The stretch of wide, open spaces across the Prairie were countless and that went for the rolling hills of spring-bloomed wildflowers as well. The trio was able to run for quite some time, knowledgeable of the ever-changing landscape to know which areas the prairie dogs dug their hollows, avoiding them swiftly to keep their limbs safe. But still, they played. Dolores was the most energetic of the bunch, blessed with the gift of youthfulness (though she’d always been a playful, happy child) and her father clearly only encouraged her playfulness by matching it with his own.

Lohan was somewhat more reserved, but it was too hard to ignore the fun of playing when both his sister and father kept darting and arching toward him, enticing him to keep joining in. They’d all slow and pretend as if they were going to take a moment to catch their breath and then, just minutes later, they were off again.

Zevulun pulled himself up as they came over one of the familiar hills that swept down to a large pond fed by one of the many rivers that cut through his home. His sides heaved and his breath huffed, but he couldn’t keep himself from smiling. Dolores was giggling again as she tipped her elegant, youthful face upwards and went splashing into the shallows of the pond. She walked until it was around her knees and then dipped her head down, drinking from the cool waters. Zevulun did the same, though he didn’t go quite as deep as she had.

Lohan arched around them, to where the river fed into the pond, and took a moment to drink there.

As they caught their breath, Zevulun glanced skyward and sighed, wishing all his days could remain as peaceful as this one but knowing it was an impossibility… Instead, he should just be grateful to hold on to these moments in between the sorrows life dealt, so he could look back at them and remember why he fought so hard to keep going every time he felt like giving up.