The Cherry Trees

Chapter Nine: 2014

I took a deep breath and wiped the sweat away from my eyes as I attempted to bring my heart rate back to normal. I could feel the heat on my face and I knew that it was as red as the blood dripping from my knees.

"Anne!" Lexi said from behind a bush. She seemed to like hiding behind those lately. I didn't reply, wanting to keep my hiding spot a secret. No one would ever find me here.

"Anne!" I heard another voice call. It belonged to Luke. I still didn't reply, and I made sure not to step on any twigs.

"Guys she isn't over here," Will called. Then I had an idea. I picked up a rock and threw it as far as my stick arms could allow. I heard it land with a satisfying thud, and then some rustling as it rolled through the leaves.

"Over here!" Lexi shouted, running towards the noise. I heard the other two follow, and then I revealed myself, running in the opposite direction. No one would ever know that I had been hiding there. I was the last one left hiding, so I just decided to give myself up and win the game. I went towards where I heard them running, but I didn't see them there, so I went back into my house.

"There she is!" Aunt Kristy said, pointing at me. Lexi, Will, and Luke all spun around and saw me.

"Man! Where have you been?" Lexi asked, looking me over.

"Hiding?"

"Wow you're pretty good. But what happened to you?" Will said.

"I fell a few times," I explained, wiping the blood from my scraped up knees.

"That must have been a pretty intense game of hide and seek," Aunt Kristy said, examining my minor cuts. "Well go get cleaned up, I am taking you out somewhere!"

I nodded and headed towards the stairs. "You guys are welcome to come as well," she said, turning to Lexi, Will, and Luke.

"Awesome!" Lexi cried, and Will and Luke did one of those fist-bump things.

"Oh! And wear a bathing suit!" Aunt Kristy called after them. A bathing suit? Why would we need a bathing suit in April? Whatever, I thought, she is a little spontaneous.

I ran upstairs and rummaged through my drawers, searching for a swimsuit that was most likely lost at the bottom along with all my other summer clothes. When I finally found one, I pulled it out victoriously and quickly slipped in on under an old t-shirt and some shorts. Then I shoved my feet in flip-flops, and ran downstairs, excited to see where we were going.

"Ready?" Aunt Kristy asked as I stumbled down the stairs and ran across the kitchen.

I nodded quickly. "Where's the rest of my family?"

"Not coming!" she sang.

I sighed in relief, finally getting to spend some time with just Aunt Kristy. A few minutes later when Lexi, Will and Luke all returned to my kitchen, Aunt Kristy smiled and pulled out her camera.

“Smile!” she said. I groaned, and smiled against my will. To my surprise a few seconds later, a little piece of glossy paper slid out of a slot on the camera, revealing a faded picture. Glancing at it, it seemed to be getting darker and more defined as the seconds went by, until a clear image of the four of us appeared.

“Cool!” Lexi shouted, and I nodded in agreement.

Aunt Kristy handed me the picture. “Here you are,” she said.

“Can I have one?” Lexi asked.

“You can all have one!” Aunt Kristy said enthusiastically. We all lined up and smiled again as she took three more snapshots of us.