By Ruthie Stoll, TIWP Student

I feel the springs vibrate beneath me as I jump higher and higher and higher.

My hair flutters down as my feet land.

My senses are flooded by the smell of the oak trees that have stood in my backyard for years. I hear my breath beneath me as I gasp for air, with each jump trying to push myself up further into the sky.

Although I am only four foot five, I feel on top of the world.

From up in the air, it feels as though I can fly.

It feels like the entire world is mine. I never want to come down.

I pick up the volleyball that sits in the corner. It feels scratchy on my fingers, and it has rips and tears all over it. To any normal person, it looks like trash. But to me, its a ball of endless entertainment.

I toss it at the basketball hoop that is just barely attached to the side of the trampoline.

I put my all into it.

I miss every time.

I keep going.

I do flips and cartwheels and kicks until the sun starts to go down and my mom calls me in for dinner.

I know I’ll be back here again, playing peacefully and trying to touch the sky.