Ready or not, here I come.

I brush my fingertips through the grass, passing over an ant. I carefully go over him, and then continue to comb through the green. My eyes take in the way the light falls, the way the green looks against the ground… 

I lift my fingers from the ground, take a pencil from my stretched-out backpack, and sketch out the scene with the shade of the old oak I lean against, the little ant scuttling across the dirt, the pinecone sitting curled between the blades of grass. I skribble each little line, until I hear footsteps near me. I go still.

“Cass needs to work on her hiding, it’s way too hard to find her…” says Jess’s voice from on the opposite side of the tree. I pull in a breath and don’t breath out.

“Breath, Cass…” I say under my breath, barely audible to myself.

“Y’know, I’m going inside. Let her stay hidden the whole day, honestly…” she groans, and I hear the sliding door close to inside. I exhale finally, and keep sketching.

Scritch scritch scritch.

One hour passes. I move, because my leg is going numb. I rub the spots under my eyes, and sap gets underneath them. I sigh. Playing hide and seek with your sister is hard, because eventually, ten minutes after she’s said ‘Ready or not, here I come!” she grows bored, and eventually just goes inside.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Two hours. I yawn. The sun is going down. I check my old, battered watch. A hand-me-down from my mom. It’s 4:00.

Scribble scribble scribble.

Three hours. I stand up, brush off the dirt, and whisper under my breath; “Ready or not, here I come.”