TWIB (Chapter 1) I felt a burst of hot, muggy, Florida air as I stepped onto the old-fashioned dirt road. It was quite dim at the Western Inn, and as I stood with my mother, my eyes flicked to a dark figure darting near the western wagons. I tugged on my mother's worn-out sweater, it was damp from the recent rainstorm. I quietly pointed to the dark figure, which was now being joined by another figure. "Mama?" I quietly asked. My mother's face went pale as she looked at the dark figures, and I soon saw why. My mother began to tremble as the figures turned and stared at her. The first figure, a woman with curly hair, pointed at my mother and yelled something in another language. (I now realize that it was Russian) "Mama, what's going on?" I asked and she turned, grabbed my hand, and quickly led me back to our hotel room, where she instructed me to pack my bags up and get ready to leave. After we were packed, she called a taxi. When it arrived, my mother made a face like she forgot something important. "Get in the car, hurry!" she told me. "But Mama!" I cried, but she had already disappeared back into the hotel. After waiting for her for 20 minutes, the taxi took off, driving me to Miami, where I was told I had family. I cried for hours, wondering where my mother was. Little did I know that this is where the adventure would begin...