Thomas laughed and said, Because no one can catch the tag master; hes uncatchable. No one in the universe can catch him. Then Thomas poked Eric in the ribs and laughed even louder.
I want to know why I cant catch you.
Thomas looked at his best friend, who had a very serious expression, and said, I dont know. I just go in another direction than the one youre going. I see which way youre going and I go the other way.
How do you see which way Im going?
Your shadows give you away.
Duh, if you havent noticed, its dark.
I dont mean that kind of shadow, he said, just as Erics mother came through the front door and shouted, Eric, get in this house right now. Youve left your room in a mess and you know youre supposed to be in when it gets dark.
Erics in trouble, Erics in trouble, Thomas began chanting as they jumped up, and they both laughed as they ran up the grassy slope and through the front door, their game of tag forgotten as they headed upstairs.
One of Thomas Gardners favorite games was tag. He was the tag master in his class at school not because he was so fast, although he had good speed, but it seemed just before you could touch him he would dodge just out of reach. No one could catch him. His schoolmates started calling him by his initials, T A G. Somehow the name stuck and from the first level on he was just known as Tag. If you asked his playmates if they liked Thomas, they wouldnt know who you were talking about; everyone knew him as Tag. Even his teachers began calling him that. His playmates didnt give much thought as to why he was uncatchable but just assumed he was really quick. If you asked Tag why he couldnt be caught, hed say, I go one way, they go another. His teachers noticed occasionally that he would start to stand up just before they would ask him a question. They thought this was due to his paying close attention and seeing he was about to be called on. All in all, if you asked anyone who knew him they would tell you he was just a normal, everyday five-year-old. Nothing was farther from the truth.
At home his father would talk with him about life and the things he would have to do to be successful. Often they would lie on the floor in their family room and his father would lift him up and he would pretend he was flying. He would close his eyes and feel all the things surrounding him in the room. Tag always looked forward to this time of day. His father had a good job but he had to work long hours, so Tag was always excited when he came home and his father was there.
Im flying, Im flying, Tag yelled and held his arms out as his father lifted him and swung him back and forth and side to side while they rolled on the floor.
Youre landing now, his father said as he dumped Tag on the floor. Then he said, Oops, crash landing, and began tickling him until they both were laughing hysterically. Thomas, when you grow up its important that you study hard and have good scores in school. You could be a pilot of one of our star ships and see the galaxy. Then youd fly for real. With that his father picked him up and ran with him to his room to get ready for bed.
Aw Dad, lets play some more. Its not late. Please!
His father handed him off to his mother and said, We have an angry space pilot here. See if you can land him in bed, and then they both laughed as she hugged him and swung him around in circles.
At night his mother would hold her little boy close to her breast and feel the life beating within him as she read to him. From the day he was born she had loved him more than life itself. He was such a good boy who never gave her any problems, and he seemed to always know what she wanted. Sometimes at night she would watch him sleep and wonder just what the world held in store for him. She often thought he was pretending to sleep and that he knew she was there the whole time. She didnt know it, but she was right. No one could look at Tag without him sensing it. He didnt know this was a special ability; he thought everyone could do it. He was seven years old when he discovered that just wasnt the case.
It was the year of his fourth level in school, and one day during playtime his teacher suggested they learn a new game called hide-and-seek. She explained that someone would hide and then she would try to find them. The only rule was you could not go outside the blue line surrounding the playground. She quickly found the first ten students that had tried to hide. There just werent very many places where they could completely conceal themselves. They all stood in a playground that was only sixty yards square. One side was totally bordered by the school building and cafeteria. The far side of the playground had a fence but the two interior sides simply emptied out into streets. No one had successfully hidden. Then it was Tags turn, and he didnt try to hide behind anything. When the teacher closed her eyes and counted to ten, he simply walked around behind her and waited for her to start looking. The teacher then began walking around the playground searching everywhere. Tag bent low and followed her around the yard, and each time she turned he would step around her, away from the direction she was turning, so that she would barely miss seeing him. The other students thought this was hysterically funny and began laughing out loud. After ten minutes the teacher put her hands on her hips and demanded to know what was so funny. The students told her that Tag was right behind her. She turned around quickly and he wasnt there. She turned around the other way and he still wasnt there. They only laughed harder. With exasperation in her voice, she finally said, Okay, I give up. Where are you? Tag stepped out from behind her and the teacher noticed they were standing very close to the blue line. Play time ended and his teacher asked Tag to stay a few minutes after school.
After school his teacher handed him an envelope and asked him to take it home and give it to his mother. Tag smiled, took the envelope, and put it in his backpack. It didnt even occur to him to open the note and see what it said. He laid it on the kitchen table when he got home and told his mother about it when she walked through the front door. She opened the envelope and read the note. She sat down, and Tag could see that something was bothering her. Whats wrong, Mom? he asked.
Tell me what happened at school today, Thomas.
Tag walked over and sat down on the little green footstool in front of her chair, looked up at her, and said, Nothing, really; we spent the first part of the day studying history and we had a playtime learning to play hide-and-seek.
Tell me about how you played hide-and-seek.
It was really pretty simple and fun. When the teacher closed her eyes, I walked around behind her and then moved so she couldnt see me.
She thinks you left and hid outside the blue line against her instructions.
No, Mom! I was right behind her the whole time. All the other kids saw me. You know how you move when you dont want someone to see you.
His mother looked him in the eye with a furrowed brow and slowly said, No, Thomas, I dont. What do you mean, so they cant see you?
Well, you know how there are shadows around every person that shows where they are not looking or going to look.
His mother looked even more puzzled and said, Im not sure I understand what you are saying. Why dont you show me?
Great, do you want to hide first?
No. I want you to do exactly what you did today. Ill count to ten and you hide, but you cant leave this room.
Okay.
She stood up and placed her hand over her eyes, counted to ten, opened her eyes, and began searching for Thomas. She looked behind the sofa, the desk, the chair, and in the hallway. After five minutes she was certain that he was nowhere to be found in that room. Then she had a thought. Thomas, she said, stay exactly where you are and dont move. She turned around and there he was, right behind her.