A Fun Day

by Michal Reiben

home-made lemonade

It is one of those spring days with warm rays of the sun. I walk to my favorite tree the majestic Wellingtonia tree, climb up its branches, sit in his great arms, and dangle my feet, watching. I love trees they become my friends. After a while, I climb down and amble over to a field where horses are grazing. They begin to run and I run with them. A soft wind strokes my face and tousles my hair. At the end of the field a stream winds, it looks welcoming, refreshing. I sit on the stream’s bank. It’s pleasant here, roots reach down to the water and from above rays of light filter down through the trees leaves. The air is laced with the fragrance of moss and damp leaves. Further upstream is the leaky dam we kids had once built. It holds back enough water to form a pool in which we’d swim. Otters also swim in the pool and there are leeches which we’d catch and keep in jars. I catch a glimpse of two Kingfisher birds as they fish. They have vibrant plumage, bright blue underparts, and bright lower underparts. I hardly breathe, so as not to spook them. When they take flight I get up to leave. Brush wet leaves and dirt from the back of my trousers and wander back to school. I join some other kids on the back lawn which is speckled with daisies. We make daisies chains and search for four-leafed clovers.

There is a sudden downpour of rain. We are delighted. Strip off our clothes accepts for our underpants. Stretch out on the large flagstones laid out between the school and the scraggly lawn. It’s wonderful to feel the rain pelting down on our bodies, while from beneath we feel heat evaporate from off the flagstones keeping us warm.