A little boy walked along the sidewalk. He wore a striped blue and white t-shirt, shorts and his favourite pair of Spongebob shoes. He held a vanilla ice-cream in one hand and zoomed along the pavement, pretending to be an aeroplane; weaving around people and a dog. He flew by, the ice-cream forgotten. There was a sudden screech of tyres and a flash of headlights...
The boy sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. His heart beat fast and he could see bright headlights every time he blinked.Warm hands covered his tiny ones. The boy looked up to meet his grandma's eyes, yelped in surprise and buried his head in her lap. She smiled a slow smile, a twinkle in her eye. He hadn't seen her for over a year and had missed her terribly. She pulled him closer, rocked him and hummed to him as he recounted his nightmare. Soon, he was chattering nineteen to the dozen, telling his grandma all that she'd missed out on since they last met.She smiled at him, tilted her head slightly and listened as he stumbled on words, left stories incomplete as he remembered others, ran out of breath a couple of times and gesticulated with his hands. When he finally declared that he'd left nothing out and that she should visit him more often so that he wouldn't have a hard time explaining exactly why the neighbourhood puppy wasn't small anymore, she hugged him and breathed in that unique smell of him and his shampoo. She'd really missed him too.
That day was meant for just the two of them and they did whatever the boy wanted to do. They spent the morning baking a cake with most of the batter all over the boy's face and hands, they chased each other around the house and took turns at scaring each other, they played with the garden hose, accused each other of cheating at cards and even had a pillow fight.
The day had gone by and they continued their friendly banter. She looked out at the fading light and decided that it was time. She took the boy's hand and began walking; he meekly followed. They walked through trees, on a path almost covered by moss. She watched him chase butterflies and they admired the patterns the setting sun and the leaves threw. It was a short walk but she didn't have the heart to walk any faster. They sat on a bench and shared a bar of chocolate.Then, she couldn't prolong it anymore.
They walked on and it was almost dark. She stopped suddenly; they'd finally reached.The boy's Spongebob shoes lay on the ground, right between two gravestones. One of the gravestones was much larger than the other and it dated back to over a year.
That day was meant for just the two of them and they did whatever the boy wanted to do. They spent the morning baking a cake with most of the batter all over the boy's face and hands, they chased each other around the house and took turns at scaring each other, they played with the garden hose, accused each other of cheating at cards and even had a pillow fight.
The day had gone by and they continued their friendly banter. She looked out at the fading light and decided that it was time. She took the boy's hand and began walking; he meekly followed. They walked through trees, on a path almost covered by moss. She watched him chase butterflies and they admired the patterns the setting sun and the leaves threw. It was a short walk but she didn't have the heart to walk any faster. They sat on a bench and shared a bar of chocolate.Then, she couldn't prolong it anymore.
They walked on and it was almost dark. She stopped suddenly; they'd finally reached.The boy's Spongebob shoes lay on the ground, right between two gravestones. One of the gravestones was much larger than the other and it dated back to over a year.
