The story begins when I was only six years old, sitting in my backyard. I swung my legs and kicked up a cloud of dry dust, which to my delight fell all over me.

I thought it was like magic dust. I had always wanted magic. So I rolled and rolled until my light skin turned tan and my pink skirt became muddy-colored.

Every day I found a new outdoors game. Sometimes I'd pretend I was an old newspaper boy when I rode my bycicle. Sometimes I'd swing on the tree-swing and sing at the top of my lungs. Whatever made me happy, I'd do.

I can remember that I played until the sun melted over the horizon, turning the sky yellow, green, and dark blue. Horrified, I realized my mom was probably looking for me.

I was right. In the distance, I heard her call, with a nervous, trembling voice, "Emilia?! Emilia?!"

I would be in so much trouble. I'd never gotten myself hidden like this for so long. My dinner was probably cold. And I was in my backyard cave now, which although small concealed you from the outside world almost completely. Even with my childish mind controlling me, I was still shaking with fear.

I closed my eyes. I could her her hard, demanding footsteps getting closer to my hideout. "EMILIA?"

She turned and her gaze fell on me inside my tiny dirty cave.

I sucked in a breath.

And the world stopped.

Mom was still. She wasn't moving a muscle, or even blinking. Her eyes stayed wide open, staring at me.

I shuffled to the left. She still stared at where I had been.

The sun was frozen, almost sunken beneath my vision. Even tiny flecks of dirt still were suspended midair.

I grinned. I was magic!

I spent a forever, compressed into one still moment, trying out tricks. It was probably almost a day or two in reality. I changed Mom's position until she was looking straight at a tree. I jumped over my neighbor's dog, who was stuck midleap. A mean kid from down the street got a special treatment. I made him lay down, the side of his face in a mud puddle.

I ended up just playing with Barbie dolls in my room. I figured I could do it forever if I wanted.

When I found one I thought I'd lost, I gasped, and the world started up again.

Well, it was about time I ate dinner. Frozen in time, I couldn't get hungry, but as soon as time began again I felt a pang of hunger.

I looked out the window to see how Mom reacted to my prank.

She looked confused. I had just been in front of her eyes, and now all she could see was bark. And she looked nervous when she got inside the house, and fidgety.

"I know you're in your room, Emilia," she called. "I also know you weren't ten seconds ago."

I came down beaming. "Oh, Mommy, I have a trick to show you! All of a sudden, everything stops, when I just do-" I was excited, and happy, but I went silent when I saw Mom's obvious discomfort.

"Mommy, it's fine! I used my magic dust! Or maybe, maybe when I was eating that ice cream, it gave me powers! Ooh! Maybe I got it when I-"

"Emilia. Stop. We need to talk. I think-" she took a deep breath, "I think we need to talk about your father."