A sharp pain splintered through Mandy’s calves as she darted past fallen trees in a desperate attempt to avoid a misstep. Though her legs screamed for rest, Mandy continued to run, feet pounding on the hard earth in a chase that was yielding fruitless results. She stopped to catch her breath and threw up a hand to shield her pale blue eyes from the too- hot sun. “Come on Jaime, this isn’t funny anymore”, she screamed, hoping her voice projected in the right direction. Her seven-year-old son, Jaime, had become obsessed with playing tag recently. Now, in the middle of their hike, he had decided that it was the perfect time to test her patience by sprinting off unprompted. When she got no response, Mandy tightened her hands around the straps of her backpack and picked up her pace again. Worry was starting to pool in her gut; It was unlike Jaime to go missing for so long, despite this game being a regular occurrence. After a few more minutes of silently searching, Mandy heard a voice somewhere in the distance calling out to her. She halted instantly and strained her ears. “Was that you, Jaime?” Only silence greeted her in return. She was about to continue running, thinking the heat was getting to her head, when the voice came again, much clearer this time. “Mom?” Mandy’s heart throbbed so hard against her breastbone that she was afraid it would beat out of her chest entirely. It was Jaime; she’d recognize that voice anywhere. Cupping her hands over her mouth she screamed into the wind, hoping her voice would find his ears. “I’m coming, Honey. Just stay right where you are and keep speaking so I can follow your voice”. She waited for a few seconds and almost cried in relief when she heard Jaime’s voice again. Though his words were faint, she knew he was reciting the monologue for the school play; the one she had helped him spend hours memorizing. ‘Smart kid’, she thought, as she lightly jogged in the direction of the voice. After some time, the voice stopped completely, and Mandy realized he had come to the end of the monologue. She lifted her gaze and scanned her surroundings for his bright red jacket. She was about to call out to him again when a flicker of red caught her eye at the base of a tree. Mandy headed in the direction of the tree and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the small boy sitting with his head bowed between his knees. “Jaime?”, she whispered, crouching down beside him. He lifted his head and looked up at her, dark brown eyes swimming with tears and ruddy cheeks streaked with dirt. “Mom?”, he asked, blinking at her slowly. Mandy nodded and Jaime wrapped his arms around her neck in a tight embrace. “I-I thought I got lost”, he hiccupped between chocked sobs. “Hey, it’s okay, J. I’m here now”, she cooed, one arm wrapping around his waist to draw him near and the other stroking his thick head of blonde hair. Mandy felt terrible that her son was so distressed, but she also felt immensely relieved to see him safe and unharmed. When he pulled away, Mandy reached out a hand and gently wiped away the tears on his cheeks. “We know now to never run off alone in the woods, right?”, she said, her tender tone taking on a sterner edge. ‘Though it must’ve been traumatizing for him, this would also be a learning moment’, she thought. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the hem of his shirt before nodding. “I promise. Never again” Mandy smiled affectionately down at him and stoked his cheek. “Good. You were so brave though; it was a good idea to recite your monologue so I could find you. Looks like you finally memorized it!”, Mandy said cheerily, hoping to lighten the moment. Jaime looked at her with a puzzled expression and frowned. “What? I never said anything”, he answered, head cocked to the side in confusion. “Yes, you did. I told you I’d follow your voice and you said the monologue we went over last night.” Jaime shook his head and looked at his mother as though she were crazy. “No, I didn’t. I just sat there-”, he pointed to where she had found him earlier “-and I was crying and then you just found me”. Chills instantly ran down Mandy’s spine and her heart sputtered in her chest at Jaime’s words. Jaime was never one to lie, especially not at a time like this. She got up quickly and grabbed Jaime by the wrist, lifting him into a standing position. “Come on J, we have to get to the car”. The fear that was forming in the back of her mind made her pull him a little too roughly into a fast-paced walk. “Is everything okay, mom?” “Yes, honey. It’s just getting dark. Let’s get to the car”. What Mandy didn’t say was that it was more than just the dark that scared her now. Either Jaime had somehow become a very skilled liar, or something far more sinister had happened today in the woods. Even as she saw the red Honda waiting for them in the parking lot, Mandy felt her thoughts returning to that nagging fear at the back of her mind: That something else had been in the forest with them. It wasn’t until they were both strapped in the car, ready to head out of the park grounds, that another thought entered her mind. In her moment of relief at finding him, Mandy has dismissed the memory that Jaime had inherited her blue eyes, and not the pair of brown ones that were currently peering at her through the rearview mirror.