“We don’t really know where we’re going,” Nellie says in a stage whisper. Eli pokes her side. “Ow!”

Eli: We had to see the treehouse again. But we couldn’t retrace our steps from Friday, even when we rode around all afternoon on our bikes.

Nellie: Then we found our way out of the woods to this creepy, broken-down house that I’m pretty sure is haunted.

Squizzle: Forget ghosts! There was a cat in that shed that chased me up a tree! If not for the little boy who threw a ball at it, I’d be cat dinner right now!

AT first, Eli is sure the boy is going to scream, or run inside, or call the police and get them in trouble for trespassing. He can only stand there, rooted to the ground and staring at the kid, which he thinks might be making it worse.

But Nellie is the one who’s good with people, and she moves forward smoothly. “I’m Nellie, and this is Eli. We were lost in the woods,” she says. “This is still Lionstone, right? We live up on Bay Court, near the other end of the woods.”

“Oh.” The boy relaxes around Nellie. Everyone does. She’s so full of smiles and energy that kids of every age love her. And this boy can’t be much younger than their own little brother, Kivi. His clothes are a little too big, making him look smaller than he probably is. “My name’s Shlomo.”

“And you live here?” Nellie’s eyes flicker over the house again, the abandoned shed and the broken windows. Eli knows that she’s thinking what he is — that this house is too broken-down for anyone to live in.

Shlomo bobs his head. “We just moved in last week. There’s still a lot to fix up, but we had to move out of our old apartment in a hurry. Abba says that it’ll be a while before everything is done.” He brightens. “Can I come exploring with you? I have a bike, too.”

“Oh.” Eli exchanges a glance with Nellie and says gently, “You’ll need permission. And I don’t think you can go all the way to where we’re going.”

“We don’t really know where we’re going,” Nellie says in a stage whisper. Eli pokes her side. “Ow!”

“That’s okay. I’m just going to ask Ima first.” Shlomo drops his bat and charges inside, calling at the top of his lungs, “IMA!”