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pain receptors in the
human toes. Deciding that her duty as nature observer had been fulfilled for the
time being, Cleo then spent two exhausting hours playing hide and seek with
Waldorf. That sneaky little bastard was a world-class hider.
     
    It was while she was comparing the flavor profiles of apples
and oranges that she heard the voices. Cleo tossed the apple cores over her
head, grabbed Waldorf by the hair, and followed the sound.
     
    It was a small back yard behind a single story brick house.
A boy and a girl were jumping on a trampoline and eating popsicles. Cleo
watched from the tree line as they sat cross-legged in the center of the
trampoline to eat the last few bites of their rapidly melting ice. With the
aura of red stain around their mouths and chins, Cleo thought they looked like
cannibals. She boldly ventured forth, extended Waldorf in their general
direction, and exclaimed, “Hi! Would you like to look at my shrivelly head?”
     
    Both children screamed.
     
    Cleo beat a fast retreat into the woods. After all, her
father always said, “Always extend a hand in friendship, but be prepared to run
when the war cries start. There’s no negotiating with cannibals once you’re in
the pot.”
     
    Once again safely ensconced in her forest retreat, Cleo sat
on a fallen tree to write down everything that had happened. Her heart was
still racing. She lay back on the log and looked up through the canopy at the
sky. She had so many questions. Who were those children? Why had they screamed?
Where could she get a cherry popsicle?
     
    The next morning, she once again let herself out through the
back door. She briefly considered turning right this time, but the hole in the
fence called to her. Back into the woods she went.
     
    This time, she was prepared. She pulled out the list she had
made during breakfast.
    1.       Drop
a rock on that crayfish. (Her toe was still swollen and throbbing.)
    2.       Look
for animals other than birds, ants, garter snakes, and crayfish. Write down
interesting stuff.
    3.       Figure
out a way to beat Waldorf at hide and seek.
    4.       Avoid
people, especially cannibals and children.
    5.       Maybe
go back to the cannibal house. (She couldn’t help but think of it that
way.)
     
    Sadly, boredom set in thirty minutes later. For the first
time, she had no interest in writing in her observation journal. She tried not
to think about the children while she pretended to be Lewis and Clark (well,
Waldorf had to fill in as Clark), blazing a new trail to the Pacific. She tried
to convince herself that it was purely coincidental that, just as she found
herself in need of some Lakota Indians, she heard voices nearby. It wasn’t like
she was trying to find them again. Well, maybe a little bit.
     
    This time, Cleo approached with caution, darting from tree
to tree and crouching down behind bushes. She smeared some dirt on her face for
camouflage, pulled aside a rhododendron branch, and watched them. They were
playing hide and seek. When the boy, clearly the older of the two, found the
little girl on the first try for the third time in a row, Cleo scowled at
Waldorf. “I know exactly how she feels,” she said. 
     
    She watched them for about an hour before they noticed her.
Really, when a rhododendron sneezes, anyone would notice. Cleo blamed Waldorf.
He didn’t deny it.
    She saw them slowly heading toward her. About six feet away
from the bush, they stopped for a whispered conference. Cleo considered her
options and decided to make the first move again. Deciding that a different
approach from yesterday’s meeting might be beneficial, she shoved Waldorf into
her backpack, stepped from behind the bush, and said, “Hi! I’m Lewis and Clark.
Would you like to be my Sacagawea?” It probably would have gone over better if
a). The children had known what the hell she was talking about, and b). She
hadn’t gone over the top with a really creepy eyebrow wiggle at the