Richard bent down to fit through the doorway, hunched over for a few moments, his head pressed against the rough ceiling. Blinded from the sudden darkness, he searched the shady interior, panicking, not understanding how she could have disappeared. It was a tiny playhouse with only one door and Haley had scrambled inside five minutes ago. Gradually, his vision adjusted and he saw her sitting quietly in the corner, staring at him with wide eyes. Richard sat down next to her on the low bench, wrapping her tiny hand in his. They sat in silence for a minute as he watched her stare out the window.

“Daddy, it’s a magic car.”

Bewildered for a moment, he glanced out the window and saw a wrecked sedan half-hidden in the weeds. It might have blue or green once but now its color was a mystery its make and model were indecipherable. All four tires were flat, the rubber bent into weird shapes that would never roll again. He loved the sound of his daughter’s voice and decided to play along, just to hear her speak.

He turned to his daughter and asked, “Who drives the magic car?”

She answered without hesitation. “The little boy.” Her voice serious, she nodded her head for emphasis.

Richard nodded, mimicking her. “And where does he drive to?”

The answer was again quick and sure. “To the hospital for the little boys and girls.”

His playful teasing stopped as her words sunk in. From day one, Haley had been robust and healthy, sidestepping even mild ailments. She had never been to a hospital and visits to the doctor were rare and treated like a game. “Why the hospital? Are the children sick and he makes them better?”

She shook her head.  “The scary man tells him where to go. I don’t think…he makes them better.” She hesitated. “I don’t like him, even though he told me said that he likes me.”

Richard sat, letting her words sink in. Talk about hospitals and sick children was not pleasant, but more concerning was this strange man who was trying to become friends with his three-year-old daughter. He stared at the derelict car, trying to see through windows coated with dust. They had been at the park for an hour and he would have noticed any shady characters wandering around. They lived in the suburbs and there were no vagrants. The park sat next to a large wooded area and the car had been abandoned there years ago, perhaps even before the park was built.

“It’s time to go home, sweetie.” It was a bit earlier than usual, but Richard wanted to get home to discuss this with his wife. Normally, Haley managed to coax an extra ten or fifteen minutes of park time from her father, but this evening, she was uncharacteristically complacent, following silently as he led her out of the park.

They began their ritual farewell to the playground, but Haley, normally the dramatic star of this game, was strangely distracted, glancing in the direction of the car hidden behind the playhouse.

That night, after the bath and cleaning up the flood in the bathroom, after the fifth repetition of this week’s favorite bedtime story, after the second cup of water that she didn’t really drink, he kissed her sleepy forehead and went down to the living room.

His wife, Janet, was pecking away at her laptop when he asked her to join him in the living room. She was about to object but one look at his worried expression and she gently lowered the top of the computer before following him to the sofa.

Looking at his wife, Richard felt suddenly foolish. He hadn’t seen any man, or a boy. There was no way the car could move, let alone drive across town to the hospital. It was all probably a result of their daughter’s overactive imagination. “You’ll never believe what she said today,” Richard said, smiling at his wife. He related the story of the magic car, trying to play off the worrying parts as silly. He laughed as he described how cute their daughter was when she played at being serious, trying not to wince as he related what Haley had said about the strange car.

When he finished speaking, Janet sat silently, a troubled expression on her face.

“Are you sure you didn’t see any men wandering around?”

“Absolutely not,” he assured her. “Especially not on that side of the park. The street is on the other side, so if some stalker were hanging out, he wouldn’t have been near the playhouse.”

Janet considered what he had said for a few moments.”Something doesn’t make sense. A stalker wouldn’t bring along a boy. And he wouldn’t try to lure her into a broken-down car. He would want to get her into his own car and drive off.”

Richard shrugged. “It’s probably an imaginary game Haley is playing.”

“She’s never done that before, not even an imaginary friend.”

“There’s always a first time,” he said, as he stood, signaling the end of the conversation. Janet followed him up to their bedroom, feeling that too much had been left unsaid.