May I talk with him?”The child whispered, “No.”Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mummy there?””Yes”�...�May I talk with her?”Again the small voice whispered, “No”Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anybody else there?”“Yes, “whispered the child,” a policeman.”Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”“No, he’s busy, “whispered the child.“Busy doing. The fact that she was in the math department, on a Thursday night, when she usually would be playing pool with her friends Jenna and Kate, flirting with guys and relaxing, was a testament to her desperation. She swore as the formulas and rules began to swim before her eyes. Rubbing them fiercely, she tried to focus on the page. She started when her phone rang, the blaring sound painfully loud in the quiet of the room. Checking the caller id, she picked up and greeted her Jenna tiredly. ‘Hey!. ”After he ordered, we started eating together. He looked so different now compared to how he was earlier in the meeting room. So relaxed and easy, just like how he was when I met him at the grocery store. He must have known I didn’t want to talk about what happened at work earlier and didn't push. We exchanged stories about our families and friends. He amazed me with his insights and I shocked him with mine. He told me about the mischief of his school days and I told him about my geeky. As far as the 'ponies' and their riders were concerned, she had no fears. Both she and her cousin could outrun them with ease, and they could thwart them by merely running into the woods and among the the trees where the carts couldn't follow. But the 'dogs' were more dangerous, though she was puzzled about how they were supposed to trap their prey. One by one, Mistress Sarah's house-slaves harnessed the 'ponies' to their allotted carts; the last, the one selected to draw the sinister black.