Maya
There’s a rule for hide and seek. You count to ten. Everybody knows. Even Moose knows. And Moose thinks a banana is a burglar.
Eight. Nine. Ten.
The tree
Eleven. Ready or not.
Maya
I wasn’t the only one playing.
Maya
Hi. It’s Maya. Welcome to Maya and the Fog.
Leo
And Leo. I live here too.
Maya
It’s October. We’re telling spooky stories every week, all the way to Halloween. This one happened at the playground. With Bea, Twiggy, Milo, and me.
Leo
At the playground? Was the slide too slidey?
Maya
No. The woods behind it were too woodsy.
Leo
That does sound like woods.
Maya
There was candy on the branches. And something that wanted us to keep asking for more.
Leo
What something?
Maya
A tree. The biggest tree in the whole forest.
Leo
I’m going to sit a little farther from your houseplant.
Maya
You can sit right here. If you want a hand to hold, find one. Okay. Here’s what happened.
Both eyes
Maya
We’d each had one treat. Mom was on the bench with Moose. The yellow slide was in front of us. The woods were behind the squeaky swing.
Milo
Can I have another treat?
Mom
You’ve had your treat, Milo. That’s enough for now.
Milo
Is it still now?
Mom
It is.
Bea
What if I do a cartwheel? A whole cartwheel for half a treat. You’re getting more cartwheel than treat.
Twiggy
You nearly kicked Moose.
Bea
That was the difficult part.
Mom
Beautiful cartwheel. Still no more treats.
Maya
I’m not asking for more. I’m checking if the answer changed.
Mom
It didn’t. Go play. Stay where I can see you. Maya, keep an eye on Milo.
Maya
Both eyes?
Mom
Both eyes.
Twiggy
I liked my treat. I’m finished. Look at this beetle. Its leaf is bigger than its head.
Bea
Maybe that’s its umbrella.
Milo
Look! My boots made dinosaurs in the mud!
Twiggy
Three toes and a tail. Their noses point the way you’re walking.
Milo
Captain, your army is ready.
Bea
Does the captain have to hide too? Because he’s bright green. That’s going to be a problem.
Milo
He’s pretending to be a leaf. A leaf with teeth. Nobody will suspect him.
Twiggy
That’s quite a suspicious leaf.
Bea
My boots make stars. My army can fly.
Milo
Moose, that’s the captain. He’s on our side.
Maya
Hide and seek! Only where Mom can see us. I’m counting. Go!
Eleven
Maya
I covered my eyes against a tree. I could still hear the swing.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
The tree
Eleven. Ready or not.
Maya
Bea? Did you say eleven?
Bea
It wasn’t me! I’m hiding! Wait. Pretend you didn’t see me.
This bush needs more bush.
Twiggy
I heard it too. From over there. Inside the woods.
Maya
Who’s there?
Milo
Maya! Candy! On that tree!
Maya
Milo, stay on this side.
Milo
But they’re growing! Red ones! Yellow ones!
Bea
Twiggy. Do candy trees exist?
Twiggy
Apple trees do. I’ve never seen a tree that grows wrappers.
Bea
It looks like a birthday party. Where’s the cake tree?
Milo
Hello? Is it somebody’s birthday? We don’t have a present. But Bea can do a cartwheel.
Twiggy
The wrappers have little stems. Like leaves. Nobody tied them on. Look, that red one is growing right out of the twig.
Mom says we don’t eat things we find.
Maya
We’re just looking. I can see the yellow slide. And Mom. Milo, beside me.
One more
Milo
Can I have one more treat?
It gave me one! Right in my hand!
Twiggy
That root moved behind us.
Bea
Maybe we stood on it.
Twiggy
It dragged the dirt. Look at that stripe.
Milo
Strawberry! With a squishy middle!
Maya
That’s your extra one. Now we’re going back.
Milo
But what are the yellow ones? Lemon? I like lemon too.
Twiggy
They can be lemon without us eating them. We can leave them on the tree.
Bea
Wait. The next tree has chocolate ones. Just there.
Twiggy
The slide’s still there. But the branch is past the next tree.
Bea
Could I have one more treat? One chocolate one?
Twiggy
There! Across the path!
