The Echoing Green
William Blake (1757-1827)
The sun does arise,
And make happy the skies.
The merry bells ring
To welcome the spring.
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around,
To the bells' cheerful sound,
While our sports shall be seen
On the echoing green...
...Till the little ones weary
No more can be merry;
The sun does descend,
And our sports have an end.
Round the laps of their mother
Many sisters and brothers,
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest;
And sport no more seen
On the darkening green.
__________________________
Rob looked out his bedroom window, watching the sun rise.
The date was September 4th. The days were already becoming colder, and school would be starting tomorrow - preschool for most of the others, and first grade for Kenny and Rob. They would learn how to read and some basic math when they were younger; as they got older, they'd learn survival skills.
Rob slid out of bed and got dressed, the wooden floor cool underneath his bare feet. He changed into a tiny blue hoodie, gray sweatpants, and gray shoes.
After quickly eating a breakfast that consisted of pancakes, bacon, and eggs, Rob ran outside to play, grabbing his toy bow on the way out.
The other kids were doing the same, coming outside with toys in hand, ready to spend one last day at play before school began tomorrow.
"Hey, Rob!" Mat waved cheerily. "Wanna go finish the forts we started building?"
"Sure!" Rob answered. "Race you to the clearing!" he shouted, taking off in a sprint.
"You got a head start!" he heard Mat whine, but soon enough, he heard the quiet whirring of gears and the clang of metal, the sound of Mat's robotic legs at work.
"Robots - don't - get - tired - though! " Rob huffed, out of breath as Mat ran past him, laughing.
The clearing was on the opposite side of the village from the houses, just before the woods. Vikk, Preston, Kenny, and Choco were already there, having a conversation.
"Hey, Rob-a-dob-flob!" Vikk waved at him. Grinning, Rob and Mat walked over to the other four.
"So what's the plan for today?" Mat asked, his blue robotic eyes shining in the sun.
"I wanna finish the forts!" Preston replied, gesturing to the stone foundations on the ground and the stacks of wooden planks beside them. Their parents often let them build their own structures, as long as the children collected the materials themselves.
"We can build our own tiny village," Kenny remarked, grabbing a small bunch of wooden planks.
Choco waddled over to the stack of wood and grabbed a plank in his beak, offering it to Preston.
"Thanks, Choco!" Preston grinned, setting the wood on the ground and giving Choco a pat on the head. "We call working on this one!"
"Aww," Mat sighed, walking over to the other set of building materials. "I like that side of the field."
Vikk, Rob, and Mat set to work, building a fort big enough for just the three of them. Not too far away, Preston and Kenny were building their own fort with Choco, who sat behind the two and occasionally handed a stick to Preston.
As the day progressed, the other kids began to gather in the clearing, playing and talking with one another. Lunchtime came and went; the walls of the two little "forts" had been built by the middle of the afternoon. Their parents stayed at home, cooking, cleaning, repairing, reading.
YOU ARE READING
Into The Night (An MC Pack Fanfiction)
FanfictionThey grew up together, learning to survive on their own. Their lives are one tragedy after another, as everyone around them seems to leave as soon as they arrive; they die, they disappear, they abandon them. Somehow, they always find their way back...
