The Game

          Sunlight warms my already sweating skin evaporating the droplets that attempt to cool me even as they come to the surface. The cool grass beneath my head provides some welcome comfort against the beating sun. Birdsong trilled from the trees, interrupted only by the excited squeals, yelps, and laughter of children on the play set, only a few feet away. Delighted cries of “You’re it!” come ringing from every direction, followed swiftly by bright and unrestrained laughter. I lift my head to see children scramble for cover whenever out of the sight of the tagger and scatter once more like startled pigeons whenever another comes near.

            I let my head fall back to its pillow of grass and through squinted eyes I look towards the sky. Songbirds playfully flitting from tree to tree are the only obstruction of my view of the pure azure sky. Closing my eyes once more, I breathe deep, welcoming the warm summer air to rush past my lips and fill my lungs with its heat. Suddenly, I am lightly pelted with wood chips. I sit up and see that one of the children is calling me to play a new game. We all split into two teams and rush to either side of the playground. The rallying cry goes off, and both sides charge. I dive behind a seesaw and keep my head down while the others dash up the stairs toward one of the slides and taunt the other team, giggling all the way. As one of the other team’s members flies past me I peek my head out, point my finger towards him, and yell “BANG!” He laughs hysterically as he falls to the ground. I sprint from my hiding spot to join my comrades on the play set, electing to take the unexpected route of the monkey bars. My small arms reach up towards them, but cannot reach. I jump and feel the rewarding head of sun baked metal under my fingers, but all too swiftly as they loosen and I tumble toward the ground.

            Searing pain rushed from the back of my head to my eyes and they are forced to close. Loud sobs emanate from me, but no parent comes to my aid. I slowly open my eyes and through the blurry haze of unfocused eyes I see a sky far more ashen and grey than blue. The birdsong is far louder in my ears as I look toward the playground where my allies are bravely holding the other team back. A brief flash now accompanies the “bangs” from the finger guns. The boy who invited me to play yells to me, telling me to get up and give him some cover. As I stand, blood rushes to my head, bringing with it a new wave of pain while reality fluctuates before my eyes. There is no more bright laughter, only screams, and the calls of birds have been replaced by a sharp whistle, a sound I know all too well. The birds themselves now screech and rain heavy fire upon each other far above the earth. The man I had shot was garbed in all grey, and shrieked for help in some foreign tongue as his blood, too, abandoned him.

I rush to join my commander as a bomber roars overhead, causing the earth below us to shudder in fear, or perhaps it was I. A flash of light ahead blinded me as I felt a swift heat pass enter my chest and just as quickly exit. I grasped for it, felt a strange gap where none should be, and then felt nothing at all.