In the shadows of time

Rachel Sawyer was perched with her legs crossed on the Anderson mansion's library soft carpet. With her was 'The Secret Garden.' She took advantage of the collection of books in the mansion while her mother tutored the family's son.

A shadow fell over her page and she looked up, annoyed.

"Do you mind telling me what you're reading?" asked the boy with a head of curly brown hair of which green eyes peeked out curiously, standing right above her.

"Don't you need to be in your study room?" Rachel asked, clutching the book to her chest.

Kohen shook his head, "Nicole allowed me to spend some time off, so she can take a break." He always referred to Rachel's mother by her first name. "What are you reading?" He repeated the question.

"Nothing of your interest" Rachel answered unbothered.

"How can you be so sure of what might attract my attention?" He sat down next to her without waiting for an invitation. "You don't even know me."

"I know that you are overindulged," Rachel snapped back as she moved away. "And that you made Mrs. Peterson quit last month by putting frogs in her purse."

A grin spread on his face showing the dimple on his left cheek. "They were toads." In an effort to hold back, Rachel could feel the corners of her mouth pulling back into a smirk. "That makes it worse." "I'm bored," Kohen said, lounging on his back. Rachel chose to ignore him and his idle chatter, focusing back on her book.

After a stretch of silence, Kohen sighed "You're really no fun".

Rachel squinted. "I am plenty fun. I simply think putting amphibians in people's possessions does not merit as entertainment."

"Prove it," he said, leaning closer. "Prove that you are fun."

That challenge made Rachel feel something she couldn't explain. A certain kind of determination. But it was a challenge that needed to be undertaken.  She kept her book open and pushed it aside.

"All right. Let's go."

Twenty minutes later, the two of them found themselves dangling from the limbs of the huge oak tree that graced the Andersons' backyard, their laughter on the summer breeze.

"I told you that I could climb higher!" Rachel shouted down at Kohen who was struggling several feet below her.

"That is because you weigh nothing," he puffed, trying to hoist himself up another branch. "I bet in a strong wind you would float away!"

Rachel gave a roll of her eyes. "Excuses"

As Kohen reached for the next branch, he made a slip with his foot. His very breathable moment of hanging from the limbs of the tree with his legs in the air seemed like an endless one.

"Kohen!" Rachel shouted after him. Her voice was taut with worry.

He grunted and swung his legs to reclaim a steady position on the branch and grinned at his victory. But his delighted smile vanished through the grimace Rachel exhibited.