I   to be a cs in uncertainty and danger. Our fles  fear for to make ter t our son all of time. Ed  a cures of t otraits leapt tions. Of my ole more tav Ungerland. I olen long ago. And o reclaim  in tcerfuge for a more sinister purpose. turbed pograped t t tting to steal our son.

    e lost Edime. On t gloriously ernoon, y, for I er services ter allo rying out ion. Afteress and I took Edo t face-to-face encounter s and monkeys. A rollers, desultory teenagers, even a family aggered a year apart, a conspiracy of freckles and blue eyes. too many people for my taste, but led along  complaint. Eded by tigers and loitered in front of t ton candy, roaring at ts to encourage t of ts black-and-orange dreams, one tiger tcs tail, annoyed by my sons entreaties. tess took advantage of Edraction to confront me.

    quot; to talk to you about Eddie. Does  to you? tely, and somet kno normal.quot;

    I could see ;ly normal.quot;

    quot;Or maybe its you,quot; s;Youve been different ely. Overprotective, not letting doors catcrees, but its as if youre afraid of  of your sigo become more independent.quot;

    I pulled o t of our sons ;Do you remember t someone broke into t;

    quot;I kne,quot; s;You said not to  youve been preoccupied ,  you?quot;

    quot;No, no, I just remembered, ograp nig made me t t music to express myself. I ess, and t under my fingertips. today in t like t St. Nico tra.quot;

    S my c.  and o be. I  t moment t I forgot t, and ts  t  ired of tigers and  or nearby, ready to beg us to let  ed and ion t Edly eaten by tigers, but a quick glance at t t cats stretc asleep in tion, t tess and feared t I  to break .

    quot;; I told . quot;Ed;

    So t ;Eddie,quot; s;;

    e  doo ave ition, alarming ts. tess stopped an elderly couple e direction. quot;tle boy all alone? tton candy.quot;

    quot;t c; ting a to tance be t of tled along, attempting to  and clumsy jog, ced penguin t o ted past Eds bill  , t us as ;t of t and off ;

    taking Edo never let go.

    Ede on a string, alening to break free. Before arted sc ess took good care of o cernoons. urned four, Eddie  in o o ing imaginary games and companions to ernoon, but to come back. t rusted es. Any one of them could have been a changeling in disguise.

    Strangely, my music flourision ained oys and books, I composed. tess encouraged me to find my oy used record store. Sickets to  music and books on orcration and instrumentation, and insisted t I go into ty to  t friendly cing, in essence, toire in treasure c from Ce dozens of  success or attention resulted from my efforts—a coerced performance of a ne by a local c on electric organ ate. I tried everyto get my music  tapes and scores around try to publis usually received a form rejection, if anyt composer serves an apprenticess, even middle-sceac in my , I kneions  yet fulfilled my intentions.

    One p come in ter picking et in California, erest in actually recording one of my compositions, an atonal mood piece I ten sly after to say ted us to visit and stay at  tess, Ed to t summer of 76 and  fe cafe in Nortaurant among a alian joints, and unning   to see ties. Nothing weird prowling around California.

    tor of Grace Caternoon to record, and tone and balance t instrument I ered me algic for tet c a fees, and after rings for time, everyone seemed satisfied y minutes. As  our limited prospects. Per actually buy t ty about ts audience.

    t in told us not to miss Big Sur, so on our last day before flying ed a car and drove sout  of t bet tacular. tess ed to see to pull off and relax for a bit at a cove in tana ilderness. As  mist rolled in, obscuring turn back, o picnic on a small crescent beacy-foot straiger t plunges from te cliff to t ter luncess and I stretc on a blanket, and Eddie, all of five years old and full of energy,  us from rocks, and in our seclusion, I felt at peace for t time in ages.

    Maybe tides or ter luncess and I dozed on t. I range dream, one t  visited me in a long, long time. I alked to a ree and pulled at il  like a breacerror filled ion. t of our ribe stood around, cing an evil song. I  to take he boy screamed.

    Riding t over tess lay sleeping, gorgeous in repose beside me, and a t   to protect  around us, I lay on top of opped suddenly and ;;

    quot;Im ;

    quot;op. ;

    I rolled off uated myself. t, blurring tours of a small rocky peninsula t jutted out into tco its granite skull. Beerfall ran doo t loide. No ot t shore.

    quot;Eddie?quot; Sanding up. quot;Eddie!quot;

    I stood beside ;Edward, w;

    A t from trees, tolerable . I  spray.

    quot;; tess asked.

    quot;I  out on t island as far as you can go.quot;

    quot;Dont you kno;

    quot;I ed to see  t;

    quot;On t rock?quot;

    quot;Sting and staring at t;

    quot;All by s?quot;

    quot;For real, Mom. So get ;

    quot;Edories like t. t a person around for miles.quot;

    quot;For real, Dad. Come see.quot;

    quot;Im not going out to ts cold and  and slippery.quot;

    quot;;—tess pointed out to trees—quot;look at t.quot;

    Dark  do distance s. Sopped  come close, sranger. e peered at eacer, and t lasted as briefly as tograp time. Surned toerfall and ran, vanishing beyond in a haze of rock and evergreen.

    quot;ait,quot; tess cried. quot;Dont go.quot; Sohe girl.

    quot;Leave ; I ;S looks like s;

    quot;ts a   ;

    Eddie s and sat o tell us all about umbled out as he warmed up.

    quot;I ure and came to t tting t berees, looking out at to sit ;

    quot; is ; tess asked.

    quot;Ever o come er to c;

    quot;Eddie, did ss  ;

    quot;S took more told ;  tides, as if remembering a ion.

    quot;Did s;

    quot;No.quot;  around his shoulders.

    quot;Not all?quot;

    quot;S t ;

    quot;Did s; I asked.

    quot;Sarted calling me. And s. And I told o  rig my mommy and dad.quot;

    tess embraced our son and rubbed . S t;S slipped a;

    From t moment to tant our plane touc   lost girl, and   so mucerious appearance and disappearance, but y.

    tled in at o see the changelings everywhere.

    In tourday morning for a  ered by a toing urn, quietly sucking a lollipop as ared, unblinking, at my son. o eacy to finisences. Driving , I saery and ,  be plotting at suce  parties or t ried to o to find someone else  everyone scoffed ory. All c my oures. Be eyes exists a hidden universe.

    tets album, tales of onder, arrived by Cmas, and  t over and over for our friends and family. Edo  teady cello line and ticipating its arrival, t er imes one listened to ter midnig as a prayer, a sudden blast of my song startled me aing t, I came doairs in my pajamas, , only to find my son bug-eyed in front of tized by turned doo blink rapidly and shake his head as if awakened from a dream.

    quot;; I said in a lo;Do you kno is?quot;

    quot;Is it 1977 yet?quot;

    quot;ys over, fella.  made you put on t;

    quot;I ;

    I pulled o my lap. quot;Do you  to tell me about it?quot;  ans burro note resounded as to silence, so I reac off tereo.

    quot;Daddy, do you kno reminds me.quot;

    quot;Reminds you of rip out to California?quot;

    urned to face me until o-eye. quot;No. Of Speck,quot; ;t;

    it moan, I dre.