“Isn’t this amazing?” Victoria whispered, gazing up at the cloudless sky. I looked around; birds sang and a soft wind whistled through green, summer leaves. The wind played with my hair as I sat on a swing talking to Victoria. Tori at the time, she was my next-door neighbor; we rode the same bus and practically lived at each other’s homes.
Energetic and imaginative, we were frequents at the community park just a short bike ride away from our street. Monkey bars, slides, and play structures were our castles or anything else we could dream up. We escaped giants, fought battles, saved the kingdom, and found our own princes. This visit, though, was special-- it was the first time Victoria and I were allowed to go to the park unaccompanied by an adult.
So there we sat, swinging and talking, basking in our newly-found freedom. With no parents the sun shone brighter and the world was limitless. Then a van drove by. It was a company van, big and blue, with darkened windows. The windows being nearly black, we could only make out a silhouette of the driver-- nothing more. Victoria and I stared as the van pulled over to the side of the road and parked. The brakes hissed as the van settled. Statues, we waited, watching to see what would happen. Nothing did.
Time stood still; for a few short seconds the world held its breath. Then, birds shrieking, the spell was broken. I dashed under the safety of the playset, Victoria close behind me. Terrified, we crouched under the playset with the naive hope that the owner of the van had not seen us. Panting, I remembered all the horror stories told in our “Stranger Safety” course at school. Did that man see me? Was he going to come out and kidnap me? Would I ever go home again?
I do not know how long we sat there-- hours it seemed--huddled together wishing that hellish van would leave. Eventually, tires squealing, it did. Still we waited. Shaking, adrenaline pounding through our veins, Victoria and I crept from beneath the playset and bolted to our bikes.
That day I rode my bike faster than I ever had before. Paranoid, I never went back to the park that summer. Imaginary castles could not compare with reality. I never saw that van, that nightmare, ever again, but it is not easily forgotten. Some things can never be forgotten.
Energetic and imaginative, we were frequents at the community park just a short bike ride away from our street. Monkey bars, slides, and play structures were our castles or anything else we could dream up. We escaped giants, fought battles, saved the kingdom, and found our own princes. This visit, though, was special-- it was the first time Victoria and I were allowed to go to the park unaccompanied by an adult.
So there we sat, swinging and talking, basking in our newly-found freedom. With no parents the sun shone brighter and the world was limitless. Then a van drove by. It was a company van, big and blue, with darkened windows. The windows being nearly black, we could only make out a silhouette of the driver-- nothing more. Victoria and I stared as the van pulled over to the side of the road and parked. The brakes hissed as the van settled. Statues, we waited, watching to see what would happen. Nothing did.
Time stood still; for a few short seconds the world held its breath. Then, birds shrieking, the spell was broken. I dashed under the safety of the playset, Victoria close behind me. Terrified, we crouched under the playset with the naive hope that the owner of the van had not seen us. Panting, I remembered all the horror stories told in our “Stranger Safety” course at school. Did that man see me? Was he going to come out and kidnap me? Would I ever go home again?
I do not know how long we sat there-- hours it seemed--huddled together wishing that hellish van would leave. Eventually, tires squealing, it did. Still we waited. Shaking, adrenaline pounding through our veins, Victoria and I crept from beneath the playset and bolted to our bikes.
That day I rode my bike faster than I ever had before. Paranoid, I never went back to the park that summer. Imaginary castles could not compare with reality. I never saw that van, that nightmare, ever again, but it is not easily forgotten. Some things can never be forgotten.