The wind blew through the long unkempt grass causing it to dance merrily to its whistling tune. The sun poured down upon the hill where a boy stood still as a statue behind an oak tree, watching intensely at the bottom of the hill. His green eyes sparkled with joy as he lay in wait with a handful of mud in his fist. No more than ten years old, the boy was tall for his age and all the women in the village exclaimed how "handsome he will grow to be". After what felt like an age the boy began to grow tired of waiting and flicked his long brown locks from his eyes impatiently, he didn't think he was that far ahead! And yet nothing was stirring from the base of hill, all he could see was the forest stretching before his eyes like a never ending green blanket in front of him, and his village of Loxley behind him. What he didn't see was the shadow creeping up from behind as silent as a ghost with two fistfuls of mud carefully taking up position ready to strike. The ghost took careful aim and threw one fist of mud square in the boys back and laughed wildly when it saw the boy spin around with a shocked expression written across his face. But before the boy had a chance to recover, the ghost had hit him again with another fistful of mud, this time straight in his handsome face. The boy crouched to the floor, spitting out bits of mud when suddenly the ghost took flight running straight for the hilltop, laughing uncontrollably. The boy raced out after, and bundled the ghost pinning it to the grassy floor in the full glare of the summer sun.
"What was that for?!" the boy raged at the ghost, who now appeared full of life. Her glossy dark hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her dazzling blues eyes sparkled with the sheer fun of the hunt. Her lips spread into a wide grin as she observed the boys hand where he had held his clump of mud so tightly.
"Well you were going to do it to me, so it seemed only fair to do it too you first" she replied simply, smiling innocently at the boy. She was only two years his junior but she could out best him on many a thing, something which the boy constantly tried to change.
"Honestly, is little Robby too afraid to have a little bit of mud on him" the girl giggled teasingly. The boy looked down at her with a wicked grin and began slowly, "oh, Mari I do believe you'll live to regret that!". With that he began to tickle the girl, who screeched and began to kick furiously against her captor, only managing to get free after one good kick to the boys shin. As she pelted down the grassy hill towards Loxley and the safety of adults, the boy chased after his best friend laughing gaily as he watched her brown curls fly out behind her.
