The Child Thief

particularly bright tonight. She focused on their magical glow, wishing she
could fly up among them, fly so far away that the man could never touch
her again.
A shadow blocked the stars. Someone was at the window looking in. In
the faint glow she could see it was a boy. The boy pulled the window up
and slid into the room with a quick, fluid movement.
“What the fu—” the man started, but the boy bounded across the room
and hit the man with both feet, knocking him backward and into the hall.
The boy moved fast, faster than the girl had ever seen anyone move, and
was at the man before he could regain his feet. Both the man and the boy
crashed down the hall and out of view.
Someone hit the wall hard enough to shake the girl’s bed frame. The
man let out a howl and something shattered. There came a single sharp cry
from the man, followed by a low “Oh, God” that sounded more like an
exhale than a heavy thud. The apartment fell silent.
The girl glanced at the open window and wondered if she should run,
but before she could, the boy reappeared, his wiry frame silhouetted in her
doorway.
He moved into the room and she drew back. This seemed to trouble the
boy and he slipped over to the window, leaped up, and perched on the sill.
He had a tangle of auburn, shoulder-length hair, a sprinkle of freckles
across his nose and cheeks, and his ears were—pointy. He looked up at the

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stars as though drinking in their magic, then back at her. She noticed the
color of his eyes: gold like a lynx.
He cocked his head, then smiled, and when he did, those golden eyes
sparkled. There was something wild in them, something exciting and
dangerous. He slid a leg out onto the fire escape and nodded for her to come
along.
She started to follow, then stopped. What was she thinking? She
couldn’t just follow this strange boy out into the night. She shook her head.
His smile fell. He glanced back up at the stars, then waved to her as
though to say good-bye.
“Wait,” she called.
He waited.
And that was as far as she got, unsure what to do next. The only thing
she was sure of was that she didn’t want this magical boy to leave her. A
sparkling star caught her eye. The stars were all so brilliant she found
herself wondering if she were in a dream, if maybe this boy had come down
from the heavens to take her away.
She blinked, tried to clear her head, needing a minute to think. She
wanted to go to the bathroom, but that would’ve meant going down the hall,
and she didn’t want to do that, didn’t want to see what the golden-eyed boy
had done to the man. And she didn’t want to let the boy out of her sight,
afraid this might break the spell, that when she returned he’d be gone
forever and she’d be alone. Her eyes fell on the man’s big brass belt buckle
sitting atop his wadded-up pants and she began to twist the hem of her
nightgown, tighter and tighter, until finally a sob escaped her throat. Tears
overtook her and she slid off the bed onto her knees.
The boy came and knelt beside her. While she cried into her hands, he
told her of an enchanted island where no grown-ups were allowed. Where
there were other kids like her, who loved to laugh and play. Where there
were great adventures to be had.
She wiped her eyes and managed to smile as she shook her head at his
silly story, but when he invited her to come along, she found herself
believing. And even though a voice deep within her warned her to stay
away from this strange boy, she wanted nothing more at that moment than
to follow along after him.
She glanced around the tiny room where the man had stolen so much
from her. There was nothing left but painful memories. What else did she

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have to lose?
This time, when the boy stood to go, she dressed quickly, following him
out onto the fire escape, down to the street, and into the night.
If the girl could only have spoken to the other boys and girls, the ones
that had followed the golden-eyed boy before her, she would have known
that there is always something left to lose.

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