She's Walking Away... Possibly.

The 5 Year Old looks over her shoulder and leans in to whisper something sotto voce.


"Do you sometimes worry that people are going the other way?" she asks.


"The other way?" I need a bit of clarification on this one.


"When you see someone walking towards you, do you worry that they are going the other way?"


"I don't understand," I confess.


"When they are walking towards you, do you worry that they are actually walking away from you?" She does a face that seems to convey "obviously!"


"Well, no," I say, "they are usually facing me if they are coming towards me."


"But I sometimes walk backwards!" she protests. Which is, indeed, true.


"People walking towards you tend to get closer. You can see which way they are walking!"


She thinks about this.


"Even people behind you?" she checks.


"You can't see them, but you can hear them and maybe see their shadow. If the sound gets nearer, they are probably getting nearer."


"So," she sums up, "you can tell which way people are going by looking at them and listening to them?"


I nod in agreement.


"That's a relief," she sighs. "I've been worrying about that." And off she skips away from me singing, the world free of care once more.


At least, I think she's skipping away from me...