Our Journey To The Little Town

I sat nervously on the edge of my chair, smiling with tight lips. My sister, Maddie sat beside me, and across from me were four people, these people were not just any people. They had the potential to break the haze of isolation and boredom any child who has ever been homeschooled has certainly felt. They could be my new best friends.

It was a hazy friday in September, at about mid afternoon we were on the porch of a big yellow horse a black away from ours. I had seen the children playing in the front yard for months, but this was the first time we had been able to sit down and talk.

I was especially hopeful about the oldest girl, Layla. She was about my age, and I had just found out that she would be on my soccer team. Emma, the second girl, was just about Maddie’s age. The two boys, Jackson and Mason, were much younger, but seemed full of fun. As always, I was the one who broke the ice. “Hi,” I said tentatively. “Hey,” Layla replied. 

That was all it took to make us begin talking to make us begin talking and laughing like we’d known each other for years. They took us to their backyard , and we pushed each other on their swing. Jackson and Mason squealed with delight as we made the swing go higher and higher. Emma was surprised by a huge spider and we laughed and laughed when she realized it was made of plastic,  a leftover from halloween of the years gone by.

After that, Layla and I went to pass a soccer ball in the street, and the rest of the kids, led by Emma, ran to go play with dolls. As we talked and kicked the ball back and forth. I learned that Layla and I had a lot in common. We both loved soccer, reading, and crocheting. Even better, we were both homeschooled. 

When we were tired of  that, everyone ran into the woods. There we built forts, searched for glass, and formed a small village with its own currency of pinecone. We made shops, restaurants, and houses. That town was and will always be our little paradise.

Now, over 3 years later, we are still great friends. Layla and I both joined a competition soccer team. Some of my favorite memories involve both of us laughing with our teammates at tournaments. Emma and Maddie still play dolls together, and Jackson and Mason have retained their playfulness. We have mostly moved on to more adult methods of play such as jumping on trampolines, but all of us still love eto return, time and time again, to our little town in the woods.