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Allie was in control, but the boy's body was still full of fear and heaving with sobs She looked to her father as holding the phone in one hand, and in his other handin his other hand

he had no other hand

His left arm now ended just past the elbow As Allie tried to process this, she saw that his left hand was shifting the phone in his pal to dial with his thu 911 was definitely not part of Allie's da the police?" Allie screeched, using the boy's wild state to her advantage "I don't want the police! I don't I don't I don't!" She screamed as loudly as she could, and her father looked helpless

"Put down the phone, Adaht!" He dropped it on the desk like it was about to explode "There, I've put it down"

Allie stopped screa her ed her back, and took more comfort from it than her mother could possibly know The convulsive sobs eased until they were nothing more than shallow sniffles "Can you tell us your name?" Allie's father asked

Allie did know his na that little kids fill every thought with, it's their identity

"Danny," she said "Danny Rozelli"

"Well, Danny," said Allie's ht"

"Yeah," said Allie, "sleepwalking, yeah" She was always iainst all reason

"Could you tell us where you live?" Allie's father asked

She knehere Danny Rozelli lived, but wasn't ready to share that infor street"

Her parents sighed in unison

Allie looked at the stump of her father's arm There were indentations in the skin that must have been from a prosthetic arm, but of course he hadn't had ti in their dead daughter's bed

"How'd that happen?" Allie asked, realizing that a seven-year-old's lack of tact was an asset now

Her father hesitated for a moment, then he said, "Car accident"

"Ouch"

"Yeah Ouch"

Her father also had a scar on his forehead and cheek So the accident had taken his right arm, and left him with scars None of it was pleasant, but it could have been a whole lot worse Then again, it orse, because they had also lost a daughter

Allie longed to tell theht here in front of them, but she couldn't find a way to do that as the cat woman, and she couldn't as Danny Rozelli, either

"Do you know your phone number, at least?" her mother asked "We really should let someone know you're here-- your parents must be worried sick"

Allie didn't have et their child back She didn't know the number anyway, and that was fine She was finally here with her own parents, and they were treating her with love and kindness This was the closest thing she ht ever have to true fary," she said "Can I have solanced to each other, her aze to the phone, her father nodded and he left the roo to call the police fro another hissy fit, but realized she couldn't stall the inevitable er She would make the best of the time she had

"Can I have Apple Jacks?" she asked "Apple Jacks in strawberry milk?"

She could have sworn her mother turned a previously unknown shade of pale

"Never mind," said Allie "You probably don't have that"

"Actually," said her mother, "we do"

Her father rejoined the a secret nod to his wife He ured they had about five minutes before the police arrived

Allie savored every spoonful of her cereal while her parents sat with her at the kitchen table She tried to trick herself into believing this was just a regular family breakfast

"Sorry if they're a little stale," her mother said

"No," said Allie, "they're fine"

"Our daughter liked Apple Jacks," her father said "She liked them with strawberry milk, too"

"A lot of kids do," Allie told hih she didn't know anyone else who ate them that way She dipped the spoon into the pink milk and let the last applejack float in like a lone life preserver

"More, please"