Seven days of this. This time I'm a day late because Sunday is a day for family (as well as long twitter chats about the world of commercial AV technology, but that's another topic). Perhaps I'll catch up soon.
Some Trees
The three dandelions grew less than a foot apart, in the
ragged grass. The first had nine visible leaves. The second –
---"Lucas! The ball!”
Lucas’s examination of the field was cut short by his father’s
strident yell, above the voices of his coach, teammates, their parents. Not the
coach’s parents. That would be silly. Lucas’s head jerked upward at the sound
of their voices, only to see the ball sail past him, a blue-shirted opponent
behind. He turned to follow a moment too late, helplessly watched from behind
the fake, the shot, the goal.
Three to nothing.
“Heads UP Lucas! Stop watching the dandelions and start
watching the game.”
He did put his head up, looked over the grass, through the
goalposts to the woods behind. The first row of trees were dead. That’s what he
always noticed; stick-figure trees, bare of leaves all year long. Trees like
giant people with no clothes or faces or leaves.
Creepy trees that would eat the coach and the families and
his dad.
Another kid had told Lucas that kids used to vanish into the
woods, never to be seen again. Maybe the trees got them?
Maybe the trees were people, the vanished kids all grow up and watching the soccer game.
The ball didn’t come near Lucas again until his two mandatory
quarters had been played and coach pulled him out. Improbably, they scored four
goals in the second half to win it, 4-3.
Lucas watched the trees as coach gathered the team to the
middle of the field to congratulate them on a hard-fought win, tell him he was
proud of them. Were the trees closer?
Would they take him next, away from the false congratulations
for a game he didn’t help win?
Lucas watched them draw closer as the coach slapped the
backs and shook the hands of his teammates.
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