Yitzi sped through the blessing after the meal as quickly as he could, and naturally stumbled a few times and had to repeat himself. It was crazy – he’d been saying the blessing for years, there was no reason for him to be making mistakes now!

Jamming the bentscher into his pocket, he sped out of the kitchen, calling a quick “thanks” over his shoulder as he hurried to catch up with the other boys. He pushed open the door – and stopped. Andrew and Danny were nowhere in sight. He scanned the yard and then stepped out, letting the door swing closed behind him. He saw an empty, badly overgrown  yard, ending in a thick wood a few dozen yards away, but no Andrew or Danny.

“Hey! Guys” he shouted, walking slowly away from the house. The grass and weeds clung to his ankles, and several times he kicked at them, annoyed. Why did those guys have to pull a prank on him like this? He stomped to the one obvious path through the trees and took a breath to calm himself. Then he stepped onto it, bracing himself for the obvious shouts as they jumped out to scare him.

Nothing. Puzzled, he stopped and peered into the trees. They weren’t all that thick, so he ought to be able see them if they were hiding near the start of the path. Evidently, they were waiting further down. Shaking his head, he started walking again, slowly, and forced himself to whistle as though completely unaware of what was going to happen. After twenty yards of no noises beyond those of the occasional bird call, he stopped again. Where were they? He turned around and looked back. The path rose behind him, and its twisting obscured the start, but when he looked up, he could see the top of the house through the trees. Determined, he headed back with an idea of how to out-fox the others.

He knocked on the back door and Andrew’s mother opened it. “Is something wrong, Yitzi? Where are the boys?”

“I can’t find them. I think they’re hiding. Can I take a look from the back third floor window?”

“Really?” She peered past him for a moment and then turned to him, her lips compressed in anger. “Come with me.

Yitzi followed her out of the kitchen to the study, where Andrew’s father and brother were busy unpacking boxes, to the accompaniment of some popular music thay Yitzi didn’t recognize. The music seemed to be coming out of the brother’s pocket.

“Bradley,” she snapped. “Would you please take Yitzi upstairs so he can see out of Natalie’s window?”

Bradley and his father stared at one another in surprise.

“What happened?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Andrew and Danny were supposed to wait for Yitzi, but they’ve run off. Yitzi wants to see if he can see them from the third floor.”

“Bradley, do as your mother says,” her husband said.

“C’mon,” Bradley said, leading to the way to the stairs. “Yitzi, huh? Is that Hebrew or something?” Yitzi nodded. A few steps up, the music, which had followed them, suddenly stopped. So did Bradley, who pulled out his iPhone and stared at it in annoyance. “Hey, is your phone working? I keep losing the signal.”

“I… don’t have a phone,” Yitzi admitted.

“Oh. I just… I guess they can be a bit expensive.” Evidently embarassed, Bradley turned and led the way up the steps once again.

“No,” Yitzi explained, following him, “it’s just that I’m not allowed one at school, and Abba says there’s no point in paying for one I can only use a few months out of the year.”

“Huh. Abba?”

“My father.”

“Why do you call him that? In church they told us that Abba means Daddy.”

Yitzi flushed. “It’s just what we call him.”

“Huh.” They had reached the third floor, and Yitzi saw Natalie coming out of the attic and closing the door behind her. She was now wearing a modest blouse and a skirt that ended just below her knees. She hadn’t noticed them.

“Hey, Gnat!” Bradley called.

His sister jumped and looked guilty. “Andrew was in there, before. Why shouldn’t I look? Anyway, it’s too dark.”

“No, Mom says you should let Yitzi look out your window. Andrew and his friend ran away and he wants to see if he can spot them. Hey, is your iPhone working?”

Natalie had opened her mouth to say something to Yitzi and then swung back to her brother at his question. She fished out her own phone, turned it on and tapped its surface several times. “I don’t have a signal” she said, after a moment.

“I knew it. We’re probably out of the coverage area. I’m telling Dad.” And he turned and clomped down the stairs.

The other two watched him for a moment before Natalie spoke. “Did you guys find anything interesting in there? It’s pretty dark.”

“We used flashlights.”

“Oh. There’s a really stupid light switch in there. It’s way up high. I had to climb on a chair, and it didn’t work.” She led the way to another door and held it open. “My room’s kind of a mess. I’m still unpacking.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Yitzi said, moving to the window. From up here, he could see over the woods; there was a creek on the other side.

“I’m sure my brother wouldn’t really run away,” Natalie said, coming to his side. “He probably just got distracted.” The two of them looked out the window together. The woods and the stream both ran a fair ways to either side. “Is this the way the girls you know dress?” she asked.

Yitzi answered while still scanning the scene. “Um, yeah, but my sisters wear longer skirts.”

“Oh, you have sisters?” Natalie persisted. “How old are they?”

“Um, Sima Rochel is ten and Chava Leah is seven.” Suddenly he pointed. “There they are!” Andrew and Danny were just coming around a bend in the stream, and with them was another boy, in leather overalls but no shirt.

“There, I told you!” Natalie said, triumphantly. “They met a new boy and just got distracted.”

“Yeah, thanks,” called Yitzi as he headed back to the stairs.

“You have to introduce me to your sister,” Natalie yelling after him.

“Sure!” he answered, running down. Now that he knew were to find them, he felt a lot better. “I saw them,” he shouted as he raced into the kitchen and out the back door. Now he didn’t hesitate, but ran right for the woods, barely registering the ring of mushrooms that now surrounded the house. The path through the woods was a few feet to the right of where he’d remembered it being, but he ignored that as well.

Panting, he emerged on the other side and looked to his right. There they were, coming towards him. “Hey, Guys,” he shouted, but instead of welcoming him, all three were shouting something and waving their arms as though telling him to go away. A bit hurt, he stopped in surprise, and then took a few more tentative steps, which just elicted more urgent cries and gestures.

Suddenly, he was aware of a massive shadow on the ground in front of him. A shadow that was moving rapidly towards him. He looked up to see what it was and was shocked to see what looked like a dragon right out of the picture books in the attic. Shocked, he looked back to see the strange boy running towards him and suddenly turning into a centaur! Mouth agape, he froze. Then he realized that the dragon was diving for him, turned and starting running back to the shelter of the woods. But they were many yards away, and even as he ran, he saw the great beast’s shadow merge with his own and felt a giant claw lifting him into the sky.