I walked along the sidewalk and shivered in the brisk fall winds. Nearby, people hurried past with their heads down trying to avoid the inevitable showers.

“Kitty!”

I turned to the call and saw a sight. A small blonde girl, about 5, was walking alone in a sundress. It was pink and orange and entirely innapropriate for this kind of weather. I was about to tell her that when her expression changed from that of laughter to distress. “Kitty, this isn’t funny now! Kitty?”

I looked at the situation and decided to ignore her until she broke down and started to cry. I glanced around for some sort of parent and then sighed, resigned to my fate as unwilling babysitter. I walked up to her and bent down to her level, “What’s the matter?”

“Kitty. And I,” her sentences were cut off by periodic sniffles, “Were. Playing. Hide-and-seek. When Kitty. Didn’t come back.” She broke into fresh tears.

“Well, I’ll help you find Kitty.”

“Really?” she turned serious, “You have to play Hide-and-seek.”

“I’ll play.”