The woman held her arms out to her sides leaping into the cool crisp air. Her thick white hair flowed as smooth as a river down her back as she climbed quickly to the cloudy blue skies. She raced up the side of the mountain in front of her looking over her shoulder to see a small dot about a mile behind her. Her gray eyes smiled back at the figure as she disappeared out of the child’s view, to the other side of the mountain.

Soni tried as hard as she could mentally to catch up with his grandmother. When he saw her disappear over the mountain, he knew that he would never catch her now. He willed himself over the mountain and stopped. He gravitated in the air scanning the cluster pine trees that climbed down the opposite side of the trees. He frowned when he couldn’t spot her.

Tenage stood on a branch of one of the hundreds of trees smiling up at Soni searched for her. You're trying too hard young one. You have to feel me, she thought as the nine-year-old boy, proceeded to glide over the thick mass of trees looking for her. She smiled as he passed over her without noticing her. She waited until she was out of his eyesight and leaped into the air behind him. She rose into the air above him and watched as Soni searched left then right slowly looking for his grandmother.

Tenage dropped slowly until she was a few feet above him. “Psst!”, she sounded off. Startled, Soni glanced up, “whaa,” he could barely say before Tenage tackled him, landing on his back. “AAHHH,” he screamed playfully as they both fell toward the trees below.

“Hahaha,” Soni laughed uncontrollably as his grandmother tickled him. “Hahaha, Stop! Stop it, grandma,” he screamed. Tenage released him a moment later. She darted through the air leaving Soni behind.

“Catch me if you can,” her voice echoed back to him.

Soni caught himself, stopping just feet from the trees below. He gave chase after his grandmother. Soni cringed when he felt a hand on his shoulder. That’s odd he thought to himself. He looked back to see no one. He could still see his grandmother in front of him. Soni began to wonder if this was one of her tricks she was playing on him. When the hand began to shake his shoulder he panicked, losing his concentration and started falling toward the tree again.

“Grandma!” he yelled, but she was too far away to hear him. The hand shook harder and with a finger grip. Soni saw the trees coming up to him quickly and shut up his eyes.

“Soni Zales. Mr. Zales,” a man’s concerned voice called out to Soni. Soni opened his eyes to see his fourth-grade class staring at him. “Mr. Zales.” Soni looked up to see his teacher Mr. Parker staring down at him with a concerned expression on his face.

“For a man your age,” he started in a low voice. “You should have more energy than you show.”

Soni just sat there staring up at Mr. Parker dumbfounded. Mr. Parker smiled down at him and whispered so that none of the curious children looking could hear him.

“You’ve got to be attentive in the class Soni. You can say dream when you get home.” A few giggles could be heard, but Soni ignored them.

He nodded to Mr. Parker “I understand,” he said in a humble voice. Mr. Parker smiled and stood back up to his full 6 feet two inches.

“Okay everybody, back to work.”

Soni glanced around the classroom embarrassed for a moment. I wonder if I was talking aloud while I was sleep? he wondered to himself. He opened his math book and tried to concentrate on completing the work assignment.

One problem struck a nerve in Soni that he couldn’t figure out, and it wasn’t in the math book. Soni couldn’t remember resting his head on his desk. He glanced up at the class clock and released an audible sigh. He still has over two hours let before the day ended.

When school finally ended Soni grabbing his belongings and made his way to the front of the school to be picked up by his grandmother. He waved goodbye to the few friends he passed time with and stepped out into the scolding heat outside of the building. He held his small hands up shielding the sun’s bright rays from his face. He scanned the parking lot as he had done on many occasion over the past three years searching for his grandmother standing by her car.

Younger and older children were running to their rides home. Soni stood his distance waiting for the crowd to simmer down. After a full ten minutes, Soni began to feel uncomfortable. A lonesome feeling clouded his insides. He still couldn’t see his grandmother anywhere. He tried to remember if this has ever happened before, and couldn’t. His grandmother had been here waiting in the parking lot every school day since he could remember. Soni decides to wait.

He found a spot to sit on the curb and watched the last of the students catch their rides home. Hours passed slowly. Soni watches his shadow move slowly around him with the sun. He looked out over the now deserted parking lot as a feeling overcame him that he never thought he would feel again.

It was the same feeling that had erupted in him when his parents never came home.

Loneliness.

Soni shook his head quickly. He knew that he was getting ahead of himself. Her car must be having problems, he thought to himself reassuringly. Soni stood up from the curb and found another shaded spot on the curb to sit. Before he could sit down the front doors of the school opened.

A group of teachers and counselors walked out into the heat. Soni noticed Mr. Parker looking at him through the small crown. He excused himself from conversing group and walked up to Soni.

Looking down at Soni, Mr. Parker grinned, “Where’s your grandmother Soni?” he asked looking out over the parking look. “It’s not like her to be late.” He said arching his eyebrows as if a thought had suddenly come to him. “Now that I think about it, she’s never late.”

