“At least it’s books she’s addicted to,” Julia turned to glance at her child before continuing, “I mean, she could be a pervert or, hell, she could be doing drugs at this age.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Can you believe that? Kids are doing drugs at that age.”

“I know right?” Carol turned to look at her children, playing haphazardly on the jungle gym. “Crazy world we live in these days.”

“Yeah,” Julia sighed. “crazy world.”

Whitney was curled up under the slide, shaded under the book outstretched in her arms. A Space Odyssey: 2001 was the title, but to Whitney, it read Sanctuary. A place she could go that no one else could. When she read, the world she lived in fell away, and a new world emerged. One inside her mind.

“Whitney, let’s get going, sweetie.”

She looked up, and saw her mother looming over her. The children’s play faded back into existence, the colors brightened. She was back. Time to go already?

“Awww man, Hal, I was jus’ getting to the good par’t!” She reached out to her mother, and picked herself up off the wood chips.

“You need to stop with that Hall stuff, girl.” Julia said laughing. She gave Whitney a pat on butt to speed her up, and followed her out to car. The fall leaves crunched idly under their shoes, a sound Whitney couldn’t ignore. She jumped delicately from leaf to leaf, giggling with each cruch! She got in reward.

Julia couldn’t help but smile at her child. Whitney was lucky. How she had ended up so..so normal. Julia had seen kids go nuts, socially crazy. How bad a death that young messed them up. When David had died, Whitney was just..fine. Lucky girl. Thank god for those books.

“Mommy, I want to sit in the front today!” Whitney stood at the door, a pouting face looming on the horizon.

“You know you get sick, Wit’.” Julia called absently from the sidewalk. The front seat was the only battle Whitney stuck to. Here we go again.