Faded Memories.

I ran and ran, climbed and struggled, completely out of breath and finally reached the basement of our split level home, it was such a struggle, those damn stairs. All six of them, like a hill, taunting me and teasing me, but they would not win, not today, for I am about to enter my hiding spot... the one that NO ONE can find me in. This spot is the spot of all spots. I crouch, crawl, wiggle and finally come to rest behind the water heater... I'm so clever... they will never find me... I try desperately to stuff back the giggles that were trying so hard to escape. I can't laugh, not now, I'm in THE spot... I can't give it away. So I stifle every giggle, every gasp for breath. Hours pass, and they never found me... I finally gave up.

In hind sight I now know that the older kids weren't even looking for me, I was only two, and they were playing hide and seek with their friends... not with me. But MAN I can still feel the rush of the chase. The thrill of knowing I could not be found... the thrill of knowing I had outsmarted someone older than me. It was such crap too because the 'wall' behind me was only studs... had they walked into the adjacent room they would have seen me in plain sight... right there... crouched behind the water heater.