Emily
It was the ninth of October and a little girl called Emily was walking through the moors with her mother and father. It was her birthday, and she was taking great delight in wearing her brand new coat.
Emily’s mother was preoccupied with two white figures dancing on the horizon. She took a photograph of them. Then she wondered whether it was okay to take photos of strangers without asking. She recalled the old idea that taking a photo of someone also captures a little bit of their soul.
It had appeared to be a day of pleasant weather, but as mother and father and daughter neared the half waypoint of their walk, the sky decided that it was a good time to rain. Emily’s mother had noticed the figures enter a barn in the distance, and thought that they would be wise to do the same.
Emily and her parents went into the barn and closed the doors. Emily’s father suggested they play a game. Emily’s grip of the English language was still rather loose. Sss, she replied, which her parents knew to be an enthusiastic yes.
Emily did not care that her purple and green coat was visible as she hid. Her attention had been caught by a glimmer of red under the soil. Seet, seet, she exclaimed. Emily’s father approached, presuming Emily must not have understood the fundamental goal of hide and seek. Upon noticing the red glimmer, Emily’s father got to his knees and began digging. After a short moment, Emily’s father produced three chocolates, wrapped in shiny red foil.
They each placed their chocolate in their mouth. They smiled as they chewed and they each let out a sigh of joyous content. Emily’s father pointed out that it had stopped raining.
By this point, Emily’s mother had already forgotten about the figures in white. When she got the roll of film developed, she couldn’t remember why she had taken the photographs.
The glorious sunshine dried out their clothes as they walked the rest of the way to the car. Emily’s mother and father explained what a rainbow was as Emily licked chocolate from her fingertips.