Eager Beaver

Chapter Twenty-Six - Rained Out

"You could see it before." Alex commented wryly. It was true. All Zach had really done was cut back a single fern leaf that had been drooping vaguely in front of the trail blaze.

"Well now you can see it better." Zach insisted.

Charlie frowned, looking up at the black swirling clouds merging together in the sky above like the murky surface of a foul inky lagoon. "Maybe we should go back," he suggested. "They said there's meant to be rain later."

"But we haven't got to the jungle gym!" Laurie whined, stomping a little booted foot in frustration against a nearby tree branch. The littlest Kindie had been very patient, but he was understandably frustrated. The playground site was only about two miles down the trail, but we'd been walking it for almost an hour and a half - Zach insisting on stopping in front of every trail marker to neaten up the undergrowth.

"We'll be fine." Zach assured us. "The rain's not meant to start until after sundown."

As if on cue, there was a loud crack of thunder - the sound of the gentle pattering of droplets on leaves first alerting us before a few spittings started to shower down on our heads. Alex giggled derisively, as much amused by the irony of Zach's comment by the sour look on his face. Laurie's face scrunched up at the prospect of his canceled trip to the playground.

I held out my hands as if to try and catch a droplet of rain. "We are going to get wet." I stated matter-of-factly. Even if we ran home now, it was a long way off from the trailhead and we still needed to walk through the subdivisions after that.

Zach stood up tall and folded his knife away. "We should go." He acknowledged, causing Laurie to let out an annoyed harumph.

"I love the rain!" Alex chimed and took Laurie's hand, pulling him out from under the cover of the tree. "There will be puddles soon and we can jump in them!"

Laurie seemed to perk up at once, looking up in wonder at the water pitter-pattering its way through the leaves and running down rocks, moss, bark and branches towards the ground. The rainfall was already getting much more intense, the sound of the droplets drumming, squidging, plopping or rat-at-tatting in all sorts of timbres against the different wet wild textures of the forest, slowly combining and crescendoing into the single unbroken clamor of a brewing storm. Laurie's high-pitched innocent giggles cut through the sinister symphony, the little boy jumping up and down in delight as he playfully stuck out his tongue - catching the raindrops.

"Look, Cooper!" he squealed at me, though with his tongue still lolling out of mouth it sounded more like 'Ewhk Coowah!'

I had been staring straight ahead, looking broodingly past the faster and faster streams of water dashing across my vision and feeling the pounding rain splattering down on the long arms of my soft pajama top - the little spots of wetness spreading out and congealing together like an army of converging ants clinging and crawling all over my skin. We weren't very far from home, but all the same I began to feel a sinking sense of unease. It was really coming down very fast now.

"Look Cooper!" Laurie demanded again, pulling demandingly on my arm and shaking me out of my anxious stupor. He gave me a big smile as he pulled me down to his level so that our noses were almost touching, pointing at the tip of his tongue and letting out another musical giggle. "It tastes like forest!" he observed in a hushed reverent tone. He would have almost sounded like a wise, practiced sommelier sampling a priceless vintage - if it wasn't for his tongue sticking out. 'I' tafe 'ike foweft!'

The silly comment finally coaxed out a smile from me. I couldn't help but laugh an enthusiastic, giggly, childish laugh, my worries blotted out by an overwhelming playful energy. I stuck out my tongue just like Laurie, tasting the earthy woody flavor of the droplets running off the leaves.