A Swing in the Park

1. Katie

"Hi honey, what is your name?" The nice old lady on the park bench said. She had on a hat in the middle of summer and was feeding the birds from a bag of bread in her lap.

"Katie," I smiled. "Do you like my dress?"

"It's lovely!" She said, admiring it with her keen eyes. "How old are you, honey?"

"Eight," I said. "I'll turn nine in September."

"Where is your mother?" She said.

"Over there." I pointed a few benches down. "She's sitting there with a man. She is kissing him. She says she doesn't want me around when they do it."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true!" The nice lady said. "She is your mother!"

"She told me to go to the swings over there," I said. "Will you come with me?"

"Sure, honey," she smiled. She took her purse and the bag of bread. I led the way, past the drinking fountain to the end of the park. There were two swing sets. I hopped on the one on the left and started swinging.

"You have to swing too!" I said. "It's fun!"

The old lady put her purse and the bag of bread on the ground and sat on the swing. She unbuttoned her coat and straightened her hat. Her movements were slow and tired.

"You have to keep up with me!" I yelled, gaining height and feeling my long hair move in the breeze.

"I'm an old lady," she said.

"No you're not!" I yelled. "You're a nice lady!"

She started swinging low, then higher.

"Higher, go higher!" I yelled. By now my feet were in the sky and beneath me the world was turning.

"Why must I go higher?" She yelled. Her voice sounded high and frail.

"That's how it works!" I yelled. "That's how you get there!"

"Get where, honey?" She yelled. She was catching up to me.

"Euphoria!" I yelled. "Don't you want to see? But you'll have to go really high like me!"

I thrust my legs forward, leaning backward while holding onto the ropes. The faster I swung, the higher I went. The swinging motion was now in my body, making my head spin.

"Higher!" I yelled. "Almost there!"

Beside me the old lady was pumping away with her legs, her dress blowing around her knees. She looked afraid, like she was flying into nothing. Her hat stayed on by two hairpins but it was on crooked.

"Higher!" I screamed. "We're almost there!"

Beside me the old lady put her last strength into it, catching up to me and then being in the same rhythm with me and then we stood in the fields.

Everywhere around us were poppy flowers. The grass was deep and green and swarms of blue butterflies fluttered over it. One hovered in front of my face and I held my hand out and it came to sit on it, folding its wings.

The sky was warm and blue and balloons of all colors drifted lazily in the air.

"Grab one!" I shouted, grabbing one of its strings. "They make you fly! Hurry!"

She took hold of a string and left the ground, hovering next to me.

"Where are we going?" She said.

"Where would you like to go?" I asked.

"Back to the nursing home," she said. "They'll be looking for me. I sneaked out to the park this morning when no one was looking."