Seems like a lovely day out, I think to myself while I inhale the dusty air around me inside my home. Maybe there's a spring breeze blowing the green leaves on the trees. I'd like to open a window to confirm my thoughts, but I fear I might be seen. The children next door are away at school so they have no chance of catching their much wanted glimpse of me.

I sigh and move away from the window where I have my only perfect view of the world outside. I'm not sure what makes me think of it, but I remember the little pack of double-mint gum that my brother Nathan bought for me.

My mouth waters for the delicious flavor of the gum. I want to share it with somebody, but sadly, the only other person in this house doesn't like gum. Nathan still buys it for me. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. I could share the gum with the children next door!

But how to get it to them?

As I form a plan in my head, I grab two pieces of gum out of the pack of five, and glance back out the window. The best plan I come up with is just to run outside and pray to God that nobody notices me.

Foolproof.

Peering out the window again, I confirm that no one is watching, assuming everyone is in their backyards or at work. I pause behind the door that leads outside, my fingers brushing the brass knob.

I feel like I'm having second thoughts. I could casually walk out and casually find a place to leave the gum, and then casually go back inside. I realize that I've been clenching the gum in my hand to the point they're almost crushed. I quickly straighten them out the best I can.

Sighing, I put a confident, firm grasp on the door handle. With a deep breath, I think, "For the children," and open the door to the spring day.

I'm right about the spring breeze that blows my feathery sand colored hair. I take steps until I'm completely off the front porch. The sun burns my eyes and I shade it away with my hand.

When my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, I notice a tree beside the sidewalk and examine it, hoping to find a spot to leave my gift. That's when I see it. A knothole in the tree just at a child's eye level!

I'm almost giddy about leaving the gum that I forget to be casual, and run as fast as I can back inside the house.

Eagerly, I wait for the children to come home. In fact, I'm so restless that I pull up a chair and sit in front of the window, bouncing my knee as I wait. As I sat at the window, my eagerness faded. Slowly I get bored and hoped that one of the children could come soon. Glancing at the clock doesn't help, because it seems like the handles haven't moved at all. I feel if I left that I wouldn't see the children or see them take the gum.

No sooner had I thought these thoughts, when I spotted the neighbor girl, who couldn't have been much older than 6 or 7, noticed the gum and grabbed it excitedly.

I smiled.

She paused for a moment or two before I watched her run towards her home and inside her house. I could see the hunger in her eyes as she shoved the both pieces into her mouth. I had meant that she share it with her brother.

Over the course of time, I had left many different items in the knothole of the tree. I repeated the process of my short adventure numerous times. Each time leaving something different for the girl and her brother. After the gum, I left two pennies, a broken pocket watch with a knife, a spelling medal that I had won years ago (it means nothing to me now), a ball of twine, but one day, I ran out of things to give them.

Franticly I searched the house for something. All I could come up with was two bars of soap and a pocketknife used for whittling. I sat on the edge of the tub staring at the bars of soap. What could I do with these?

I remember watching my brother whittle little figurines out of wood. He would carve bears, rabbits, and other little animals. I admired him for this. I could do the very same thing if I tried hard enough, but instead of wood, I have bars of soap.

Thus began my whittling of the soap dolls. It took me a moment or two to get the knife to move the way I wanted. On several occasions, I nicked my finger or some other part of my hand. I tried not to cry as the blood seeped out of my skin.