My hands gripped the cold metal monkey bars and our laughs rippled through the playground. My sister and I ran and on the woodchips, our giddiness comically out of place on the cool Sunday. The quiet, almost empty playground was scattered with leaves. It was probably too chilly to not be wearing our jackets, and we were probably too old to be playing on a playground, but we didn’t even care. It was one of those moments where there wasn’t anything else we had to do, anything else there was to do, and I felt free for the first time in a while. 

Our parents were waiting for a table at lunch across the street so we ran and laughed on the playground, pretending we weren’t two teenagers whose feet touch the ground on the monkey bars. We smiled, remembering when there wasn’t homework, and we didn’t have to worry so much. The playground was small, with a slide, and some climbing platforms. No one else was there except a little kid who stood by one side. He was maybe three years old, walking around, looking at leaves his body wrapped in a fluffy blue coat. One of his parents was with him, watching him wander with a smile. I sat down on one of the platforms, catching my breath. The wind whipped my cheeks and my breath formed tiny clouds in front of my face. My feet dangled an inch above the ground and I looked up when I heard footsteps on the dry leaves. The little boy waddled towards me, his eyes were big and blue. His tiny hands are clutching wood chips, slightly damp, that he had just picked up. He stepped towards me until I could almost reach out and touch his wispy blond hair. I glanced at my sister, she smiled curiously at this mysterious little kid, watching him with interested eyes. He looked up and took a determined step towards me. 

“Do you want some ice cream?” His voice was smooth and adorable, like the feel of cuddling puppies on a winter day. He held out his cupped hands and looked up at me with such hope in his eyes. I looked back at him and said 

“Yes please, I would love some ice cream.” Joy bloomed on his round face as he took a big step towards me and gently dumped the contents of his collection right next to my feet.

 “There you go!” He said, very satisfied with himself. I thanked him with an earnest smile and he looked up at me again before he bounced away, a layer of happiness in each step he took. My sister and I glanced at each other, and for some reason, I couldn’t stop smiling that day.