Missy was an odd girl. Out of all the children Lily babysat, she was undoubtedly the most mature, but she could also be the most difficult. She was always energetic, and when she became fixated on something, as young children often are, she would not be swayed or corralled. Still, Lily loved their few weekly hours together, making snow angels or playing board games while Missy’s parents attended concerts and auctions.
Missy always wore shiny pink shoes and blue hair ribbons to match her eyes, courtesy of her doting parents. Lily had heard stories from other babysitters who had experienced the overprotective Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s wrath after accidentally taking Missy out too late, or playing too far from the house, and she was glad that she had managed to stay on their good side. In all of Lily’s time taking care of Missy, the parents’ overprotectiveness had rubbed off on her, and she couldn’t imagine what she’d do if something happened to the little girl on her watch.
Lily sighed and tugged her hat tighter over her head to shield her from the biting cold. The fresh snow on the Smiths’ driveway crunched under her feet as she approached the mansion, and she wondered if Missy might like to make cookies. The door swung open before she even climbed the stairs to the porch, and there was Missy, giving her a gap-toothed smile. “Look, Lily! My tooth fell out this week!”
“That’s awesome! Did you leave it for the Tooth Fairy?”
Missy chattered on as her parents donned their puffy jackets and winter boots. Mrs. Smith, a stylish and sharp woman, bent down, meaning to give her daughter a kiss, and Missy squirmed out of her arms, shrieking. This was their weekly routine: Missy’s parents tried to shower her with affection, and Missy dodged their attempts. Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Smith gave up and left Missy in Lily’s hands.
The two spent the afternoon making cinnamon cookies, and by the time the last batch was finished, Missy’s blue hair ribbons were encrusted with sugar crystals, and Lily was sweaty and exhausted. Missy nibbled on a cookie, swinging her feet happily, and asked politely if they might play outside. “Are you sure?” Lily asked, glancing at the gloomy, frost-covered woods behind the Smiths’ backyard.
“Yes!” the little girl said adamantly and raced outside before Lily could stop her. By the time Lily had tugged on her boots, hat and gloves, Missy was already rolling around in the snow, her pink and blue jacket hanging off her shoulders. Lily hoisted her out of the snow pile, zipped up her coat, and straightened her hair ribbons while Missy fidgeted.
“Let’s play hide-and-seek! You count first!” Missy tapped Lily on the elbow, then ran away, giggling.
“Don’t go past the fence!” Lily called, but she wasn’t worried. She had played hide-and-seek with Missy more times than she could count in this very backyard. She closed her eyes and counted to sixty, drawing out the last few seconds as Missy yelled that she needed more time.
“Sixty!” Lily declared, and the white-blanketed trees fell silent. Glancing at the footprints in the snow, she tiptoed to the nearby oak tree—Missy’s favorite hiding spot—and leapt in front of it with a roar. “Found you!”
There was no one there. Lily smiled at her silliness and imagined Missy peeking at her nearby, trying not to laugh. “Don’t get too relaxed, I’m going to find you!” she called dramatically, in that just-for-kids voice that she had perfected over her years of being a babysitter. She was a pro at this. “She’s definitely in the shed,” Lily declared loudly, hoping it would elicit a response from Missy—usually she began giggling when Lily got near. No response.
No matter. Rubbing her hands together and plastering an evil grin on her face, Lily threw open the shed and shouted gleefully, “Found you!”
The shed was empty.
And so was the deck, her next attempt.
Lily scratched her head. It usually took one or two tries to find Missy’s hiding spot. It had never taken her more than three. “Missy! Give me a hint!”
Nothing. She frowned and glanced into the woods behind the house. Could Missy have wandered farther away? The footprints that hadn’t been covered by the fresh layer of snow floating down had already been covered by Lily’s own. She retraced her steps, hoping that Missy was hiding in plain sight and she had just overlooked her. As she searched all of the possible hiding spots one by one, panic began to well up in her chest. Where could Missy be? They had played hide-and-seek together so many times. She knew the rules—don’t go into the woods, don’t go past the backyard fence. She couldn’t possibly have gotten lost. She couldn’t possibly.
