Despite being underer for a day, tified as t of young Oscar Love. t pulled back, t of t o look closely.  not been for trange netting around terlogged corpse, maybe no one  anytragic accident. o rest under ts left to te grief. But suspicions  t transported to ty morgue for a proper autopsy and inquest. t found only strange effects. to all out Oscar later told me about tropernal organs, t, ted lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, and brain of a deatenarian.

    trangeness and sorro of Jimmy Cummings. it of to t nig  returned.  s tal,  until t evening did George begin to  of us  Jimmy, desperate for any neo go back to t evening if t just as I sat doc be trying to reac my moto sit.

    quot;I dont like your friends calling in t; Mom picked up ts cradle on ter ste of surprise, s. Surned to finiso stare at t , turned to she news.

    quot;Its a miracle. t was Oscar Love. Jimmy Cummings is okay, and ;

    My sisters stopped mid-bite, tared at o repeat tions of ences.

    quot;t of togettle Oscar Love.quot;

    Elizabettered on te.

    quot;Youre kidding. Alive?quot; Mary said.

    quot;Far out,quot; said Elizabeth.

    Distracted, Mom fretted  emples. Sood behinking.

    quot;Isnt ; I asked.

    quot;ell ... t be a mistake.quot;

    quot;ts a ake, Mom,quot; Mary said.

    Elizabet-so-rorical question . quot;So ;

    Mary asked ;ts so cool.quot;

    My mot aring at te of fried c in abstraction, reconciling rue  s o believe. too nervous to eat, I retired to templation. On my second Camel, I ang veered off tailing to a stop. to t t out of to a ponytail, a pair of rose-colored glasses perco a broad grin. Mary and Elizabeted  ook tairs in tood directly in front of me, expecting a heros welcome. e shook hands.

    quot;elcome back from t;

    quot;Man, you kno tell if oned or just .

    Mom burst til urned red. Not able to restrain t longer, my sisters joined in, nearly tackling chem unpeel one by one.

    quot;tell us all about it,quot; my mot;ould you like a drink? Let me get you an iced tea.quot;

    ctan. Unable to decide upon a sister, Jimmy slumped onto ttee, and t my post at turned, Mom sat beside Jimmy, beaming at him as if he were her own son.

    quot;;

    quot;Oers of grace defend us.quot;

    quot;ts  ;As if Oscar miged out of  believe elling t to take to ttle Oscar  to be buried, tack, man, and Libby ouc are you? Can you speak to me? And to , and s.quot;

    tical beings, one dead, the child.

    quot;All tors and nurses freaked out, too. Speaking of nurses,   ot;

    t was no boy.

    quot;Learts s a times. And Oscar, big Oscar, came in a fees later, tine o see me, too. tions start flying, and of course I already told tory to t us to tal on account of  tell, t a ttle strung out, like ripping, and ty tired and dirty and ty.quot;

    A big storm darkened in tern skies. In t, tures ed an underground  campsite, a maze of tunnels t sered ther.

    quot;But you o kno in my ride and drove rig;

    ea in a single gulp, and my mot once. S of us, greory  to , s;So, tle Oscar?quot;

    quot;ell you t I sa nurse, tess ode nig so caug kid t I lost track of time. My copped dead around  seven.  because it must er nine. Not t I believe in gs or anyt, just t it ;

    I ccudied torm, trying to calculate its tempo. If one or t, to look for a cave or a ree to  out t.

    quot;So I . And at t point, Im concerned about finding my o. I come to ts starlit and spooky. t ovals in a ring around t, rig;

    On fair summer nig above ground. e read t of foul  I es from tones in the river again.

    quot;t sticks from a campfire t some freakin ers or backpackers left, and if I o stay t in t be a good place since, obviously, someone ayed ize me, for next trangest dreams. ions. Bad acid. A voice from far atle boy calling and calling Mama, but I cant see oo tired to get up. You ever  its really going off beside your bed? Only you ts just a dream, so you dont get up to s if off, t up t you  it ringing?quot;

    quot;I t dream every morning,quot; said Mary.

    quot;Dig it. I cant see  I can tle Oscar crying out for art looking for  me o find you. So arts calling out, Im under  see  ry to follos  tuff t someone s a trap. Im struck in to my armpits in t  nearby. A bad scene, man, a bad scene.quot;

    topped s about torm and concentrated on t it receded in talk.

    quot;I rapped up against t arent on ttom of t, but dangling t top of a bottomless pit. Or maybe somet ttom, going to get me.quot;  at the girls, who screamed and giggled.

    quot;I stayed still, considering my situation, Mrs. Day, and I s out to Little Oscar to be cool ting on my nerves. And I says, Im stuck in a  I  you as soon as I can figure out a o get out. And s a tunnel. So I tell o cra out?quot;

    In tance, to roll up t a sudden wrack of lighe song had slipped my mind again.

    quot;Morning comes, so nouck in a  give myself a skos, all I o do is t and dourns out I  or ttom. But my feet are asleep, and my arms are aco take a leak—pardon my Frencired, but t boy—quot;

    e jumped at a loud boom of t t filled tricity and tto first fat drops las betable chairs.

    quot;At ttom of t; Jimmy continued over t;tunnels in t directions. I sed doo unnels, man, unbelievably cool. Lord kno real skinny, like maybe kids made til you come to times big enoug. And at eacunnels. It just noo me t I saV e. Like ts a Vietnamese camp?quot;

    quot;Do you really t; I asked, quot;t tcong  up camp in t;

    quot;No, man. Do you ts o go into tunnels to find t back and fortrying not to get lost,  notice t first because of all t and grime—;

    quot; o ; Mom asked.

    tripped o make s  they were doing.

    quot;Mrs. Day, I  to do  up out of t ledges  notice t up ed, like climbing a ladder.quot;

    I  tter part of a mont t picture tantly digging in the warren.

    quot;It e o tramp back till looking for us. So ting t to do next, o ty blanket ts lying tasore in t, dried-out musreasure.quot;

    I looked out torm ed. hey gone?

    quot;As Im fixing up dinner, Oscar starts poking around trying to find a o open time pants like knickerbockers and a dingy er.  believe tuff ts out ts, mittens. e go around uncovering all ttons, a poucion, and old cards and neuff ten on ticing ring, a y scissors. t told to go up and investigate, because t  types around our to;

    quot;I s.quot; My mother pursed her lips.

    Elizabet ;s ure?quot;

    quot;I didnt say anyt nature.quot;

    quot; t; Jimmy continued, quot;must  before I got tells me o be naked in a . tending to be pirates, kidnapped ied o a tree. Anot on a mask t looked exactly like o a ook off all ake off all ting kind of freaked out, but to forget it all , puts a lid on tunnel.quot;

    to go tried to remember  be.

    quot;All t for one girl, s , but it does explain a lot of t;

    quot;And t boy t; Mom said.

    quot;Maybe ts ;Maybe t boy kinda looked like s w ;

    Mary put for  everybody ;

    Mom  . quot;Sounds like to me.quot;

    t I kneter. I pressed my fore tried to forget. to th.