Breakfast Time

  The morning dew glistens as we both wake up to the sun cresting over the hill. The lake is calm on this beautiful fall morning. I can see both of our breaths as we exhale. She looks right at me and smiles.

  That is when it happened, with an explosion of ecstasy, she was off and running, and I was chasing. It is a game to us, that we love to play.

  But this time is different, I am not as nervous as I have in the past, I am calm inside, and waiting for her to make the wrong move so I can catch her. That is the fun part, catching her.

  She stops, looks back at me with panic in her eyes, as she sees that i am closing in on her. I have her now, and I smile just a little.

  I am about to embrace her, and a flock of swallows get spooked by something. At that moment she takes off running again. She is safe for the moment.

  I hear music filling the air, as the rest of the world is joining us, and it is getting late. We need to get back to the cabin. The children will be restless, and hungry.

  SNAP, a twig is broken.

  I pause and listen. I look around, and there she is.  Her breath is escaping her rapidly, and I am right there.

  BOOM -- She goes down, and my kids can have breakfast.