Hide and seek

Fritz realizes that his legs are starting to feel wobbly. His heart is pounding in his chest. He is breathing heavily now. He knows he cannot rest now, but the faint pain in his chest is forcing him to take a few seconds, and wait.

He moves towards the green recycling bin, and kneels beside it. His frame is small enough, he knows that he will be invisible against this color. He must remain still for a few more seconds.

An unexpected movement next to the garage startles him. He decides it is time to move again.

He grabs the top slab of the precast wall. Only momentum can assist in this endeavor.  The pain which registers deep inside his brain, is so sharp, he almost let go. Blood is dripping through his fingers, but he must get over this wall now! He focuses on his shoulder and upper arms, then swings his legs over the wall. He lands on his hands and knees.

He is certain the jump caught its eye, and knows that he has to keep moving. He sees the ladder on the side of Jimmy's house. He remembers that no matter how hard he tried, he could not teach it to climb a ladder. He runs, grab the sides of the ladder, notices the unsteadiness, but nonetheless ascends it two stairs at a time.

He is on the roof. And with hurried breath curls his body against the chimney. He listens for any movement from below. He knows how softly it can move. There is always the possibility that it is staring up the ladder right now.

He is starting to feel calmer, and scans the rooftops for a plan. He looks at his stopwatch.

This is the old part of town, and the houses are still crammed together. It was built in December 1945, when life slowly started to return to normal after World War II. Women needed a place to console, nurse and comfort hurt souls. And men needed to find their humanity. The City officials at the time, started to deliver building materials at the gates of homes. They were called homes because of the people who flock to them. However, they were only the skeletons of what once were magnificent mansions.  For a whole month, these deliveries continued. There were heaps of bricks, wood and cement. Hammers, pliers and wheelbarrows filled the driveways. Deep into the night, the noises continue. Not even the arrival of a winter chill could slow them down. Slowly, houses started to take shape, families started to heal, and communities started to shake the memories of a devastating war.

The amount of materials was enough to restore each mansion fully, but surely one could see what was transpiring. The houses had no real distance among them. Did they want to live so close to each other? Or did they realize, that in the midst of danger, privacy and independence cannot save lives. But being a community can. Throughout the century, the houses remained.  Some of the original owners have died or moved to retirement villages. The current inhabitants see it as a great reprieve from city life, and appreciate the community setting, not digging for much understanding, but surely appreciating the spiritual connection.

Fritz gets such a fright, but he knows what he heard. A wheelbarrow was overturned. Then a cat gives an angry meow. Then there is a definite flutter of wings. He decides that if he is to believe the flight of the bird, that it is now moving in the area on his left.

It is not very agile, that he already knows. It also does not prefer jumping over a solid fence. If he is spotted here on the roof, it will take the longer route to get to him. However, this rooftop gives him the advantage he needs. He consults his stopwatch again. His decision is made. He has to do it now before he changes his mind. And he certainly doesn’t have much time.

He steadies his feet, counts to three and starts to run along the roof. When he reaches the end, he jumps, slightly touching his knees with his fingertips, like a silent cheerleader. He lands on the next roof, but don't stop. He keeps running to the edge of this roof and then rises. He leaps and makes another perfect landing.

Now it is the third one, then the fourth. He crawls into the little enclave next to the chimney. He has to rest quickly now. This is the last stretch. He just needs to finish these few metres and he will be safe.

This time he will make it.

He looks at his stopwatch, and this time he frowns. He stares down into the yard below and then his face lights up. There, right next to a sparkling pool, unattended, is the latest Santa Cruz Hightower CC XO1! It is only number five in the latest top brands of mountain bikes, but it can move faster than he can ever run.

He moves towards the lower part of the roof. He is careful not to make too much noise, as he navigates his way across the top of the carport.

He jumps onto the soft manicured lawn and then race to where the bike is still lying. He grabs it with one hand and runs towards the main gate. With his free hand, he quickly lifts the catch on the gate. He jumps onto the bike, and starts to paddle.

He can see them now; they have the yellow flag still hoisted. He cannot hear them, but he knows they are shouting at him to paddle faster.

His chest is on fire. He knows he is moving, but the tiredness has numbed his body. As he looks at his friend frantically urging him to keep on moving, he sees how he drops the flag. Then the look on his face, tells him that it is over.

He hears the breathing sound on his right. He slows down, turns to his right, and looks into the happy, tail-wagging face of his dear Rex.

'Fritz McCain, 24 attempts to hide from Rex. Success rate - zero! Today's time - seven minutes and 25 seconds! Same time tomorrow?' His friend laughs and hugs Fritz warmly.