A small 8-year-old girl ran through dark woods. The girl's name was
AnaMaria Bennet. She looked around for her brothers, they were playing
hide and seek. She huffed, she hated seeking, hiding was her specialty.
That's why her brothers always made her the first seeker because they could
never find her and they wanted a chance to hide.
She stopped in the middle of a small clearing; she exhaled blowing a piece of her long blond hair out of her face, "Olly Olly Oxen free!" She called in defeat. She looked around seeing no one coming out of their hiding place, "Come out! I said Olly olly oxen free damn it!" She shouted.
She turned looking all around her, she heard a twig cracking in the distance, "ahh, headed for home are you?" She whispered to herself with a sly smile. She would go around the pond and cut them off right before they got to the end of the bridge that went over the pond. She ran into the woods taking a shortcut through the dark green ivy that covered most of the trees and the floor of the forest.
She had her skirt lifted up to her shins and placed her feet without looking while running. She wasn't worried about tripping over any branches or other hindrances because she knew every branch, every bush, and every tall plant that was in these woods. She knew these woods like the back of her hand.
She could see her two brothers running across the bridge that led to the other side of the pond. "Oh I got you now!" She thought to herself. She picked up the end of her skirt, which was already wet from dragging in the dewy grass and started to race toward the end of the long bridge.
She was halfway to the bridge when she tripped over something and hit her chin hard on the ground. "Ouch!" She said as she struggled to her feet to look behind her at what she had tripped over. It was a big brown thing stuffed into a nook in a tree. She walked over slowly to the brown thing and poked it. She stared at it curiously, hide and seek forgotten she bent to pick it up, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I voice came from behind her.
She jumped back and turned around to face the voice. Her eyes watered with fright, as all she could see was a figure in the shadows. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I just thought I should warn you since that is a trap for a raccoon. Your fingers would have been snapped right off."
She swallowed her fright, "who are you?" She asked not letting her guard down.
The figure stepped into the light, "my name is Aaron Earnshaw."
The boy was already handsome even though he couldn't be any older then her but she could already see his sharp manly features growing in his face. Her green eyes studied his form, he was a little taller then she was, with short brown hair and blazing blue eyes. He seemed to be taking her in as well, "do you have a name?" he asked.
She looked him in the eye, "AnaMaria Bennet." She paused, "Anna, I've never seen you around here before and I know most people of this town or I've heard of them, never heard of a family called Earnshaw though."
"That's funny," he said as he jumped down from the top of an old tree root that had broken through the topsoil of the ground in an arch. "I've heard of your family. Mine has been here for almost a month now. You father's name is James Bennet, he owns the law firm in town, you have 2 brothers, and you are umm about 7 years old." He rattled off as he bent down to pick up a branch from a tree that had long ago rotted.
"8 years old!" Anna said offended by the statement.
"Oh excuse me, you look about 6," he replied.
"Ugh, well you look like you could use a bath," she said looking at the dirt on his skin. "What have you been doing, rolling around in mud?"
"NO!" he shouted in a voice that echoed through the trees. "You don't look so clean yourself, and you're a girl!"
Anna rolled her eyes and straightened her back, "well my mother will be looking for me and I don't care to continue this conversation," she said and turned to run off.
"Fine I don't want to talk to you anyway. You're a girl!" He responded red in the face.
"Ahh well that's great that you realized that, genius. Now leave me alone!" She turned and raced home.
*****
She entered the house and immediately her nanny rushed up to her, "Oh Ms. You must get ready for dinner right this instant, you are filthy, what have you been doing?" She didn't even give Anna a chance to reply, "Your brothers came back a hour ago without you and it worried me to death."
"Oh Nanny, you know that I know this town better then anyone. I couldn't get lost even if I tried." She smiled at the old woman with graying hair and rushed upstairs to get into a dinner dress. As she walked back down the stairs she heard her family in the dining room. They were waiting for her as she came to sit at the end of the table near her father.
"Daniel please pray for us," her father said to her oldest brother while bowing his head.
"Dear God, good drink good meat good God LETS EAT! Amen!" Daniel said and the boys started reaching for the food dishes on the table.
"DANIEL!" Anna's mother scolded, "ohhh, I've told you time and time again that that is no way to talk to our Lord. You are so hard headed."
"Aww Mom, I'm just joking, I think God's got a sense of humor don't you." Daniel replied.
Anna giggled as she dipped out some gravy to put on her mashed potatoes. She soon regretted that giggle because her mother turned toward her. "And where were you all day today young lady?" she asked reproachfully.
"We were playing hide and seek," she said motioning toward her brothers.
"Yes, but your brothers came back an hour before you did. Where were you?"
"Yeah where were you squirt? You get lost?" Her second oldest brother Joshua asked, winking at her.
She had never remembered her mother being this questioning about her being out late before. The woods were safe and her mother was making way to big a deal out of everything. "I met Aaron Earnshaw today, he was in the woods." She said ignoring her mother's glare by looked toward her father, "I didn't know we had any Earnshaws in this town. But he knew a whole lot about us."
"Well dear, the Earnshaw's just moved to town about a month or so ago. David Earnshaw works with me at the law firm. He's a damn good lawyer. I've never met the rest of his family, from what I've heard they keep mostly to themselves. That's probably while you have not heard of them until now sweetie." Her father explained.
****
She remembered thinking that very night as she walked up the stairs to her room that she would meet Aaron again very soon and she would learn all she could about him.
The next day she had finished her chores and she rushed out the door and into the woods. She navigated herself to the place where the two kids had met before. Aaron was bent over the trap that she had tripped over the day before. He seemed so secretive to her and she was excited to learn his secrets. How could she have known that that day was the beginning of a long friendship that would last longer then anyone could imagine.
