When my father and my mother fought, Annabelle, William, and I would run away. We would pack our backpacks with snacks and clothes and descend into the woods, the three of us, hand in hand.
We lived beside a forest that was three acres wide. William had built us a clubhouse in an old spruce tree. He was the only one who knew where it was; whenever I tried to find it on my own, I would get lost. We would follow a trail, cross a makeshift wooden bridge over a small stream, and turn the corner at a fallen-down tree, its roots brutally exposed to the earth, a twisted tornado of pedigree.
“Gracie? Anna?” William called, turning back to look at us, his golden blond curls shimmering in the sunlight. “You have to hop from rock to rock. The ground is hot lava.”
“Okay,” I replied, hopping carefully with my arms extended straight like the wings of an airplane.
When I lifted my head, I saw that William was standing perfectly still. He held his hand up, indicating for us to stop, and I tried to peek around him. “Nobody move,” he whispered.
There, among the trees off the path, stood a moose as tall as my bedroom ceiling, balancing on skinny stilt legs. It didn’t have any antlers. It was mostly brown but its back was speckled with white spots. Its ears, perfectly erect, suddenly shifted back, and William shouted, “Run!”
I snatched Annabelle’s hand and bolted, dragging her through the trees, pushing branches and twigs from our path, nearly on William’s heels. Adrenaline coursed through my body, and I felt no pain as I pushed myself as fast as I could, my heartbeat drumming in my ears.
When we arrived at the clubhouse, William screamed, “Get up, quick.”
My body trembled as I lifted Annabelle, giving her bottom a shove. She began scurrying up the flat pieces of wood that William had nailed onto the tree, spaced perfectly for our little legs to make it all the way to the top. “Hurry!” I called before following, my limbs weakening as I clung to the bark.
Halfway up, my foot missed a step and my shoe slipped off. I turned, watching it fall and hit the ground with a thud. William was behind me and grabbed my foot, guiding it back onto the step. “Don’t look down. Go. Go.” He nudged me upward.
One at a time, we arrived on our perch. We huddled together as we tried to catch our breath, scanning the dangerous forest from up high. I placed my head on William’s shoulder, glancing at my shoeless foot.
He was our protector, until he couldn’t protect us anymore.