Creative Writing: The Swings

The screen from the second floor window lands with a soft thud on the bed of perfectly level bushes below. Lily expertly folds her body in half and maneuvers her feet onto a small indention in the brick below the window. Even though the moon offers a soft layer of light, Lily operates solely from muscle memory, one foot and then the other, then her upper body. Finally she slides the window shut, back into place. She pauses, closes her eyes and silently counts to three. Another thud, this one slightly louder, as her feet hit the pine straw below. She brushes off her ripped jeans, conceals the screen behind the bushes, and walks at a steady pace up the small hill and into the neighbor’s yard. Silently, she makes her way along the side of the yard, from the back up to the front, trudging through the perfectly manicured grass, still slightly wet from landscaping sprinklers. The air around her is engulfed in the sound of cicadas, their song culminating in a quick cacophony, before a brief reprieve followed by another swell. She glances up at the windows of the brick homes. No lights are on inside. The only light on this stretch of grass comes from the lightning bugs briefly illuminating the night sky, dancing between the large boxy homes. She reaches the front of the yard and makes a right at the old street light that casts a murky yellow glow onto the black asphalt. Up ahead, she sees the white Yukon parked off to the side of the wide suburban road. It’s lights are off; it’s presumably empty. She knows it’s not though; Josh will be waiting in the front seat, his seat reclined all the way back, one arm propped behind his heat, as it always is, this time every Thursday night, like clockwork. She glances at the white stucco house he’s parked in front of. All of the lights are still off, and the For Sale sign is still in the yard. Lily approaches the passenger side and gently opens the door and wordlessly slips inside. She gently closes the door and Josh turns the car on and inches forward towards the stop sign. Once he reaches the intersection, he flicks the headlights on and turns left. More slow driving up to the main road. This time of night, no one is out. The park across the street will be completely empty, the only signs of life discarded water bottles and rogue soccer balls left behind from the day camp. In a few short hours the park will come alive again as the dawn brigade will spill onto the baseball field, slowly starting their burpees and jumping jacks in unison. But for now, the next few hours, the park will be still, the dewey grassy air will cradle just Josh and Lily as they roam about freely, aimlessly. 

“Where to first?” Josh asks, although he already knows the answer. It’s the same every time. 

Lily smiles a closed mouth smile and turns her face to Josh. 

“The swings.”