[ WP ] When I touch you , you freeze .

`` Charlotte, what did you do?!'' 
 
 `` I do n't know! I do n't know!'' She sat there, sobbing in the sandbox. Around her, around the playground, people were staring in stunned silence at the spectacle; a dozen children, all frozen in various spots. 
 
 One boy was on the monkey bars, three-quarters of the way to the next handhold. Another kid was at the top of the slide, a smile eerily plastered on his face as he tilted forward from a push. Yet another girl was frozen on the swing, her body stiff even as the swing rocked back and forth. 
 
 `` Charlotte. I want you to explain to me what's going on, please. Why are these kids like this?'' I tried to use an even tone, to push down the rising panic. 
 
 `` I *sniffle* was just playing with them. Bobby wanted to go *sniffle* faster on the slide, and *sniffle* Kelly wanted to *sniffle* go higher on the swing... and then, we played tag, and I was it, and..'' 
 
 I started to get a picture as to what was going on. Charlotte was n't a bad girl; this was all just an accident. Yeah. 
 
 I started to think back on her life. She was only six. Did something happen when she came down with chickenpox? Did I give her bad medicine? When Lisa was pregnant, what did she eat? She came down with food poisoning, maybe that's what happened? No, that's absurd- 
 
 `` Stay away from my son!'' The shout interrupted my thoughts. I saw Charlotte had moved towards the boy on the monkey bars. His mother was holding him defensively, aiming a can of pepper spray at my daughter. I stepped forward, in front of Charlotte, defending her. The woman squeezed the trigger on the can, sending a torrent of pepper spray into my chest. I felt Charlotte squeeze my hand in alarm- 
 
 The spray disappeared, the can was on the ground. Charlotte was in front of me, a look of relief on her face. 
 
 `` Daddy, you're unstuck!'' 
 
 `` I... unstuck?'' 
 
 Did she... freeze me? 
 
 The anger from earlier drained from the mother's face. A look of hope replaced it instead. She dropped onto her knees in front of us, clasping her hands together. 
 
 `` Please, save my son! Please! He's a good kid, he does n't pick fights-'' 
 
 `` Hold on, hold on, we do n't know what's happened. Calm down miss, please.'' I looked at Charlotte. `` How did you unstick me, Charlotte? Do you remember?'' 
 
 She looked at the ground a bit, fidgeting with her fingers. I wanted to say she was n't in trouble, but kids can be surprisingly good at reading the atmosphere. Even if I said anything, everyone else was looking at her with fearful eyes. 
 
 `` I touched you, like this.'' 
 
 By the time I noticed what she was doing, she already had her left hand on me. I moved to grab her, but stopped. Why could I still move...? As I looked at her hand, a thought dawned on me. 
 
 `` Hey, Charlie. When I tell you, I want you to touch me with your right hand, then count to ten, then touch me with your left. Can you do that for me?'' She nodded vigorously, obediently waiting for my command. 
 
 I turned my head up and looked at the sky, following the jet trail to the plane creating it. 
 
 `` Alright. Touch me.'' 
 
 The plane jumped forward an about half an inch, just noticeable enough to realize the change. I looked back down at Charlotte, closing my grip around her left hand. 
 
 We'd get this mess sorted out, and get out of here quickly. Whatever happened now, she was my little girl. I had to protect her from whatever came next.