Anna smiled, "Aaron!" she shouted.
She stopped in the middle of a small clearing; she exhaled blowing a piece of her long blond hair out of her face, "Olly Olly Oxen free!" She called in defeat. She looked around seeing no one coming out of their hiding place, "Come out! I said Olly olly oxen free damn it!" She shouted.
She turned looking all around her, she heard a twig cracking in the distance, "ahh, headed for home are you?" She whispered to herself with a sly smile. She would go around the pond and cut them off right before they got to the end of the bridge that went over the pond. She ran into the woods taking a shortcut through the dark green ivy that covered most of the trees and the floor of the forest.
She had her skirt lifted up to her shins and placed her feet without looking while running. She wasn't worried about tripping over any branches or other hindrances because she knew every branch, every bush, and every tall plant that was in these woods. She knew these woods like the back of her hand.
She could see her two brothers running across the bridge that led to the other side of the pond. "Oh I got you now!" She thought to herself. She picked up the end of her skirt, which was already wet from dragging in the dewy grass and started to race toward the end of the long bridge.
She was halfway to the bridge when she tripped over something and hit her chin hard on the ground. "Ouch!" She said as she struggled to her feet to look behind her at what she had tripped over. It was a big brown thing stuffed into a nook in a tree. She walked over slowly to the brown thing and poked it. She stared at it curiously, hide and seek forgotten she bent to pick it up, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I voice came from behind her.
She jumped back and turned around to face the voice. Her eyes watered with fright, as all she could see was a figure in the shadows. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I just thought I should warn you since that is a trap for a raccoon. Your fingers would have been snapped right off."
She swallowed her fright, "who are you?" She asked not letting her guard down.
The figure stepped into the light, "my name is Aaron Earnshaw."
The boy was already handsome even though he couldn't be any older then her but she could already see his sharp manly features growing in his face. Her green eyes studied his form, he was a little taller then she was, with short brown hair and blazing blue eyes. He seemed to be taking her in as well, "do you have a name?" he asked.
She looked him in the eye, "AnaMaria Bennet." She paused, "Anna, I've never seen you around here before and I know most people of this town or I've heard of them, never heard of a family called Earnshaw though."
"That's funny," he said as he jumped down from the top of an old tree root that had broken through the topsoil of the ground in an arch. "I've heard of your family. Mine has been here for almost a month now. You father's name is James Bennet, he owns the law firm in town, you have 2 brothers, and you are umm about 7 years old." He rattled off as he bent down to pick up a branch from a tree that had long ago rotted.
"8 years old!" Anna said offended by the statement.
"Oh excuse me, you look about 6," he replied.
"Ugh, well you look like you could use a bath," she said looking at the dirt on his skin. "What have you been doing, rolling around in mud?"
"NO!" he shouted in a voice that echoed through the trees. "You don't look so clean yourself, and you're a girl!"
Anna rolled her eyes and straightened her back, "well my mother will be looking for me and I don't care to continue this conversation," she said and turned to run off.
"Fine I don't want to talk to you anyway. You're a girl!" He responded red in the face.
"Ahh well that's great that you realized that, genius. Now leave me alone!" She turned and raced home.
*****
She entered the house and immediately her nanny rushed up to her, "Oh Ms. You must get ready for dinner right this instant, you are filthy, what have you been doing?" She didn't even give Anna a chance to reply, "Your brothers came back a hour ago without you and it worried me to death."
"Oh Nanny, you know that I know this town better then anyone. I couldn't get lost even if I tried." She smiled at the old woman with graying hair and rushed upstairs to get into a dinner dress. As she walked back down the stairs she heard her family in the dining room. They were waiting for her as she came to sit at the end of the table near her father.
"Daniel please pray for us," her father said to her oldest brother while bowing his head.
"Dear God, good drink good meat good God LETS EAT! Amen!" Daniel said and the boys started reaching for the food dishes on the table.
"DANIEL!" Anna's mother scolded, "ohhh, I've told you time and time again that that is no way to talk to our Lord. You are so hard headed."
"Aww Mom, I'm just joking, I think God's got a sense of humor don't you." Daniel replied.
Anna giggled as she dipped out some gravy to put on her mashed potatoes. She soon regretted that giggle because her mother turned toward her. "And where were you all day today young lady?" she asked reproachfully.
"We were playing hide and seek," she said motioning toward her brothers.
"Yes, but your brothers came back an hour before you did. Where were you?"
"Yeah where were you squirt? You get lost?" Her second oldest brother Joshua asked, winking at her.
She had never remembered her mother being this questioning about her being out late before. The woods were safe and her mother was making way to big a deal out of everything. "I met Aaron Earnshaw today, he was in the woods." She said ignoring her mother's glare by looked toward her father, "I didn't know we had any Earnshaws in this town. But he knew a whole lot about us."
"Well dear, the Earnshaw's just moved to town about a month or so ago. David Earnshaw works with me at the law firm. He's a damn good lawyer. I've never met the rest of his family, from what I've heard they keep mostly to themselves. That's probably while you have not heard of them until now sweetie." Her father explained.
****
She remembered thinking that very night as she walked up the stairs to her room that she would meet Aaron again very soon and she would learn all she could about him.
The next day she had finished her chores and she rushed out the door and into the woods. She navigated herself to the place where the two kids had met before. Aaron was bent over the trap that she had tripped over the day before. He seemed so secretive to her and she was excited to learn his secrets. How could she have known that that day was the beginning of a long friendship that would last longer then anyone could imagine.
Anna smiled, "Aaron!" she shouted.