"Mom, do trees grow up like we do?" asked Jackson, looking up from his drawing of a dragon with shiny scales.
Mom smiled, her paintbrush pausing on the canvas. "That's a great question! Trees do grow, just like you. They start as tiny seeds and get bigger and bigger."
Jackson, with his robot arms moving excitedly, jumped up. "Can we go see big trees? I want to climb a really, really big one!"
Mom chuckled. "Well, we can't climb them, but we can go see them. How about we go to Zilker Park?"
Zilker Park was full of sunshine and laughter. The trees stood tall and proud, their branches reaching up to the sky like giant arms. Jackson, with his eyes wide with wonder, traced his robot fingers over the rough bark of an enormous oak.
"Look, Mom, it has a face!" he exclaimed, pointing to a knot in the wood that looked like a grumpy eye.
Suddenly, a low whisper seemed to rustle through the leaves. "Grrroooowww..."
Jackson wasn't scared. He was brave and curious. He squeezed Mom's hand. "Did you hear that?"
Mom, ever friendly, smiled down at him. "It's just the wind, sweetie."
But the wind didn't usually whisper, did it?
As they walked deeper into the park, Jackson noticed something else. A little brown dog with floppy ears sat sadly beneath a weeping willow. Its tail gave a tiny thump on the ground.
"Look, Mom, a doggy! Can we keep him?" Jackson asked, his eyes pleading.
Mom knelt down and gently petted the dog. "He seems lost, sweetheart. Let's see if he has a collar."
There was no collar, just a faded red bandana.
"Don't worry, boy," Jackson whispered, gently stroking the dog's soft fur. "We'll take care of you."
They played fetch with the dog, tossing a stick across the grassy field. The sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.
"Grrroooowww..." came the whisper again, closer this time.
The dog, usually playful, whimpered and hid behind Jackson's legs.
Then, Jackson saw it. A pair of glowing green eyes peeked from behind a tree.
"Mom, look!"
But when Mom turned, the eyes were gone.
The whispers seemed to be coming from all around them now. "Grrroooowww... Find... the... bone..."
Jackson felt a shiver run down his spine. What was going on?
Suddenly, the dog, tail wagging excitedly, darted off towards a clump of bushes.
"Come back!" Jackson cried, running after him.
The dog stopped at the base of a giant oak, pawing at something half-buried in the dirt.
It was a bone, old and worn. As soon as the dog touched it, the whispers stopped. The green eyes disappeared. The wind settled.
The dog, bone in his mouth, trotted back to Jackson, dropping it at his feet with a happy bark.
Jackson picked up the bone. It felt... different. He closed his eyes, and suddenly, he saw an image of a big, friendly dog, wagging its tail, burying a bone at the foot of the tree. Then, the image faded.
Jackson understood. The whispers weren't scary, they were sad. The ghostly dog just wanted his bone back!
He looked down at the floppy-eared dog, now happily gnawing on his ritrovata treasure. "I think you found your way home, boy."
As they walked back home, hand-in-hand, the setting sun casting long shadows, Jackson realized something else. He had a new friend, a spooky adventure to remember, and a heart full of wonder. Growing up was full of surprises, some a little spooky, but mostly wonderful!
