It took them some time to climb the staircase, but the top was the best sight any kid could have. A wide open forest with no parents and no rules. The girl tagged him and ran.

"If I tag you, you have to answer a question for me," said Bridge.

"Ok," she said still running from him.

Bridge chased after her, his longer legs letting him keep up with her easily. But, her smaller size let her hide and turn better. She ran to the left and Bridge was there to cut her off. "Who are you?" he asked tagging her.

"Zada," she said tagging back and running away.

"Ok," he said not thinking about it and ran after her.

Hours later, they were making flower jewelry. "Will you marry me?" she asked holding out a ring for him.

"You're too young for me," he said not looking up from the bracelet he was making.

"Would you like me more if I were older?" she asked.

"Sure," he said finishing his project.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "Can we play Hide and Seek?"

"Sure, you count," he said throwing down the flower and standing.

"1..2.."

Bridge ran to the nearest tree. She was going to look there first, so he removed his jacket and hung it on a branch so one sleeve could be seen in the open. Then, he ran the other way.

"7..8.." he heard as he dropped into a hole. It wasn't very deep, but I was a good hiding spot.

"..10. Ready or not, here I come!" she called standing. Just as he predicted, she went straight of the jacket. "No fair," she cried when she didn't find Bridge. Looking around, she went of the next couple trees.

Bridge cawed.

She smiled and ran toward the sound. A minute later, she jumped on Bridge and a tickle fight ensued. Ten minutes later, they were playing tag again.

Bridge couldn't remember a time he had been happier. He ran without thinking, played without thinking, did anything he wanted, and never felt hunger or tired. It was just fun here. With Zada.

They starred at the clouds together. "Do you like being here with me?" she asked after a time.

"Of course," he answered without thinking. "Look, that one looks like a bunny rabbit. And it's chasing that dinosaur. I wonder if the dinosaur realizes it is being chased by a bunny. Maybe it thinks it's a dinosaur eating Cori-rot with three heads and six tails!"

As soon as he said it, the Sky grew dark and the clouds turned ugly. Zada said straight up. "But I wasn't done yet," she screamed out to the sky.

"You're hogging him," came the reply.

Bridge didn't understand, but it didn't matter. A second later, he was asleep.

"That wasn't fair," Zada complained.

An older version of herself walked up from behind. "You had your fun."

"But I like this one."

"If he doesn't pass, the Rangers lose the war. You know that. Now, why are you playing with him?

"He won't get to play anymore," the little Zada said sadly. "I wanted to give him fun."

The older Zada rolled her eyes. "He needs to prepare, not play. I'm taking over."

TBC