Masked Faces

Chapter 8

She led me from the main city area down what seemed to be a narrow dirt hiking trail, surrounded by fleets of faithful trees to shade the trail's users from the sun.  The shade might have felt nice had the day been warmer, but in the overcast gloom it only served to drop our body temperatures by a degree or two.

We escalated a small hill, and she paused at the top, staring in front of us.

A breeze whipped through the air, making the tree's leaves shudder and rattle loudly around us.  Piper's chocolate hair ruffled with the wind, and my nose caught for an instant the passing scent of strawberry shampoo.  

 

I turned to look at her, wondering why we had stopped, and watched the way her delicate face lit up as she tucked a lock of hair away behind her ear. "We're here," she said, pointing.

I followed the direction of her finger, seeing the smallish yard surrounded by few welcoming trees and a white decorative fence.  No one was here.

"Wow," I breathed.

We started down the hill, nearing the park.  I noticed an aged, rusty looking yellow slide and an equally old set of blue monkey bars.  The park was small and simple and looked forgotten, uncared for.  I could tell why this quiet spot was a special area for Piper.  

   

Piper dropped my hand and walked up to the gate, pushing the creaky wood open.  She walked in ahead of me, wandering over to the set of monkey bars and staring at the peeling blue paint, a mixture of sadness and wonder on her face.  Not knowing what else to do, I slowly approached the small slide and raised my hand to trace my fingertips lightly along the scratched metal.

"I almost forgot how this place looked."  Piper said quietly, as though entranced by the ancient playground equipment before us.

A sudden clap of thunder caused me to raise my head to stare into the sky.  A drop of water hit me in the middle of the forehead, another on my shoulder.  

The rain picked up, and suddenly Piper and I were standing in the middle of a complete downpour.  Piper squealed,  fumbling with her purse and trying to retrieve her umbrella from within its depths.  I stood there for a second, shocked by the sudden change in weather.  It was raining.  I prepared myself to become drenched, but I was already soaked by the time I'd even registered what was happening.  

I ran for a tree, calling Piper's name and motioning for her to follow me.  She stopped messing with her purse, giving up on the umbrella, and ran after me.  

We dove underneath a  large tree, sitting down next to it's trunk, and she finally was able to pull the folded umbrella from her purse, snapping it open in an instant and holding it over our heads.

"Do you like the rain?"  She asked, chuckling and pushing her sopping wet hair from her face.

I chuckled darkly, staring at the water splashing heavily onto the grass around us.  "Hardly." I replied flatly. I hated the rain.

I jumped when a sudden bolt of lighting clashed right above us in the sky, illuminating the area.

Piper raised an eyebrow towards me. "Are you afraid of storms?"

I shook my head. "No.  It's just getting wet that bothers me."

She giggled.  "Let loose!" she scolded, nudging me in the side with her elbow.  "Rain is a blessing."  

I rolled my eyes, not able to see how water drenching your brand new clothes was a gift.  I forced a laugh and flashed her a fake grin. "You're right, I guess.  But that doesn't change the fact that I hate it!"