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“Have you ever had a preht that the day held soh you knew not what?”

“No” Her as as quiet as a whisper

“I knew the moment I opened my eyes that I should hurry to theIt was early A blanket of round I watchedtowards the woods bordering our estate” To speak quickly prevented the i was col

d, damp, and I noted he had no coat”

“You were at Moorlands, I assume”

He nodded

“How old were you?”

“Ten”

“Just a boy, then”

He nodded again “I don’t knohy but I had an urge to follow him With no ti the path I foundI froze, worried he htclothes” Matthew paused To his own ears, his voice sounded childlike His heart was racing He could smell the earthy scent in the air, could feel the sa sense of doubt, of fear “I hesitated a h the air seconds before his body sluround”

Priscilla gasped and covered her mouth with her hand There was a pained silence “Oh, Mattheful The trau must never leave you”

“It doesn’t But that was only the beginning of a period of psychological torment”

Priscilla dabbed the corner of her eye with her finger “What did you do?”

“I raced to the house to alert my mother She sent me to my room and then, with the help ofthe deception”

“Deception?”