Hiding

I remember, she stood there...her long, straight black hair reflecting the sun and her eyes squinting as she stepped off her front porch. We all loved summer time. And just as the sun set, we began to play. I think it was Ghost in the Graveyard.
She followed me to my hiding spot. The best hiding spot in the neighborhood. The one behind the paper tree, between the fence and the bushes. At first, I didn't know who it was. I was about to take off in a run when she whispered my name.
"Is it you?" she asked in that whisper.
"Yeah. You're not a ghost are you?" I knew she would tell me if she was.

Ghost in the Graveyard was similar to Body Snatchers except, with Ghost in the Graveyard there was a base. If you made it to base without being tagged, you were safe. But if you got tagged, you became a ghost. You never knew who the ghosts were.

She crawled to the middle where I was sitting with my back against the fence. It would only be a few more minutes until our hiding place would be pitch black. The chances of us being found were slim to none. We both knew it.

I liked being so close to her. Even though there was this feeling in my stomach something close to nausea. Like the butterflies were going crazy and their tickles made me dizzy from the inside out. With her that close, I always started to shake. It would be a long while before I understood just why. And like she knew, she would grab my hand. Sometimes I swore she was shaking just as bad.

"Shh," she signaled.

I heard it. The unmistakable sounds of footsteps. I was sure if we stayed still and quiet, no one would know we were there. She gripped my hand tighter and we held our breath as the legs stopped at the end of our tunnel. I should have known Chris would find us. It was like he was my shadow. If she hadn't of climbed in my tunnel first, I'm sure he would have followed me in.

"Go! Go! Go!" she rasped out.

I took off to the opposite end of the tunnel. The tall grass ahead of me was scary at night--snakes and such--but I couldn't show her I had any fear. Straight ahead and as fast I could, I exited. She was right on my heels.

"We got to get to base!" I screamed. Chris wasn't alone. And if Brad was a Ghost, he would catch us for sure.

I held her hand and half dragged her to base. We were laughing so hard, I was surprised we made it. Then it was us that stood on her front porch. The promising light of the full moon coming up behind us. Her hand on my shoulder as we struggled to catch our breath.

"I like your hiding spot," she whispered in my ear.