Summer of Four
Summer of Four - The Girl is THREE
Some places are so magical, they have mountains, prairies and coastal waters all in the same place. In the Carolina’s, you can see all three land features if you are willing to travel for a day without stopping.
In an apple orchard in the mountains of the Carolinas, there is a neighborhood with many residents that lived closely together. Some were friends, some were relatives.
There were two children that were very good friends, and also happened to be cousins. The boy was just a little older than his sweet little girl cousin, and he loved her very much.
On the day this story begins, he woke up knowing that today was her birthday and she was going to be THREE years old! He liked hold up three fingers whenever he thought about it, just like he held up five fingers when thinking about his own birthday when Fall would arrive.
On this very day that she was to turn THREE, the boy and the girl had planned to meet before all of the friends and family gathered for a party they were having to celebrate the special occasion. You don’t get to turn THREE just any day… in fact, almost everyone that grows up gets to turn three only once. So that made it a day worth celebrating.
The sun was high in the sky when they saw each other at opposite ends of a long lane lined with a tall split-rail fence where flowers bobbed in the sunshine. Bees were humming among the sweet petals today.
As they saw each other, they started running towards the other, laughing as they ran, until they met with a big spinning hug that almost knocked them both over. They dropped all the things they were carrying as they giggled, including a small pink flower the boy had tucked into his pocket on his way to meet her. It seemed like the perfect birthday gift, so he plucked it from a twirling tendril that climbed the wooden fence as he walked towards the lane thinking of her curly hair as he did.
“What’s this?” She said softly as she picked the delicate, pink flower up out of the fine gravel at their feet. The boy smiled and pointed to the fence beside them.
The breeze made the flowers dance as he showed them to the girl and said “I picked a birthday present for you! Are you ready to go? I’ve got our favorites…”
As he said this, his face beamed and he held up a paper sack that looked heavy and smelled like something delicious was waiting for them inside. “Did you bring anything?” He asked.
She held out her favorite pink blanket that was almost the same color as her new birthday flower. She also had a cold bottle of their favorite lemonade that they were most excited about.
“Let’s go!” They both shouted at the same time and took off to have a birthday picnic lunch by the seaside. They ran down the lane, their feet scritching on the tiny rocks and kicking up dust behind them. They loved running on this lane because it sounded just like the water rushing, splashing, and crashing in front of them.
…They ran past a break in the trees where water bounced and trickled down steep rocks spraying them with a balmy mist, cooling their faces and clinging to their hair.
…They ran past a hushed and placid pond, where splashing frogs and dashing fish chased the buzzing dragonflies and other midges that skittered across the glassy surface.
…They ran past the stream that spread its crystal fingers towards the broad beach. There, they found an expanse of blue and green waves that washed up on the warm, sandy shore. It was always changing, but continually brought them frothy foam, intricate shells, and many other treasures left behind for keen eyes to find.
The girl and the boy picked a spot in the shade of a tall, strong lighthouse that they both loved to visit. The girl smoothed out her favorite pink blanket on the sun-baked sand just at the base of the lighthouse entrance. There, a violet fountain of purple irises grew all around the lighthouse, like a gentle flag, marking the wide open space.
The boy unpacked all of the good-smelling things from the paper sack, which was very crumpled after their jolting journey running to the seaside.
Together, they set out sandwiches with soft, buttery bread with crispy, savory slices inside. Then, they unpacked several apples that had been sliced and dipped in orange juice just that morning, along with some berries of all different colors:
- Purples
- Blues
- Bright reds
- Magentas
- And some that were shiny and almost black, but had a dark, violet juice inside that turned your mouth purple if you ate a whole bunch.
They didn’t say much as they enjoyed the syrupy-sweet berries and shared the sandwiches. Between bites of the yummy food, they sipped their cold lemonade that must have been chilled in a mountain spring for hours to still be so fresh in the heat of the Summer sun.
When they were both full, they stretched in the shade and the boy asked the girl a whispered question as they watched some seagulls eyeing the last of their picnic lunch. “Are you excited to be THREE today?”
She looked up smiling and replied excitedly, “oh yes! I can do lots of things now, so I am ready to be THREE!” She went on to share how she could put on shoes and find her favorite purple bear, and eat her breakfast all by herself now.
But then she remembered the boy had already been three before, so she asked him softly, “how did you know you were ready to be THREE?”
The boy’s eyebrows went up as he looked into the sky and thought about when he was turning three… “I just knew it,” he said smiling. “You just are.”
The girl still looked doubtful, so he went on, “You’re turning THREE this Summer, and I’m already four now. On my birthday in the Fall, I’ll be five.”
“How do you know when your birthday is here?” The girl asked.
The boy smiled again, thinking about his own birthday and holding up five fingers, and explained, “when it gets close to my birthday, the air gets chilly and crispy in the morning. There’s apple cider in the refrigerator and lots of different types of apples ready to eat!”
Now the girl was smiling too, thinking about the apples ready for picking after the summer sun sweetened the fruit on the trees.
The boy nodded and went on, “we live in the orchard, and when the Fall gets here, you want to wear jackets when the sun isn’t looking right at you and warming you up.”
The girl got goose bites on her arms thinking about the chilly nights coming after the Summer heat faded away.
Then she sat up, holding the last of her lemonade and exclaimed, “it’s my birthday when the sun warms us up every day… when we swim outside… and we eat lots of popsicles!”
“YES!” The boy snickered, “that’s when you know it’s your birthday!”
Just then, they saw Robin the Robin swoop past on her dark wings, fluttering down to say hello as she caught sight of them picnicking under the lighthouse’s shady shelter.
“Hi Robin!” They both waved as she landed softly in the sand.
“Hello, children!” She sang in her high, musical voice.
“Would you like some lunch? All we have left are the crumbs…” The boy said staring doubtfully down at the girl’s pink blanket that held what was left of their shared sack of sandwiches.
“Crumbs are all I need!” Robin the Robin said assuredly, “I’d love to join you for lunch, and thank you!” So she settled on to the corner of the blanket with the children and pecked at a few crumbs left over that were quite small, but still very yummy.
“Robin, how did you know you are THREE on your third birthday?” The boy asked, hoping for some help explaining things to the girl.
Robin thought as she munched, her bright dark eyes shimmering with delight at the curious question.
“Well, let me ponder that one…” she said as she looked at the lovely little girl turning THREE that day.
Then she perked up and smiled, finally answering, “you know you’re turning THREE this birthday because you just are. It’s not what you can do, or say, or what people tell you can be or not be now. It’s just the way we count and measure time. On your birthday, and any other time of year, you can just be ME-year’s-old and not try be anything else.”
Both children looked at each other and nodded. That made sense to them.
“Happy birthday, little girl!” Robin said smiling at her. “Everyone is ready for your party this afternoon! Are you both ready to go see the neighbors? They should be there by now.”
The girl clapped and the boy grinned, catching sight of the pink flower he found and gifted to her that morning. The graceful little petals were still tucked behind her ear among her fluffy curls that shimmered in the sunshine.
They all got up and helped fold the blanket. Then as Robin the Robin flew ahead, they strolled together down the warm beach towards the center of the neighborhood orchard where they liked to celebrate birthdays.
The girl was three.
The boy was four.
The robin was a bit older.
They all had each other and were looking forward to time together with even more friends. It wasn’t about what they could do, or say, or be. They loved each other, and held onto that, as all good friends do.
Best of all, each of them liked knowing they were ME-year’s-old that day and every day after that.
THE END :)
