The sound of the thumping having been proven, stop to watch the game. The four boys turn and wave at you. You wave back, smiling. You turn around and head back the way you came, under, the tall trees. You leave the path and go back to the grassy path. The flowers are still there, and you bend down and take in it's cloying floral aroma. You sigh in happiness. It's a perfect late spring day. The sun shines brightly overhead.
You follow the grassy path for a while longer, taking in the scenery of the spring day. You pass a young couple kissing on a bench, a mother pushing her children in a stroller, and a college-age jogger. You see a lake and walk around it. The middle has some ducks swimming around in it.
You turn around and see another blacktop basketball court, although there is no one playing at this one. The basketball lies on the grass on the right side of the court. You walk over and inspect the playing area. Near the lower left hand corner of the court, a box of sidewalk chalk has been spilled over, sending sticks of every conceivable color rolling over the blacktop. Someone has recently been here, as the area is littered with drawings of all kinds of animals. Dogs, cats, giraffes, goats, cows, horses, tigers, bears, lions, you name it, it's here. What's really surprising is how lifelike they look. It must have taken professional skill to draw these things.
But that's only half the court. The other half is separated by a shaky line of red chalk. In it is a large game of hopscotch. It's the basic formula; one square, one square stacked on top of that, three squares in a line on top of that, and one more single square on top of that. You take a look around. No one seems to be near. Giggling to yourself, you decide too...