Walks In the Woods With Chicken Soup

The grass was damp. But it wasn’t just the grass, it was twigs too. And sometimes when I stepped on a twig or stick it would jump up and scratch my leg. My legs were fine though because this time I wore pants. I had to after listening to Joan go on and on about how stupid it was of me to wear shorts last time. She’s always picking on me.

I could still smell the rain even though it hadn’t rained in a couple of days. Everything smelled musty. My body was getting tired, but I didn’t complain. I couldn’t because if I did Joseph would call me a baby. He always picked on me too. So I kept walking faster and faster to keep up with them. We climbed a big hill. I couldn’t tell it was a hill by looking up because all I saw were treetops and leaves, but I could feel it in my muscles and in my legs.

It was quite for a moment; the conversation had died. As I listened to the quietness, I realized that it really wasn’t quiet at all but very noisy; I listened closer. The birds were chirping. First one, then another, then the first one would answer back. Then all the birds at once. The bugs were loud too. Crickets and beetles and all kinds of unimaginable bugs. I could hear the wind. It whistled by me making my ears cold and stirred up the trees. Dirt and leaves started blowing all over the place.

A piece of dirt flew in my eye. When I stopped to get it out Joan and Joseph started complaining and told me to hurry up. They always made me feel like I was such a bother, but I guess it was their job to make me feel that way. When I got the dirt out I looked at it and saw it wasn’t dirt at all, but a piece of a broken, dead, brown leaf.

We kept going. We reached what seemed like a tiny creek. The water was steadily running down it. Joseph and Joan both jumped over; they had no problems because they had longer legs. Then I tried to jump over; I fell in, but just up to my ankles. The water was cold. I could feel the chill seep through my shoes.

We kept walking. The water had gone all the way through my shoes and socks and my feet were all soggy now. Fall had come and it wasn’t warm like it normally was. It was cold. And I was cold. And feet were wet and hurt. I could feel every muscle in my body aching. Tears started coming to my eyes. I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I had to cry. But just then, Joseph stopped, looked around and decided that we should have lunch there.

We had packed tuna fish sandwiches and chicken noodle soup in a thermos. We sat on a tree that had fallen long ago and Joan got the soup out and poured some for all of us in mugs that Joseph had in his book bag. I started eating mine. It smelled great. As I swallowed it I could feel every end of my body get warm and re-energized. But then I remembered my feet.

Right at that moment Joan put her arm around me as if to hug me and said, “I’m cold; let’s go home.” Those words sounded like heaven to me, but what I loved even more than hearing those words was feeling her hug.

–I was excepted!