I woke with a start. Do you ever go to bed excited for the events of the next day, and so you automatically wake up with tons of energy? Well, that is exactly what happened to me. I was sleeping over at my grandparent's house while my parents were away. I was technically four years old, but had the appearance of a sixteen-year old girl. So when I woke up, before going downstairs, I smoothed my hair down and put on my favorite skirt and shirt. I ran down the stairs and met my grandmother in the living room, holding my grandfather's hand. They looked over in my direction and smiled.
"Good morning, dear," Grandma said. I walked over to them, and wedged myself in between them.
"Good morning," I said to both, giving them both a kiss on the cheek. Grandpa laughed.
"You're in a good mood," he noted. I laughed.
"Uncle Emmett and I are going to play hide and seek in the woods," I said, rolling my eyes. He looked puzzled.
"Hide and seek? Aren't you a little old for that?"
"I said that too, but he said it's supposed to be, and I quote, 'the game to end all games,'" I snorted.
"Supposed to be?" Emmett said, walking over to us, "It will be."
"How so?" I asked, eyes narrowed. He snorted this time, as a wide smile graced his lips.
"You'll see. Want to race there?" He said as he took off running.
"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" I shouted. Grandpa grabbed my hand.
"I know you're probably tired of hearing this but do be careful,"
"I will be," I said, kissing his cheek again and sprinting off after Emmett. I followed his scent through the towering trees, until I caught up with him. I looked at him, smiling.
"Hey," I laughed. He looked shocked that I'd caught up with him so quickly, "how much further?"
"Right . . . about . . . here!" He came to a sudden stop, forcing my heels to dig deep into the mud, spraying me with the wet, sticky spray. I scowled.
"Gee, thanks. We haven't even started yet, and I'm already dirty. You know what your wife is going to do when she sees me, right?" I said disapprovingly. He laughed.
"Lecture you about being a lady, make you try on thirty different outfits, and then lecture me. Yeah, yeah I know," he rolled his eyes. I had a sudden idea.
"Well . . . I guess . . . seeing as I'm already in trouble, why don't we just not worry about keeping me clean," I proposed. He smiled.
"Alright. Hide and seek. Anywhere. Hide in the weirdest place you can find," he said.
"Perfect." I said. He turned around and counted to one hundred while I sought out a decent hiding place. I found a spot behind a few boulders, and waited. I could hear him lumbering around a few paces away.
"Hmmm, where could little Nessie be?" He said sarcastically. I giggled a little bit. He continued like this for a few more seconds, and then squeezed into my hiding place.
"Hey," he said conversationally. I groaned.
"Is there really any use in playing this game with vampires?" I questioned. He thought for a minute.
"No, probably not."
"Than why did you think it was such a good idea?" I said exasperated.
"Hey – I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid," he said too seriously. I burst out laughing.
"What about tag?" I suggested. He smiled.
"I'm it,"
"Come get me, big scary Uncle," I teased. The ground flew away under my feet as I ran. The ground was slick with mud from the rain shower that we had had earlier that morning. I didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late. I took one weird step, and I lost the traction underneath my foot, and made a spectacular face plant into the mud. I didn't know what to do, because Emmett was laughing so hard. I pulled myself up and wiped the mud out of my eyes and mouth.
"Nice," I said quietly, while Emmett continued to guffaw. I had a sudden thought.
"Emmett, I think I hurt my foot," I put on my best 'I'm hurt' face, eyes big and glassy with fake tears. He paused.
"Really?"
"Yes, right here," I pointed to a spot in my foot that felt completely normal. He looked scared as he rushed over to me. He looked at my foot frantically as the mud dripped through my hair.
"Where does it – ah!" he made a loud noise as he hit the ground with a thud. He was covered from head to toe in mud. I lost it. I was laughing so hard, making a mud pie on his stomach.
"Gotcha!" I laughed, tears springing up in my eyes. He looked at me seriously for a minute before he started laughing.
"That's it," he said, getting up. He snatched my foot up so quickly, I couldn't even think about running. He picked me up and carried me upside down by the ankle, all the way home. My hair dragged through the ground as he carried me. I must have looked like the forest floor by the time we got back to the house. As we crossed the river and walked toward the house, Grandma and Grandpa came out of the house, both looking quite shocked.
"What happened?" Carlisle said. Emmett smiled.
"This little thing tricked me, so she's being punished,"
"Do I want to know why you're covered in mud?" Esme asked, eyes incredulous. Emmett and I both laughed.
"I tripped, pretended that I'd hurt my foot, Emmett came over – putty in my hands – I pulled him into the mud." I explained. Everyone laughed.
"Let's get you cleaned up," Grandma said as she grabbed my hand, clearly telling Emmett to let go. He did, and she brought over the hose. She took turns hosing off Emmett and then myself. After that, I looked like a drowned rat. Grandma brought out a few towels, and I dried off a bit before going inside to have a shower, to get the mud and leaves that she missed, out.
When my parents had come home later that night, I ran straight into my father's arms, giving him a huge bear hug. He returned the hug, kissing my hair and telling me how much he had missed me. I gave mom a hug, too, and we all went into the living room. Dad gave Emmett a funny look, before rolling his eyes.
"Really, Emmett?" Dad rolled his eyes, sighing. Emmett laughed.
"It was a pretty productive day, wasn't it?" He asked me. I laughed.
"Yep. If you count being covered from head to toe in dirt, than yes." I clarified. We both laughed. Dad scowled.
"Is your foot alright?" Dad asked concerned. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, dad, it's fine." He smiled at me, and I climbed into his lap, hugging him.
"I love you, dad."
"I love you more." He said, kissing my forehead.