Grapes

She whispered frantically into the night, "Dan! Dan, come back here!" It was hard to know how loud to be when she knew the neighbors would be sleeping. Stella ran off through the bushes behind the house hoping Dan had gone that way too. Why did he take off like this lately? She looked over the fence, wondering if she dared go into the Yerdley's backyard. Dan liked to climb the tree and slip over the fence sometimes because he thought she was too old to follow.

"Dan! Dan, come back here!" Stella whispered again. Shoot. He didn't seem to be at the Yerdley's. He also like the tree house at the Helmdig's. Sheryl had called Stella last Thursday to let her know that little Dan was sitting up in their tree house eating grapes. She'd replaced the grapes the following day. Perhaps she should try the tree house.

Stella walked along the property line as she neared the Helmdig's home. She wondered what had set Dan off running this time. It was so hard to know what would trigger old memories that he didn't know how to cope with yet. He'd seen too much. For the millionth time, Stella wished Dan's life had turned out differently.