by Brian Michael Stegner (Author)

As they got started, Dr. Trillium asked Ralf to tell him a bit about himself. Ralf did so, and went on and on about this "Harry" character, which sounded very much like a mythological creature.

Dr Trillium wrote down "hallucinations."

Ralf talked about the giant box-house they used to live in with Jome.

Dr. Trillium wrote down "illusions of grandeur."

Ralf talked about how one day Jome was just gone.

Dr. Trillium wrote down "abandonment by Father-figure."

Ralf frowned at all of this suspicious note-taking and asked when they would get to the flashcards.

Dr. Trillium put down his pen and stared at Ralf, "How do you know about the flashcards?"

Ralf went on to explain about Jome, and the cards, and the birds, and the cows, and Harry, and the crying and fighting and how he really, really needed his own set of cards.

Dr Trillium nodded and scribbled, and then finally brought out the coveted flashcards. They were glorious, a much bigger, whiter stack than Jome had brought home. Ralf began to wonder to himself if Jome hadn't just made his own cards, as these looked more professional. Nevermind, he was about to own his own flashcards, the real deal. He grinned. But how to get them and escape?

Ralf's original plan was to simply snatch the cards from the "psycho" and jump out the window, but Dr. Trillium's office had turned out to be quite a few floors higher than Ralf had anticipated. The moment Dan the social worker hit '47′ in the elevator Ralf frowned and tried to come up with a new exit strategy.

He was still working on it when Dr. Trillium started flashing the flashcards in his face, interrupting his thoughts. "What do you see?" asked Dr. Trillium.

"Parachute," answered Ralf.

Another card:

"Rope Ladder," said Ralf.

More cards:

"Helicopter."

"Wings."

"Teleportation Powers."

Dr. Trillium made a "hmm" sound and put the flashcards down.

"What are you running from, Ralf?" he asked, putting on what he believed to be a compassionate facial expression.

Ralf, thunderstruck by the question, started tearing up involuntarily.

Dr. Trillium saw this as a breakthrough. He sat back and smiled.

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