Maya
I can still see the slide. That yellow bit between the trees. Mom’s blue coat is beside it.
Twiggy
Only a little bit of the coat. We could see the whole bench before.
Milo
It squashed two dinosaurs.
Bea
We can step over. One leg. Other leg. See? The chocolate’s only three steps away.
Milo
One. Two. Three. That’s not very far, Maya.
Twiggy
It is farther than where we were.
Maya
Milo, with me. Twiggy, don’t stay behind.
Bea
That’s the best chocolate ever. Maya, there’s a little one right by your nose.
Maya
Can I have one more? Just that little one?
Chocolate. With caramel inside. It’s really...
Twiggy
Maya. Where’s the slide?
Lost
Bea
Behind that tree. No. That one. It was...
Maya
Where’s the yellow bit? I could see it. I could see Mom.
Twiggy
I can’t hear the swing.
Milo
Can Mom see us?
Maya
Mom? Mom!
Bea
We’re over here! By the trees!
Milo
Maya? Are you scared?
Maya
Yes. But I’ve still got both eyes on you. Give me your hand.
Twiggy
I’ll hold Bea’s. Nobody goes by themselves.
Bea
This is where we came in. Over that root.
Milo
Can’t we just wait for Mom? She’ll find us. She always finds us.
Maya
Mom! We’re together! We’re by a big root! We’ll look for the playground, Milo. Just along this root. We stay together.
Bea
It’s too high now. It wasn’t this high before.
Twiggy
There are more behind it. All across the path.
Milo
Can we go under?
Bea
Not here. It’s flat on the dirt.
Maya
Around the end?
Bea
My stars go underneath it. That’s our path. The root’s lying right on top of where we walked.
Twiggy
I can see Milo’s dinosaurs on the other side. We need a space we can fit through.
I can’t see an end. But there’s a space on the left. By the enormous tree.
Milo
Do we have to go nearer it?
Maya
I don’t want to either. We’ll look together. Hands stay together.
The ruling tree
Maya
I was scared. Really scared. My legs went all wobbly, like jelly. I wanted to say we were going to be fine. But I didn’t know the way back.
It was bigger than all the other trees. Two dark holes in its bark looked like eyes. Below them was a long black crack. And stuck in the bark was a little old shoe.
Bea
Who leaves a shoe in a tree?
Twiggy
It’s grown around it. The bark’s holding it.
Milo
It’s little. Like my boot.
Bea
Maybe somebody dropped it. Maybe it was there before the tree grew.
Twiggy
It’s up above our heads.
Maya
Don’t touch it. Stay beside me.
Twiggy
All those roots come from this tree. Under the other trees. Right across our path.
Bea
This one rules the whole forest.
The tree
More. Ask for more.
Bea
That tree talked.
Maya
We want to go home. Where’s the playground?
The tree
My trees. My treats. Stay.
Twiggy
That isn’t the way home. Come back this way.
The tree
One more. Then home.
Milo
Can I have one more strawberry treat? Then can we go home?
Maya! My foot!
Maya
Milo!
His hand slipped out of mine. The trunk hid him. For a moment, I couldn’t see Milo at all. My heart was going thump, thump, thump.
Milo, say something!
Bea
I’ve got Twiggy. Maya, we’re right behind you. We’re not splitting up.
The tree
Found him.
Milo
I’m here! By the big hole! It won’t let my boot go!
Twiggy
Around this side. Together!
The hollow
Bea
There! Bottom of the tree!
Twiggy
His boot’s under the root. Right in front of the hollow.
Milo
It’s dark inside. Don’t let it take me in there.
Maya
You’re outside it. I’m right here. Give me your hand. The one without the dinosaur.
Milo
Here. I’ve got you. Don’t go away.
Maya
I’ve got your hand. Look at me. Both eyes, Milo.
Bea
I’ve got your coat. We’ll pull you back.
Milo
It’s stuck! Stop pulling!
Twiggy
The root’s holding the boot. Pulling up makes it tighter.
The tree
Ask again. Then home.
Milo
Please, can I have one more? I want to go home.
Bea
It pulled him closer. Maya, hold him!
Maya
I am. Milo, keep looking at me. Everybody still. Listen.
The tree
More.
