Ah, childhood. It’s about freedom.

With the abandon of youth unfettered, Mariano pedaled his bike along a familiar route through his neighborhood. Fantasies of speed, of power, and of heroism sprang up with every hedgerow, around each corner to color the journey in more romantic tones. He raced his own heartbeat.

Ah, childhood. It’s about self discovery.

His dark hair blew back from where it usually obscured chestnut eyes. Sweat crept along his tan skin, half the effect of summer days spent outside and half the effect of some distant heritage. Athletic muscles, practiced perhaps beyond his twelve years strained for greater and greater speed.

Ah, childhood. It’s about dreaming.

Mariano slowed his pace as he approached home. Something was amiss at the Monteforts’. A black and white police cruiser was across the street. Dark sedans filled the circular driveway. Men in suits ferried supplies from the cars to the house. This was serious. Law and Order had descended upon his sleepy neighborhood.