Lily’s eyes fell on a singular track of footprints, trailing away into the fresh snow of the thick trees beyond the yard. Her heart sank.
She tried to be careful, to not trample the small prints, but waves of panic were flooding over her. The woods were huge, the snow was deep, and the temperatures dropped to freezing at night. What if she never found Missy? What if Mr. and Mrs. Smith came home and Lily had to tell them that she had lost their daughter? What if …?
Lily shook her head. There was nothing to gain from panicking. She took a deep breath, frosty air filling her lungs, and focused on the footprints in front of her. Thank goodness for this snow. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if it were summer.
The snow began falling in earnest, huge flakes drifting from the sky. Lily moved faster, hoping she could find Missy before the tracks were covered for good and she was lost in the woods, too. Her foot struck something hard under the snow, and she crashed face-first into a snowdrift. The cold crystals burned on her skin. Spluttering, she shook out the snow wedged in her collar and sleeves and looked around frantically for the footprints she had been following.
They were gone, swallowed by the swirling whiteness. Snow fell thickly around her. All of the trees looked the same. Where was the house? Where were the footprints? The gray maelstrom above was darkening fast. Overwhelmed with fear, thoughts tripping over each other, Lily ran in the direction she thought she had been going, her vision blurring with snow and tears.
A child’s laughter pierced the air. Lily spun around. “Missy!” she screamed.
She floundered through the snow, not even bothering to look for footprints anymore, following Missy’s voice until she came to a clearing and saw the little girl sitting on a fallen log, swinging her legs and laughing.
Lily crashed to a halt in front of Missy and grabbed her small shoulders. “Missy, are you okay? Are you okay? What happened? I told you not to go past the fence!” she babbled. The cold fog in her mind cleared somewhat, and she looked at Missy again, concerned. “Where did your jacket go? Aren’t you cold? I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Missy smiled up at Lily as she sobbed. “It’s okay.”
Lily wiped the snot and tears from her face and draped her own jacket around Missy. “Listen, I think I got lost. Do you remember the path you took to get out here?”
Missy nodded and hopped off the log. Step by step, she led Lily back to the house.
Lily was too shaken to scold Missy for going into the woods. She spent the rest of the afternoon sipping hot cider on the couch and watching Missy scribble in her coloring book. When Mr. and Mrs. Smith got home, it was dinnertime, and the shock of the afternoon had just about worn off. Lily smiled and thanked the family as she always did, and had just wrapped herself up and prepared to leave when she felt a tug on her sleeve.
It was Missy, motioning for her to bend down. Surprised, Lily knelt so they were face-to-face. Missy leaned in and planted a kiss on Lily’s cheek.
The little girl’s lips were ice-cold. Lily froze, and so did Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She had never once seen Missy kiss someone,
or agree to be kissed, in the many months she had been babysitting for the Smiths. She stared at Missy, who whispered, “Let’s not tell Mommy and Daddy about what happened today!”
The doorbell rang, echoing through the quiet living room. Startled, Lily looked up from her phone. It was dark, and she had only just warmed up even though she’d gotten home from the Smiths’ a few hours ago. Who could it be at this time, and in the snow? She glanced through the window hesitantly, squinting through the thick snowfall. Her eyes bulged. She rushed to the door.
Standing on her front porch was Missy Smith, her hair disheveled and her nose red with cold. A pink and blue snow jacket was wrapped around her shoulders.
“Missy, what happened? Why are you here?” Lily took Missy’s gloved hand and pulled her inside the house, shutting out the howling wind.
“I got lost in the woods,” the little girl sniffled. “I don’t know how to get home.”
“You went outside again after your Mommy and Daddy came home?”
“Noooo!” Missy wailed. “I was hiding behind a tree stump, and I listened to you counting, and I waited for you to come find me, but you never did! And then I got scared and tried to find you, but I got lost!”
“You mean, you got lost when we were playing hide-and-seek?” Lily asked, confused.
“Yes! And you never came to find me!”
Lily froze.
If Missy had only found her way out of the woods just now, who exactly had she left with Mr. and Mrs. Smith?