The years passed Anna by and soon the boundless power of an imaginative child’s mind created a fog around the times when she ruled Endless Land. Anna had more important things to care for now. She was a mother to little Susie. It was not easy taking care of a precocious little girl and blue eyed and fair haired Susie was quite a handful for Anna.
Initially Anna was unsure of what her little daughter needed and every day was a challenge to the untrained mind of this young mother. But as time passed she had an almost perfect routine in place. Every morning she would wake Susie after she had bathed and then the two of them would sit together and have a nice breakfast that usually consisted of cereal (they both loved chocolate lucky charms) and fruit. Before Anna left for work she would kiss Susie on the head and tell her to make sure she stayed out of trouble. And though she said this every day, Anna loved Susie’s mischievous little antics and however much she scolded her she could never be too harsh.
When Anna would get back from work the two of them would sit and talk. Susie would tell her about all the games she and Adam had played and the fog around Anna’s past life would seem to lift but not enough for her to cry.
Adam was a nice boy, as old as Susie, and Anna was very happy that Susie had a good friend with whom she spent her time playing games, games of innocence and joy, games she too had played in a past life. Adam and Susie would play with all the dolls Anna had bought for Susie and they would go on walks, they would wander around the house and tell each other stories or would sometimes play games like Wandering Witches or maybe Hiding Hippos. Susie would always be the Wandering Witch and Adam would be the boy who found the magical broomstick which he used for flying around the houses and helping anyone who might need help and she had to catch him as soon as she could. If they played Hiding Hippos they would be traveling along a river and would have to avoid the prowling hippos at all costs.
The stories were usually Susie’s and were the same ones that her mother told her every night as she put her to bed. Adam loved the stories and even though he would not admit it, preferred listening to the stories while sitting by the swings which were still there behind Anna’s house.
One day, Adam told Susie a story. It was about two little children who were best friends and had a beautiful world all to themselves and it was about how this world collapsed and how beauty was enveloped by a fog thicker than any that this world could conjure.
On the same day little Anna, now nine, asked her mother if she had seen Susie and mother promised to buy her a doll that looked exactly like Susie.
On the same night little Anna cried again and a little boy peered at the swings from behind the trees that surrounded them.
