They were giggling and chasing each other in her backyard. The sun was setting and created a beautiful summer sunset sky. Most days they’d be hiding. Hide and Seek was their favorite game to play. They loved the sensation of losing each other, searching for one another and figuring out creative ways to put themselves out of sight.

She still remembers the joyful feeling she felt and how they gave an outsized smile when they spotted one another. She can remember standing there, laughing. She was always happy when she was with him. They were always blissful when they were together.

“I found you,” he snickered. And there were those smiles.

“Look!” she exclaimed.

They watched the lightening bugs light up before their eyes. She tried to catch one, but she failed.

“You’re not going to catch one like that!” He teased as the bug flew above her head out of her reach. He raised one arm up and caught it. He tried to put it in her hand, but she refused out of jealousy.

“I can catch my own!” she snorted. She bent her knees into the grass, cupped her hands and immediately shut her them closed. A beam of yellow light escaped through the cracks and holes of her fingers. “See?” She smirked. He smiled down at her. The two kids put their closed hands together and opened them. The bugs gracefully flew away together into the wind.

Those days we’re a blessing to her.

She stared into the dark sky filled with real stars. She gazed at them with tears escaping her orange-brown eyes.

Is this just another game of hide and seek? Will I be hiding forever? Will he eventually try to find me?