The sun’s rays beat down on the wood
The thick, glossy leaves of the tree I sit in absorb sparkling sunshine
Clouds drift across the sky
Like bubbly foam on the tips of waves of breeze
The air is soaked with humidity
The tepid hum of cars in the distance
Mixes with the mellifluous buzz of angry cicadas
And adds to the lull of a summer afternoon
A bird nearby screams, shattering the loud silence
The whisper of leaves from tender footfalls
Alerts me that someone is coming
My sister stands far below me
She doesn’t say a word as she hauls herself up
And clings to the branch beside me, to escape the world.