“We are going to try something a little bit different today, Samantha”

      “Alright”

      The first speaker, a lady in a blue skirt outfit, with a light floral design along the bottom, guides the second, a young girl with dark brown curls framing her face, to a couch in a well furnished room. It is made of dark green leather. The young girls light yellow dress lies in sharp contrast as it falls across it and around her white lace stockings. She adjusts a pair of thick dark glasses over her eyes.

      “What shall we do, Ms. Burkins?”

      The woman smiles. “Let’s play a little game,” she says, “I want you to remember your most favorite place for me”

      The little girl nods and smiles. She concentrates on something outside the room, as if staring through the wall. It is an eerie look.

      The lady continues with her directions. “Would you describe it to me, Samantha?”

      “Yes, Ms. Burkins. There are trees here, and a lake. At the edge of the lake are a swing, and a slide. May I play on them Ms. Burkins?”

      “Not right now, Samantha,” She says, a little awkward, “Tell me more of what you see”

      “I feel the grass beneath my feet. It’s a windy day. Jimbie is here too, near the lake. I’m walking to the water now…”

      “Who is Jimbie?” The lady interrupts.

      “He is a friend. He helps me.”

      “Alright then, continue”

      “I am holding Jimbie’s hand. His feathers tickle my nose”

      “Feathers?”

      “Yes. Jimbie has wings when he wants”

      “Now Samantha, we mustn’t make things up”

      “But that’s what I see! Honest!”

      The lady nods. “Well, I suppose it can’t hurt. What are you doing now?”

      The little girl smiles. “Jimbie and are walking across the lake.”

      “In the lake, you mean?”

      “No, across. There is an island in the middle. The sand is hot on my toes. The is a door there.”

      “A door?”

      “Yes. I open it. Inside is… a hallway. There are steps; I’m walking down them. It is dark, but Jimbie makes a light for me. It floats in the air above our heads,” she says, and adds, proudly, “I am not afraid of the dark.”

      “No, you aren’t. That’s a good girl.”

      The little girl nods. “There is another door. There is a big monster on it. A Lev… Leviaton, Jimbie says. Leviathan. He says it protects the waters. I open this door too. Inside is the ocean.”

      “The ocean?”

      “Yes. I walk into it. I see the fish swimming about, and great rocks full of plants and animals and stuff. Everything is so pretty Ms. Burkins. There is a fish in front of me, he’s orange and white and black. Oh. It went away, into a plant… Ow! It stings…. Oh, Jimbie says it’s an animal, not a plant. Sorry.”

      “Yes… Indeed. A sea anemone.”

      “I have never seen one before.”

      “Really?”

      “We are moving again now. Very quickly. We are… at a city. High in the air. It’s cold. Jimbie brings me down again, on a big street. There are many buildings here, and many people, so Jimbie makes his wings go away. He holds my hand, and he takes me to one of the buildings. There is a sign out front”

      “What does it say, Samantha?”

      “Sandra Burkins, Carl… Mi-ko… vee-itch, offices of…. p…p-s…Sie…”

      “Wait. What does it say?”

      “I am going inside.”

      “What did the sign say?! Samantha!”

      “There is a hallway. It is rather long. It’s cold, too. There is a plant in the corner, bigger than me. It has pink flowers.”

      “Pink… flowers…?”

      “Yes. Pink flowers…”

      “How?! You’ve never seen…”

      “We are walking down the hallway. There is an elevator, with big brass buttons. Jimbie pushes the top one. We are waiting now.”

      “Samantha, tell me how you know this.”

      “The door opens, we go inside. He pushes the number three. It lights up!”

      “Samantha…”

      “The door opens again. We step outside, and some people get on. We walk down the hall. Jimbie stops at a door. It has numbers on it. Three… Two… Three.”

      “Three… Two… Oh my…”

      The lady looks to the door as it opens. In walks the little girl, and a tall man who her eyes don’t quite see, and her mind doesn’t quite comprehend.

      “I see the two of us! You look surprised… Jimbie walks toward me… the other me, on the couch”

      The man takes the hands of both little girls, removes the glasses from the first. He seems to glow. He takes the two little hands, with their delicate fingers, and touches them together. A blinding light fills the room. When it clears, there is only one little girl, holding the glasses in her hands, staring at the lady with twinkling brown eyes. The lady is speechless.

      “Thank you Ms. Burkins”