Trees

"What was the tree neighbor guy's name again?"

"Oh, that's John."

"For some reason I kept wanting to call him Joe. I was talking to Darren about him. I like him."

"Yeah, he's pretty great. He's just had a hard life. When I was a kid, I used to run through his farm with his daughters..."

The autumn sky sends a light breeze through the evergreen pines. The light blue winter jacket matched the bright pink mittens and yellow boots perfectly as I dashed in and out of the trees. I was going to find her. It was only a few hundred acres, but that couldn't stop this little fireball. There were always hazards that I may or may not have seen. Gophers were notorious for digging holes just the right size to swallow my foot or the old homes of tree trunks liked to appear right in front of me at a moment where I just couldn't catch myself. At this time of the year, the mud had come back, thanks to the loyal rain fall. There had just been a storm; the pond was full of newts for catching and frogs for being teased.

Giggling was my favorite past time. Spending time with similar minds made my past time easy. Thanks to my parents, the neighbor kids soon became our best friends. Ashley was four years older than Hank to the day and that similar connection made interaction easy. Rachel was my age so I didn't feel inferior nor responsible within the start of a friendship. I later found out how close our Moms were at the funeral years later. And my dad, well, he's always loved close friends and talking. That matched well with the other husband. Looking back, I never really understood at the time why we grew apart. Until I learned a little about the social interaction of the human population later in life, I never made a connection. We had fun together, though,  through the adventures of sleepovers, board games, and wilderness expeditions.

"Ashley, I see you! Come out!" I squealed joyfully. The magenta boots were hard to miss in the blurs of green I witnessed as my ratted hair became less and less agreeable with me.

I was greeted by a flash full of baby teeth and a slap on the arm. "You're it!"

The silence fell with children's laughter. I could feel the eyes of the adults on my back and yet I was so carefree. In and out of trees. Big trees, small trees. Wide trees, shinny trees. I had no worries and I lived life after waking up, and before going to sleep.

"Vicki, Hank, time to go home. Come on in, please!"

I looked over my shoulder and my parents, holding leftovers, were opening the Ford's trunk. We met them at the car and were lifted into the back seat. The three minute drive was a time to unwind until the next event. My brother, my best friend, and I giggled and laughed and smiled until we were met by the dog at home. Dried mud on my boots and hands from catching myself over gopher holes and tree trunks were disregarded as the mess was left outside under the carport. We each took turns with Mom getting ready for bed, but the beanie babies that we loved so dearly were next to our hearts from start until finish.

Being tucked in on the top bunk made everything just tons better. I was dominant over Brother and he loved me, anyway. After a failed attempt to say prayers, Mom turned out the light, pulled the door in, and looked back at her babies who meant more to her than anyone really could've imagined. She sweetly whispered "goodnight, I love you" and Brother and I mumbled something back, similar to what we heard. Who know what that meant, anyway.

"Yeah?"

"It was a lot of fun."