Hide from cars.

To whoever owns the play-stained

plastic pastel kiddie playground

next to Spring Vale Elementary School:

I hope you did not see me stop

outside of your home

at approximately 11:17 PM

and listen to the crickets

for an absurdly long time

and take a picture of your playground

and then get scared by the swooshing sound

of a car approaching,

and I hope very much that you did not see me hide

behind the little oak tree

at the front of your yard

waiting for that car to pass by.

But if by chance you did,

I would like you to know

that when I left my house

I had every intention of taking a normal run

but I must admit

I did very little running

(and much staring at rainsoaked sidewalks,

feeling the last of the storm droplet onto the top of my scalp)

on this excursion

but after my first car hiding episode in your lawn

(that is a lie - your lawn was not my first car hiding episode)

I did run for my life after I became convinced that a car

was chasing me because

in my defense

it began driving very slowly

as it approached me

so naturally when another car passed the opposite way

I was certain

they were in fact the same car

and this driver was circling me

to abduct and murder me,

so you can imagine my panic at the third car

coming my way -

Anyway, all this is to say

I got home safely, heart racing,

and lied by omission to my mother

about my run being good

although really it was good

because of your pastel playground

so I got what I deserved -

punishment for taking photos of that playground

that was just minding its own business.

But also

I must thank you

for making my fake run

a good one

besides the hiding from cars.