Aged Two Years:

Melody looked up from her car seat, giggling. Her mother was smiling at her from the passenger seat, tickling her toes. Melody squirmed and laughed harder. Her father joined the laughter, grinning at her through the rearview mirror. Their happiness was complete.

They were driving home from the hospital. Melody’s allergies had caused another scare. This was already their fourth trip this week. Apparently they were going to have to be very careful with this one until she outgrew some of her abnormalities. She couldn’t eat apples in any form, along with anything processed with or near nuts, or broccoli, or potatoes, or numerous other fruits and vegetables.

“Her system seems to reject things that have come from the earth,” the doctor had said, and, strange though that statement seemed, it was also evidently true. For many years she was forced to eat mainly artificial food and drink, though liquids didn’t seem to affect her as badly.

She had been like this until she was about five, and had gone to a birthday party where they served chopped walnuts on the cake. Little as she was, she knew no better than to take the piece offered her. And, to her parent’s amazement, she had no reaction. They had walked into the room to see their child ingesting what was to her body the equivalent of poison, and panic had ensued, but when they reached the emergency room, none of the strange symptoms were there.

Little Melody beamed at her parents, and turned her head. Outside of the window, she saw something. No one knows what it was, but whatever was there made the young child shriek and writhe around in her car seat. The happy faces of the young parents turned dismal and grey.

“Melody? Melody, sweet, quiet down…” her mother soothed gently.

But, though they tried the entire way home, and through most of the night, nothing would quiet the terrified child’s screams.

More to come soon!