The World As It Is ; m.c.

Walking.

Childhood

noun

1. the state of being a child

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"Mikey!" I yelled, running towards the little boy swinging slightly on the rusty swing set in the park.

He smiled. "Sophie!"

I sat on the swing next to him and began to kick my legs back and forth, telling him about my day quickly. It had been two years since Michael and his family had moved in next to mine, two years since he and I had become mostly inseparable. We were both 10 years old now and in the same class at school, to the dismay of our teacher.

"Do you want to play a game?" I asked, swinging higher and higher as I noticed that Michael wasn't swinging with me.

"What game?" Michael asked, watching as I swung higher and higher.

"We swing really high and then we jump off, who lands the most far away wins," I told him, giggling at my game.

Michael began to swing then, going faster and faster, catching up with me quickly. We laughed as we tried to go the fastest and the highest. I jumped off the swing and landed in the gravel, scraping my knees. Michael jumped off after me, landing on his feet just a bit ahead of me. He looked over at me and smiled in triumph.

He grinned. "I won."

"You cheated," I mumbled, looking at the scuffs on my knee as little red droplets appeared on my dark skin.

"No, I didn't," Michael defended.

"Yes, you did," I teased him, smiling.

"How?"

"Because, you did."

He smiled, getting up and standing over me, offering me his hand and helping me up. We got back on the swings and began to swing again. This is how we spent the afternoon, swinging and jumping off.

My knees were bruised and bleeding, and Michael's hands were cut and dirty by the time we were done. We didn't care that much, my knees were sore from the cuts and bruises I'd gotten from landing in the gravel each time, but that didn't stop me from racing him home. The two of us ran down our street towards our houses, yelling and laughing, to the dismay of our neighbours.

"I won," Michael said triumphantly, standing in my yard with his arms raised in victory. He had pulled ahead seconds before my feet touched the grass of my lawn.

"You cheated," I mumbled again, crossing my arms.

"I didn't!" He yelled back defensively.

"You did!" I yelled, grinning as Michael charged at me. He tackled me to the ground and we began to wrestle, laughing and yelling about who won and who cheated.

"Sophia, it's time for dinner!" My Mom yelled at me from the front door, watching as Michael and I wrestled on the front lawn. We both stood up from the ground as I brushed the dirt from my pants.

"Bye, Sophie." Michael smiled, walking towards his house next door. I walked towards my front door, closing it behind me as I walked in.

I sat at the table, my Dad had a book out about Jesus or Math, and he was reading it intently as my Mom served dinner. Our kitchen was cramped with people and plates and my Mom had plates balanced off the edge of our dinner table.

"How's Michael?" My Mom asked, tapping my Dad's shoulder for him to move the book he was reading and to place it on the ever growing stack in the corner.

"He's good," I muttered, quickly stuffing my face with food so my mother couldn't start her line of questioning. She hadn't asked me about school yet, and I didn't have any answers to the questions she would ask. Michael and I had spent the day drawing on each other's books instead of listening to our teacher, I didn't know what we 'did' today in class.

We spent the dinner in comfortable silence. My Dad was still reading his book on Jesus or Math, while his dinner sat in front of him, the rest of us ate though. My Mom went back and forth between my sister and I, asking different questions that both of us were trying to avoid.

I took the last bite off my plate and stood up to clean it in the sink. I looked through the window that looked into our backyard where the tall oak tree stood. It was dark out, but I could make out Michael sitting in the branches, looking up at the darkening sky.

I wandered outside, heading to the tree where my best friend was perched like a dork.

"Hello Sophie," Michael greeted me, looking down from our tree.

"Hello Mikey," I greeted back, climbing up the tree to meet him. I sat down next to him, putting my back against the tree so I was facing him.

We sat in the tree talking about whatever came to mind, watching as the sun disappeared behind our houses and the sky turned black. We stared eagerly at the sky, searching the vast sky for the first star.

"I see it!" I screamed, pointing at the sky right above one of the branches, Michael and I both looked up at the twinkling white star. "Did you wish?"

"I did," Michael told me, smiling brightly.