Library Magic

Prologue 1

Danny has just finished putting his pencil case back in his school bag after completing his homework for the weekend. He had some simple maths and spelling questions. He is proud to say that he is better at those then most of his 3rd grade classmates. His mom had prepared mac and cheese for dinner which is his favourite so he was excited about dinner, but now his mom is hiding again in her office. Danny's dad is away for two weeks on another business trip, he is old enough to understand that this is how they are able to afford all of the nice things he likes but that doesn't make the ache in his chest any less from missing his father a lot. Now when he misses him is when Danny is usually able to go and seek out his mom, but she has started a new job and now works just as often as Danny's dad.

The grand dark wood door of his mom's office is intimidating to the eight year old, he has been scolded for playing in there before but right now all he wants is his mom. He has finished all his responsibilities, that means it can be movie time if he asks nicely enough. The ache in his chest only grows the closer he gets to the office. Once Danny knocks timidly on the door his mothers sharp voice startles the silence that had previously fallen over the house.

"Yes honey, come in" Danny's mom says. This response doesn't have any emotion behind it. As Danny enters he can see his mom hasn't moved her gaze from the computer screen in front of her, she is still typing away. Danny stands quietly waiting for her to be finished whatever it is she is working on so that he can ask his question.

"Honey, I am very busy, what do you want?" Danny's mom says, sounding distracted. Since she still doesn't look up from her screen Danny feels the ache growing again.

"Um... d-do you want to do a movie n-n-night?" Danny shyly asks. He holds his hands together in front of himself with a tight grip and looks up hopefully at his mom. Much to his disappointment she only gives a quick glance up at him before answering.

"Sorry honey I can't tonight" Danny's mom answers dryly, going back to her work on the computer. The ache in Danny's chest grows into a painful pressure as he quickly exits the office. 

The family pictures hung on the walls of the hallway towards Danny's bedroom fly by as he runs. Danny can feel cold tears falling down his face and can't seem to get rid of the pressure in his chest. Usually the ache goes away when he is with his parents but it didn't tonight when he saw his mom. Once Danny reaches his bedroom he slams his door closed and jumps onto his bed. He scrambles to have his back pushed into the corner with a blanket pulled up to his chin. Danny feels confused when his chest starts hurting, he rubs his fist into it but this does nothing to help. He feels sweaty and out of breath, more than he should be from just running down the hallway. Tears still streaming down his face, Danny slumps over onto his left side, curling himself into the smallest ball he can possibly make and trying to breath so the ache will finally go away. There is a ringing in his ears that only makes it harder to focus on catching his breath.

Once Danny is able to calm down a little bit he realises that he feels shaky when he tries to stand up but that the pressure in his chest has dulled down a bit. Danny quietly makes his way across his bedroom to pick a book off of his shelves. Reading before bed has always been something Danny loved to do with his dad, but he is a big kid now and can definitely do this on his own. Danny cuddles up in his bed with his plush teddy bear and favourite blanket then opens his book to start reading. He falls asleep after putting the book on the floor beside his bed and wrapping his own arms around himself and squeezing as tight as he can, and pulling his knees in. Eventually, Danny's mom came in and kissed his forehead gently before turning his nightlight on and leaving his room with the door open so she could hear if he needed anything in the night.

Later on Danny and his parents learn this was the start of many panic attacks to come, Danny developed an anxiety disorder but is also working on his coping skills to deal with this diagnosis.