Coal Creek
Sara nodded. “All right.” She turned away from the
buildings, and we walked side by side along the creek’s
length. When we turned around another copse of trees,
we saw the mouth to the coal mine. A few barely legible
signs laden with warnings stuck out from the ground. A
rusted minecart sat at the entrance atop rusted rails. It
looked like some of the rail ties had been pulled out, so
I guessed I was right about the scarecrows.
I walked towards the maw of the shaft but took about
three steps before I fell forward, arms pinwheeling as I
tripped over one of the missing rail ties. I hit the hard
ground, coughing as dust flew up around me. I never considered myself old, but I worried I might have
sprained something or broken my wrist in my pitiful
attempt to catch myself. Everything felt fine, except
that Sara was laughing at me. I laughed and rolled onto
my back. Something felt wrong, but it felt wonderful.
A rock hit my face. I sat up and noticed for the first
time the low howl of wind as it escaped the coal shaft.
Sara was still laughing. “Hey, are you throwing rocks?”
I said. I turned to her and noticed… It’s hard to say. I
INSIGHT
noticed that she looked younger. We were about the
same age, but she didn’t normally look that way.
“Aw, come on, ya big baby,” she said. She leaned over
and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me up. Everything
went cloudy. She looked even younger, but we were
still eye level. She looked like a child, but I couldn’t focus. Sara stepped away, shuffling her feet as she looked
at the ground. “You... You wanna play tag?”
I feel myself grinning. It’s wrong, but I can’t stop it. A
pretty girl like that, wanting to play with me? I shrug
off my backpack and stand, already running toward
her. She squeals and darts to the left, but I’m quick to
follow. I smack a hand across her shoulder as I close
the gap and turn quickly to throw her off. But she’s
fast, faster than I thought a girl could be. There’s a loud
sound behind me, and I hear her fall. Then her hand is
on my ankle, and she’s pulling me down. I roll over,
laughing again. I sit up and make sure my ankle is fine,
then I remember to see if she’s fine. She’s laughing too,
so I guess that’s all right.
Someone else laughs with us, and we both shut up. I
October 2013
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