The wind knows where they are hiding.
Ready or Not
Lin had nearly finished counting when she heard someone laugh.
“Nine, ten!” she called, opening her eyes.
The tall grass moved on her left. She turned towards it, holding the brim of her hat. Then the grass on her right bent low, and the feathery tops behind her brushed together.
“That’s not fair,” she told the wind. “You’re hiding all of them.”
Before the game began, Lin and her friends Mei, Aya, and Xiao had chosen a broad flat stone as their meeting place. They had agreed to stay within the part of the field where they could see it whenever they stood up.
Now Lin was the seeker. Somewhere beyond the stone, her three friends were trying very hard not to laugh again.
The Grass Moves Everywhere
Lin followed a swaying patch to her left. She stepped carefully between the stems and peered behind a tall cluster.
No one was there.
She looked back at the stone. It was still easy to see. Beyond it, another patch of grass bent and sprang up again.
“I can see you,” she called.
There was no answer. The wind lifted her hat, and Lin caught it with both hands before it could fly away.
“All right. I can see the grass.”
She put the hat firmly back on and walked towards the moving stems. A white feather of grass brushed her cheek. She pushed it aside and found only more grass behind it.
A small sound came from somewhere near the stone. Lin turned quickly. This time she heard it again: a laugh, pressed into a pair of hands.
A Laugh in the Wind
Lin stood still. The breeze moved through the field, making the dry stems whisper against one another. For a moment she heard nothing else.
Then came another muffled giggle, followed by a quiet, “Shh!”
Lin smiled. “There are at least two of you over there.”
She walked towards the sound. A little farther on, two grass heads shook above the others. One bent down, then rose again when a girl underneath it tried to cover her mouth.
“Found you, Mei!”
Mei stood up, laughing. “I was quiet until Aya told me to be quiet.”
A few steps away, Aya rose too. “I only said it once.”
“You said it twice,” Mei replied.
Lin looked around. “Where’s Xiao?”
The three friends waited and listened. From the other side of the stone came a loud sneeze.
“I think Xiao has found us,” Aya said.
The Hat Has a Keeper
Xiao appeared, brushing a feathery grass seed from her sleeve. “It tickled my nose.”
They gathered beside the flat stone and counted one another before beginning another round. This time Mei wanted to be the seeker.
Lin took off her hat and handed it to Xiao. “Could you keep this while I hide?”
“Does it need a hiding place too?” Xiao asked.
“Somewhere the wind can’t find it.”
Xiao held the hat against her chest while Mei closed her eyes and began to count. Aya ran a little way into the grass; Lin followed in another direction. Xiao placed the hat on the stone, then tucked herself behind a nearby clump where she could still see it.
The wind bent the grass all around them. Mei opened her eyes and looked across the field.
“I can see something,” she announced.
Lin held her breath. Beside the stone, her hat lifted at one edge and settled again under Xiao’s hand.
“Your hat is hiding,” Mei said.
Lin laughed before she could stop herself. The grass moved, and Mei turned towards the sound.
Livora Gracely ♥
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