As I sit in the forest, breezes silently giggle and play with my hair. They try to pull me up to play with them, but I tell them I’d prefer to sit and watch them instead. “Your loss!” I can hear them quip. The winds continue to dance and laugh and play pranks. They wake up the soft grasses and bright flowers at my feet. Now, they are all tickling me. I giggle and try to pull away from their comforting grasps. “Race you!” one breeze calls in my ear. All the winds whipped forward toward a clearing up ahead. I run with them too, trying to beat them there. And I am stopped by a small, smooth black stone that sends me toppling to the ground. The stone is dried up and tired. It was begging me for a dip in a lake. I scooped it up and raced to catch up with the breezes. One gust pushes me forward, and I almost fall into a nearby pond. I look at the stone in my hand. “Please,” it groaned to my hand. Without hesitation, I tossed it into the pond. It skips across the surface joyfully and makes a swan dive into the bottom of the water. “Sweetie!” a distant voice calls to me. The winds are suddenly still, hovering protectively over me. “Time to go home!” I look at my forest friends. “You keep playing. I’ll be back soon. Tomorrow.” We have a deal. I skip back the way I came, the mosses grabbing at my ankles to pull me back. “I’ll be back tomorrow!” I tell them. When I reach the field where my parents were cleaning up a picnic, I feel a soft breeze whisper in my ear as a final farewell. “Come back soon, my friend.”