He sat in his wheelchair in the sunny window looking out at the rolling hills. He looked but did not really see what was there. His thoughts were back to his earliest years.

He thought he must have been five years old at the time, but he was not completely sure. The words kept churning in his head....."wait here till I come back....Daddy's falling...wait here, wait here.

He waited and waited but she did not come back. It got dark and she did not come back. He cried and cried and still she did not come back. He cried himself to sleep. The sunlight seemed to pry his eyes open and still she was not back.

He looked in the picnic basket and found a jug of water, some grapes, an apple and half of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had not eaten yesterday when they all were having so much fun up here so far from home. He ate the sandwich, drank some water and sat down to wait some more.

He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. The one his mother had put in there so long ago. He remembered she had told him that if ever he got lost to give this paper to someone to help him get back home. There was no one anywhere around to give it to them. He must have taken it out, unfolded it and folded it back up a hundred times that day. He ate all the food in the basket and when it got dark he cried himself to sleep again. Still she did not come back.

When the sun came up the next morning he decided to go find something to eat or someone to help him. He climbed very carefully down off the rock ledge where he had spent the last two days. Then he walked and walked all day. It was almost dark again when he heard laughter.

He headed for the sound of the voices. As he came out of the trees he found a gravel road and two teenage boys. He walked up to them and said "HI." Of course they were very startled.

They asked him where he had come from and he said "Over there" pointing to the way he thought he had walked. When they asked him where his mother was, he said "I dunno, over there, I think."

When they asked him his name, he remembered the paper in his pocket. He pulled it out and handed it to them. They told him it was so old and wrinkled no one could read it. They threw it down and asked him his name again. He said "eel" as he ran back to pick up the precious paper.

They laughed and said "no one is named eel. We will take you home with us and let our parents figure out what to do with you."

TO BE CONTINUED..........