I Remember

Memory Lane

        Sunlight bursts through the windows, dragging me outside to play. When I oblige, I can smell the sweet scent of the flowers in our garden mixed with wet soil and asphalt. It rained all day yesterday and last night too. I have been dying to get outside ever since. I look down at my feet to find that the hopscotch I made a while ago has been washed away. I run to get a new piece of chalk and re-draw it.

        When I am almost finished, I look up to see someone emerge from a house across the street. He shuffles his feet along the concrete, muttering to himself. As I watch, he starts punching and kicking the fence-post. I stare. He notices, and immediately ducks behind it. I drop the chalk and run over. I can still see his arms poking out from behind the fence-post, and I tap him. He slowly turns to face me. 

        He has curly brown hair that looks ruffled on one side, and dark eyes that are filled with hurt. His face is narrow, like some fantasy elf person. His hands continuously slide in and out of his pockets.

        "Hi." I say, "Do you want to play some hopscotch with me?"

        His eyes look up at me with curiosity, and the corners of his mouth twitch. "W-whats hopscotch?"

        I smile widely, "I'll explain, but I need to show you first. What's your name?"

        "Leo."

        "Marina."

        "Huh?"

        "My name, it's Marina."

        "Mahreenuh." He repeats.

        I giggle and lead him over to my hopscotch drawing. Bending down, I draw the last box.

        "There. Now you have to hop in each box with only one foot, but when you get to two boxes, you can put both feet down. Oh, and you take this rock and throw it on. Whichever box it lands on, you have to skip." I explain.

        "Okay." he says, smiling up at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. I hand him a small rock. As I place it in his palm, he stares, concentrating hard on the rock. 

        "It's just a rock." I laugh, a little weirded out.

        "Oh...right." he tosses it on the pavement and it lands on the third box. Carefully, he skips across in each box, wobbling a little after he jumps the third. He stops after the eighth box  and spins around to face me, a huge grin on his face. I'm grinning too.

        "My turn!" I squeal with joy. I pick up the rock he threw and toss it. It lands on the seventh box. Carefully adjusting my weight, I hop on each box with ease, knowing Leo is watching my every move. I finish and turn to see his face gleaming with awe.

        "Wow, your so good." he whispers, with a twinge of jealousy. 

        "I've just had lots of practice," I assure him, "Someday you will--"

        "Leo?!" a voice calls.

        Leo spins around. "Thats my mom! Um, I gotta go...bye!" then he runs across the street to his house. 

        I watch him disappear into the depths of his house, and then I turn and run into mine. I see my dad in the dining room shuffling through papers that have been scattered all across the kitchen table.

        "Papa! Papa! I met a boy across the street! His name was Leo, and we played hopscotch together."

        "Mmhmm, thats nice, why don't you go play outside? Papa is doing his paperwork." he replies, still buried in it.

        "I was just outside!" I complain, "Thats why I came inside."

        He chuckles to himself. "Why don't you come help me with my adult homework? It'll be good practice for when you're an adult."

        I shudder with the thought of growing up, and race out the door. The faded floorboards creak beneath my feet. I sit down on the porch step and wait to see if Leo will reappear. The crickes chirp in the humid afternoon air, but there is still no sign of him.

        My dad finally comes out, announcing dinnertime. I stand up and sulk inside. My dad doesn't ask whats wrong, and I dont tell him. However, I sense he is holding back thoughts, as if he knows exactly what I am going through.

        To tell the truth, it's Leo. Something about the way he looked up to me in awe, which nobody has done before. I am always left in the shadows of my sister. But maybe it was more than just the way I impressed him.