Soni stared up at Mr. Parker a moment then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” Soni said in a tone that said he could take care of himself.

Mr. Parker smiles and checked the time on his shiny watch. “C’ mon,” he said turning towards the entrance of the school. “We’ll see if we can call her.”

Back inside the school Mr. Parker led Soni into the teachers’ lounge and asked a secretary to look for Soni’s guardian address and phone number. The woman provided the information a few minutes later.

Soni watched as Mr. Parke dialed on the school’s phone the woman provided. As they waited for his grandmother to pick up on the other end.

“She has two phone numbers. We’ll try the home number first, and then the cell phone if she doesn’t answer.” When no answer came after two minutes of waiting, Mr. Parker disconnected and tried the other number.

Soni slid his hands behind his back crossing his fingers. He said a silent prayer he had learned in Sunday school hoping that it will help matters.

After a moment of waiting, Soni noticed Mr. Parker’s eyebrows furrow. He glanced down at Soni and shook his head.

Mr. Parker rested the phone back into its cradle and thank the secretary. “Is the principal still in?” he asked before leaving. She shook her head slowly. Her blonde shoulder length hair swings back and forth hitting lightly on her aging face.

“No, he left early, but the assistant principal is still in.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Parker said gratefully. He turned to Soni and pointed to a set of visitor chairs beside the door they had come through. He handed his briefcase to Soni. “Hold this for me over there. Have a seat and I’ll see if we can get some help.” Mr. Parker then walks off disappearing around the corner of a wall.

Soni sat back staring into space. He had never been at the school this late and found that it felt funny noticing that there weren’t any children in the school. Seconds turned into minutes, and those minutes added up to be an hour. Soni fidgeted in the chair. Had Mr. Parker left him too? He asked himself. He looked at the briefcase in the seat next to him. No, he wouldn’t leave briefcase.

Soni looked up when he heard Mr. Parker’s voice conversing with a woman. Mr. Parker and the Assistant Principal walked around the corner and up to Soni. The black woman in her middle thirties eyed Soni quickly. “Soni, we tried your grandmother phone numbers again.” She said honestly. “We were unable to get in contact with her. Do you have any other family members that we may not be aware of that can come to get you?” she asked curiously.

Soni shook his head. The woman sighed and looked at Mr. Parker. “Soni,” she said looking back at Soni’s confused face. “Mr. Parker doesn’t want you by yourself with any unfamiliar people while you wait on your grandmother, the school is closing up now.” She said slowly, hoping that Soni understood.

Soni wondered what was going on. He nodded slowly urging her to go on.

She nodded toward Mr. Parker. “Mr. Parker wants to take you home to see if your grandmother is there. As he said, I also find it odd that your grandmother hasn’t arrived yet.”

Soni looked from the assistant principal to Mr. Parker and continued to nod.

“He can’t leave you by yourself, do understand?” another nod. “If Tenage is not there Mr. Parker has agreed to take you home with him until she arrives, or he gets in contact with her to let her know where you're at.” More nods from Soni. “I'm just here to be a witness in case your grandmother doesn’t agree with the procedures we’ve taken.”

Soni stared at her confused. “Pro-dures...Pro..me..dur,” he tried to pronounce.

Mr. Parker smiled. “He doesn’t know what procedures mean.”

She smiled down at Soni. “We want to make sure we’re taking the right actions.”

Soni made an “O” form with his mouth and slowly started to nod.

The assistant principal rubbed her hands together. “Now Soni, all you have to do is agree, and then you can be on your way. We don’t want you going anywhere against your own will.”

The room grew utterly silent. The only noise that could be heard was the typing the secretary did on the computer and a ceiling fan that spun as slowly as the time carried on.

The assistant principal stared at Soni expectantly. He hasn’t uttered, except a breakdown of the word procedure since I’ve been in here, she thought to herself.

Soni thought about everything she had said smiling. “Yes,” he said simply. He was ready to get out of there.

An hour later, both Soni and Mr. Parker arrived at Tenage’s home. The sun was settling giving the lucky evening viewers a glamorous site of different colored hues.

Soni knocked on the door, but no answer came from inside. He knew that no one was there, but he still hoped that he was wrong. There were no lights on that could be seen from the outside.

The sound of a car horn blasted from behind startling Soni. Mr. Parker waved Soni back to the car. “No luck?” he asked.

Soni could only shake his head. Where are you, grandma? he asked quietly watching the house disappear from view as Mr. Parker drove off. They rode in silence for a moment, Soni glanced at Mr. Parker and noticed that he too was also confused by this evening's events.

Mr. Parker started fishing through his blazer, “this isn’t like your grandmother,” he said staring out of the windshield. He retrieved his cell phone and pushed a few buttons, waiting for a response from the other end. “Yes, I would like to file a missing person’s report,” he said glancing down at Soni quickly.

Soni knew that he would never forget this moment for as long as he lives.