It was a delightfully sunny, hot and humid day. Today was Sunday and a day of rest and relaxation. Suddenly my favorite place came to mind. I ran for my bedroom to throw on my favorite swimsuit for some summertime fun.

As I ran through the wildflowers in the field, I heard a familiar whistle. In jubilant leaps, I turned; hands cupped around each side of my cheeks shouted an invitation to the owner of the whistle to join my adventure. Soon my friend and partner in crime came to join. She was my best friend for as long as I can remember in my 13 years.

After an hour of swinging on a rope hanging from a large cottonwood tree and landing repeatedly in the cool water of the creek, we laid down under the shade of the large tree as we were lulled into a relaxing summer utopia. Soon I drifted into the land of nod.

In the distance, I can hear water splashing and childish giggles. The giggles are reminiscent of chimes that tinkle and ping in the wind. Slowly the scene comes into focus. At first, the blurred figures and shining water seem unrecognizable. Gradually it all comes into focus. My heart is bursting with joy and happiness!

It is a beautiful summer day of sunshine and greenery surrounding the view as far as I can see. Looking down at my feet, I wiggle my toes and lean back to lift my face to the warm, light and refreshing breeze. As I inhale, the essence of green grass and fragrant flowers fill my nostrils with a sweet mixture of heaven.

I hear the sweet laughter and more splashing. Suddenly, cold wetness assaults my internal ecstasy! My eyes flutter alarmingly as I try to determine the nature of the assault. As my eyes focus there is a face just a foot or so above mine. Then cool water drips into my eyes and I sit up and bump heads with my friend. Sarah has always been a mischief and today was no different. Again, a drip of water drops into my eyes. When I looked to see where the water was coming from, I realized it was dripping from Sarah’s wet hair as she lend over me.

Soon we were swinging and splashing in our sweet waterhole until well into the late afternoon. The only thing that could tear us away from our delightful place was the intense growling of our hungry bellies. Thus, our day of leisure and relaxation ended as each of us headed back through the field of wildflowers, in our different directions, to our homes, another relaxing day, and another memory.

 by Jackie Moore Wagner