Chapter 1
After the new Sunshine Ball Pit Garden opened in our neighborhood, it quickly became a magnet for over a hundred kids.
I watched from afar as my daughter, Emma, tumbled around in the ball pit.
At the same time, the property manager, Juniper Blake, kicked off a live stream from the sidelines.
Juniper called out, "Alright, everyone, get ready for hide-and-seek! Make sure you really hide well!"
Juniper grinned, "And whoever stays hidden the longest gets their parents off the hook for a whole month's 65,000 dollars property fee!"
Soon, the Sunshine Ball Pit Garden went eerily quiet, as if all the kids had vanished into thin air.
A wave of unease washed over me, and just then, a man named Earl Sherman came rushing in through the door.
He shouted, "The pool next door is under renovation. I am operating the bulldozer and found out the water pipes at the bottom are busted!
"You guys don't have any leaks here, do you?"
*****
My unease only grew stronger.
"A leak? Where exactly?" Juniper asked, his voice tight with worry.
"If the pipes over there are connected, it should lead to..." Earl said, his voice rising with urgency.
He gestured wildly, his rough fingers pointing straight ahead.
"Underneath these balls!" he shouted.
What? The realization hit everyone like a bolt of lightning.
It felt like a thunderclap going off among all the parents.
"Are you kidding me? This is a luxury neighborhood worth millions! There's no way we could have a leak!" one parent scoffed.
"Yeah, the property management just checked everything yesterday!" another chimed in.
While everyone else kept complaining, I was the only one who suddenly jumped up, my eyes scanning the Sunshine Ball Pit Garden, searching for any sign of trouble.
It was way too quiet...the silence was really freaking.
If there was really a leak underneath, how deep could the water be?
If a child had accidentally hidden underwater, choked on water, and been pressed down, unable to get up, what would have happened? My heart was racing.
Countless worries flashed through my mind, and I marched forward, urgency pushing me on.
"Emma, please come out now! Stop hiding, it's not safe!" I called out, my voice trembling with worry.
My shout jolted the other parents back to reality, snapping them out of their daze.
Even though they kept insisting it couldn't be true, their expressions betrayed a growing sense of anxiety.
Vivian Hartwell, my neighbor, rushed over, her words shaky with panic.
"My two boys were playing with Emma just now. Do you think they might be together?" she asked, her voice trembling.
As she spoke, she craned her neck, peering into the ball pit.
"Felix, Oscar, come out now!" she called out, her voice cracking with worry.
"Mommy had the nanny make you some honeydew broth. Let's hurry home!" she added, trying to sound calm but failing.
But all we got in response was a suffocating silence.
Vivian was my business partner, and our kids had grown up together, always inseparable. They ought to be together now, shouldn't they?
But why was there still no response? My anxiety was gnawing at me.
My anxiety pressed so hard on my chest that I could barely breathe, panic threatening to overwhelm me.
Ever since the divorce years ago, raising Emma alone, she'd been my emotional anchor. If anything happened to her... I honestly didn't know how I'd survive.
The thought sent a jolt through me, and I rushed forward, calling out desperately.
"Emma, please, don't scare Mommy like this! Forget about that property fee reward. It's not important!" I shouted, my voice trembling with worry.
Before I could finish, Juniper burst out laughing.
Her wrist holding the live stream camera wobbled, panning over our pale faces for everyone watching.
"Wow, rich people, huh?" Juniper snickered, her voice full of sarcasm.
"Come on, aren't you all a little too worked up?" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Relax, they're just playing hide-and-seek. I'll go in and catch them myself in three minutes..." Juniper said, sounding totally unfazed.
"Enough!" I snapped, barely keeping it together.
Furious, I shoved her hand away.
"If something goes wrong, are you really going to take the blame?" I demanded, glaring at Juniper.
"I need to find Emma right now!" I yelled, panic clawing at my chest.
Bang!
I kicked off my high heels and jumped right into the ball pit.
In an instant, a flood of colorful balls crashed over me, shutting out even the sunlight.
Plop!
Plop!
All around me, the parents piled in, diving straight into the Sunshine Ball Pit Garden like a wild stampede.
I hunched over, desperately reaching down, trying to touch the ground under all those balls, my heart pounding with every second that passed.
There was actually water down here
The water was already up past my ankles! Panic surged through me.
"Emma, where are you? Please, talk to Mommy! Say something!" I called out, my voice echoing desperately through the pit.
The icy water soaked my feet as I frantically dug through the balls, my hands shaking with fear.
Surrounded by dampness, every sound was muffled in my ears, like I was underwater in a dream.
The air felt suffocating, growing thinner by the second.
Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and lunged upward, desperate for the surface.
Phew!
At last, my head burst out from the top of the ball pit, and I gasped for breath, like I'd just surfaced from deep water.
At the same time, the other parents surfaced one after another, gasping for breath as they broke through the sea of balls.
These parents, who were always the picture of professionalism, now looked completely disheveled, their hair in wild disarray.
"Anyone found their kids yet?" someone called out, their voice tight with worry.
"No, I couldn't find anything down there. Where could they possibly be hiding?" another parent snapped, frustration and fear mixing in their voice.
"Damn hide-and-seek! Whose bright idea was it to play this game anyway?" someone else shouted, their anger barely contained.
Everyone shot Juniper a glare, but she just scoffed, totally unimpressed, her words laced with disdain.
"Oh, please! This is a brand-new Sunshine Ball Pit Garden! You grown-ups didn't even bother to wash your hands or feet before jumping in. Now all the balls are filthy!" Juniper complained, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"And there are tens of thousands of balls in here! How do you expect to find anyone so quickly?" she huffed, rolling her eyes.