Twiggy
It moves when we ask for more treats. Every time. Don’t ask again.
Milo
But I still want the strawberry one.
Maya
I still want another too. But we’ve had enough. We don’t have to ask.
The tree
All the treats. Ask.
Bea
I’m done asking. We’re getting Milo out.
Milo
I’m done too. I want my hand in Maya’s hand. And I want the bench. The strawberry can stay there.
Twiggy
Milo, wiggle your toes.
Milo
I can. Inside my boot.
Twiggy
The root’s across the toe of the boot. Your leg is clear. You don’t have to lift the root.
Leave the boot. Slide your foot out backward.
Milo
My dinosaur boot? Will you keep holding me?
Maya
The whole time. Bea’s holding your coat. I’m holding your hand. Bend your knee slowly.
Milo
I’m out. One boot. One sock. Still me.
Bea
Still your dinosaur too. He’s covered in mud.
Milo
Camouflage.
Twiggy
That space beside the hollow. Under the roots. We can crawl through while they’re still.
Maya
Milo first. Bea, help him through. Twiggy, then me. Nobody runs off.
Milo
The captain fits. I can fit. Maya, you’ll come after us?
Maya
Right after Twiggy. I’ll be able to see your sock through the gap.
Bea
Milo. Twiggy. Maya. We’re all through.
The tree
Stay. Ask me. More.
Maya
Keep going. We’re listening for Mom now.
The way back — the dinosaur trail
Milo
But which way?
Twiggy
Your dinosaurs! In the mud!
Milo
Oh. My army.
Twiggy
Their noses point into the forest. We go the other way. Back over the prints we already made.
Bea
And my stars. By the chocolate tree. We came this way.
Maya
One print at a time. Stay together.
Milo
My sock doesn’t make dinosaurs.
Twiggy
That’s okay. We’re following the ones from before.
Bea
Here’s the root I stepped over. It’s still across the path.
Twiggy
And that stripe in the dirt. The first root made it. We’re going the right way.
Maya
Sit on it, Milo. Sock over first. Then boot. Bea’s got your arm.
Milo
Captain. Nobody left behind. Except the boot.
Bea
That’s the chocolate tree. I can smell it.
Maya
Me too. Come on. We already chose.
Milo
I’ve had enough.
Moose!
Bea
Wait. Listen again. Not the tree. Moose.
Twiggy
The prints go toward him. Same way!
Maya
The swing. I can hear it.
Bea
The yellow slide! The whole slide!
Mom
Maya! Milo! Here!
Milo
Mom!
The bench
Mom
Come here. All of you. Are you hurt?
Milo
My boot is gone.
Maya
We went into the woods. We couldn’t see you. A root caught Milo.
Milo
Maya found me. She kept holding me.
Mom
I’m glad you’re here. All four of you. The woods are outside where I can see you. Stay on the playground with me.
Bea
We kept asking for more. And every time, we got farther from you.
Twiggy
We needed home more than candy.
Milo
Can I have some water?
Mom
Of course. You can always ask for what you need. And for help. When I say that’s enough treats, the answer stays the same. Even when you still want one.
Maya
Even if I’m just checking?
Mom
Even then.
Milo
You found us. You’re a hero.
Mom
He kept barking toward the woods. I called and called. Then I heard you coming back.
Maya
We heard him. Then the swing. I didn’t know a squeaky swing could sound so good.
Bea
A hero who barked at a banana.
Twiggy
We don’t know what that banana was planning.
Mom
Both eyes?
Maya
Both eyes.
Leo
You went back for him. Even though you were scared.
Maya
I was really scared. I still held on.
Leo
Next time, hide behind the slide. Very sensible thing, a slide. Never offers you chocolate.
Maya
That’s probably a good thing.
Leo
And no more checking if Mom’s answer changed?
Maya
I’m practicing. Wanting another isn’t the same as needing another.
Leo
Fair. I’m practicing leaving your houseplant alone.
Was that outside?
Maya
It sounded like the tree.
Leo
I’m closing the window. You stay here.
Maya
When Leo shut the window, a leaf fell onto the sill. A black one. And the little lines in it made a number. A three and a one.
Leo
…Thirty-one.
Maya
That’s Halloween.
See you next time. In the fog.