardigan. “Wow, buddy! Look how high you are!”

He gave me one of his soul-melting smiles as his feathery blonde hair swept up in the breeze. It’s funny how quickly you forget that free-falling feeling of swinging. But looking at him just then, I suddenly remembered.

I hoped he would never forget.

A flash of gold caught my eye and my gaze turned from my euphoric toddler to the slightly older girl next to him. Her bronze hair shimmered in the sunlight as she swung beside my son. She was maybe six or seven. Maybe a little older. It took me a minute to realize what was odd about her: she wasn’t smiling. She swung back and forth with a face of stone. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a child *not* smile or laugh while on a swing. Quite frankly, it gave me the creeps.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I brushed the feeling off as I answered a text from my sister. Just a quick “I’m fine. Hbu?” But that’s all the time it took.

When I looked back at the swing set, she was gone. And so was my son.

Immediately, I broke out into a cold sweat despite the chilly autumn weather. Everything seemed to move in slow motion around me. My head was suddenly in a vacuum and I couldn’t hear any sounds except the rapid gunfire of my beating heart.

They weren’t far; I found them in seconds that lasted an eternity. Halfway across the play yard - that was it. She had him by the hand, pulling him slightly, but mostly, he looked like he’d gone willingly.

“Jason!” I ran the short distance, and caught him up in my arms, squishing him against my chest. “You have to ask Mommy before you go somewhere else on the playground, okay?” He mumbled something into my shoulder, and I loosened my grip on him.

I turned my attention to the little girl. She would have been beautiful if her face was alive with emotion...any emotion. But she was still stony-faced, just staring blankly at me. “Where’s your mommy, sweetie?”

I glanced around the playground to see if anyone appeared to be looking for a child. Everyone around me looked calm and absorbed in their own children.

“Are you here by yourself? Do you live around here?” Nothing. “What’s your name.”

Though the rest of her face remained unchanged, her blue eyes darkened, threatening me to pry further. “I don’t know,” she replied in monotone.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something was very wrong here. I clutched my son a little tighter. “Where were you taking him?” I whispered.

“Ouch, Mommy! Too tight! Please can I play on the monkey bars?”

I kissed his forehead and tried to smile. “Sure, bud. But don’t go anywhere else without asking.” He ran gleefully toward his destination, and I turned back to question the little girl some more.

But she was gone.