My stepsister and I ran out into the hot Texas summer sun, our 7-year-old legs pumping us towards the tall climbing tree in our backyard. Our brothers saw us immediately, despite our quick escape from the house; our matching purple T-shirts, black shorts, and white headbands made us easy to spot. The boys bolted after us, racing to get to the tree first. Hannah shrieked when she saw them, laughing as she sprinted.
"They're after us!" She cried.
It didn't matter. We had a head start, and we had the rope.
The rope was the only way up the tree. It was about five feet long, black, with bits of red and yellow sprinkled into it. We named it "Coral," because we decided it looked like a coral snake. A thick knot was twisted on one end.
I reached the tree and threw one end of the rope over the lowest limb.
Miss.
I panicked. They were closing in! I closed my eyes and swung the rope one more time before accepting my fate. The rope flew perfectly over the branch, providing a way up the tree.
"I did it!" I squealed delightedly, steadying the rope.
Hannah and I yanked ourselves into the tree and caught the higher branches, dragging the rope out of reach just in time. We looked down to see Seth and Todd standing at the base of the tree, pouting and fuming. They knew they had no chance of getting into our favorite tree now; there was no other rope. We giggled and smirked at them.
Seth grabbed a dirt clod and chucked it at me. It flew two feet straight up and crumbled, sending a shower of grit into his eyes. Screeching, he started spouting off his "angry words". They didn't get any worse than "loser" or "butt-head", but Hannah and I bristled at the insults. We threw our own angry words back, engaging in a fierce battle of the potty-mouths.
Oh, it was war. One that's lasted years.
1 comment:
We had a favorite tree in MO too; it was on the farthest end of the hay field, close to the river. :) We loved it! Great story and wit, as always Bonnie!
Post a Comment