got his mail today – and he acted kind
character in our unfolding drama. Every
of sneaky about it”). We were ready to take a serious bite out of crime. We
car that drove onto our street became part of the story. “I bet that lady in the
imagined being the first child-detectives to win medals for our shrewd out-
red van is a bank robber. She looks like she’s up to something.” “Yes, you’re
smarting of all the local “bad guys.” The problem was, there were no
right! And I think that guy with the blue jacket is her secret partner in crime. I
bad guys around. At least, none that we could find. No matter how many
bet he has all the stolen money hidden somewhere in his house.”
stakeouts we set up, nothing sinister ever happened on our boring, pre-
The Mystery of the X kept us occupied for several months. It was full
dictable street. We realized that if we wanted any mystery-solving excitement,
of excitement, adventure, and peril. I cannot remember exactly how it ended
we’d have to create it for ourselves. So we launched an adventure called “The
– whether we actually solved the mystery or simply decided that we’d
Mystery of the X.” The name was inspired when we noticed a bright
never catch the bad guys after all. But what I vividly recall is how skilled Sarah
orange “X” spray-painted on the sidewalk. Sarah’s dad told us that the X
and I were at creating drama - inventing stories, making up clues, and building
was there to mark the spot where electrical wires were buried under the
an alternate reality that was so much better than real life.
street. But we knew there had to be more to the story. “I bet it’s a clue that
My ability to create drama was harmless and innocent enough at the
leads to the bad guys’ secret hide-out!” I told Sarah. From that day on, we were
age of nine, but as I got older, my drama-making skill morphed into some-
embroiled in an exciting mission to find the criminals’ hub.
thing very different. “I saw Tracy flirting with Matt
“I found a grocery store receipt laying on the ground!” Sarah would tell
today,” I squawked into the phone one Friday when I was fourteen. “She’s
me. “It’s a clue!” “Yes, and I just found another
probably cheating on Nathan. We should talk to Kelly about it and see if
orange X down the street,” I would chime in. “That’s another clue!”
she knows anything.” Thus the theatrical Tracy/Matt/Nathan love tri-
Our imaginations ran wild. Every person we encountered became a
angle unfolded out of thin air.
X
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And it