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PART ONE

Prologue

Sasha - Last Christmas Eve

I see him, but he doesn’t see me

I’otta be sneaky

His friend, who I have seen before—but who ignores oes into the back rooun run, so I don’t pay any attention to hiuy who looks like he could be a hunter, but whoh not impossible), that he is a hunter, stops to look at stuff after his friend tells him to wait

He picks up a knife

“That knife sucks,” I say from my seat across the aisle “I wouldn’t buy that one”

He checks the brand, then the blade “Yeah, this is crap” He puts it in the basket and I make my move

I set my Little House book down and walk over to hiood ones?” I ask He turns and looks surprised that I got so close without hi me

I’ sneaky

I show hiood knives and he looks at me like I’m weird They all look at me like that once I let theuy—Ford, he says his narownup stuff He laughs and listens to irl-who-is-a-friend I gift-wrap his two presents, and while I do that, I realize so

I’ve known aluy

His friend peeks out of the back roo complicated My stomach does a little turn at that word I don’t like it I like things to be simple Complicated is bad I switch my frown to a sift-wrap your knife”

“It’s for ift-wrapped”

“It’s like a present to yourself, Ford Just go with it”

He laughs I keepas he asks why I’ today

Why a today?

Buddy, I think to myself, you would not believe me if I told you I reach in my pocket and palht He was drunk My dad hardly ever gets drunk And asto end up with ht, I’ today

When the hunters show up, bad things happen

I pull the flash drive out of my pocket and slip it inside Ford’s knife box When he opens this tomorrow, he’ll find an old battered piece of plastic covered in stickers If he plugs the drive into his coraphs All my best moments in my short life

And maybe that’s the end of it Maybe he tucks it inside a drawer soot attached Maybe he never thinks of it, or ain

I can only hope

But I don’t think that’s what’s gonna happen