There was this boy, twelve, thirteen, maybe fourteen who could only hum when answering questions. Questions made him nervous. His abdominals would swell and his fingers would plump and the whole world seemed to tumble around him.One day he walked, ten miles, maybe more, to a place I cannot identify by name, just greenery and smell; trees, bushes, dandelions rosewater and cow manure everywhere. Upon the tenth mile he stopped, too tired to carry on without water and only a slice of swiss cheese in his pocket, he stuck his thumb out for an eventual ride back home. Not a single car passed by, nor a horse, nor a wagon, nothing petered along his lonesome dust road. The sky peered down at the boy and a bird landed on his thumb. He looked at the bird and the bird looked back.