Freejack Park is small, so it don’t take no time to get through the whole thing.

“I can jump rope,” Ling says, closing her eyes, turning her hands, and jumping up and down. “One. Two. Buckle my shoe. Three. Four—”

“We don’t wanna hear no more,” Sato says, picking her up and sitting her on his shoulders.

Ling is laughing. Sato is running with her up there, saying he ain’t responsible if she falls down and busts her head wide open. He is maybe twelve trees ahead of us now. Then all of a sudden he stops, turns around and runs back to where we are. Ling is bumping up and down on his shoulders like she riding a horse, holding on to her eyeglasses. Sato can’t hardly talk or breathe when he gets back to us. “I seen, I seen your father. Over there,” he says, bending down and letting Ling off.

Warm Jell-O fills my mouth again.

“You okay?” Ja’nae says, taking my hand.

I nod my head yes.

Sato gets all up in my face, his breath smelling like milk. “He don’t look so good. Maybe you don’t wanna . . .”

I don’t plan for it to happen, but my feet start moving backward. Sweat starts running down the middle of my back like ants crawling down my spine.

Ling grabs my other hand. “How come your father lives outside, Raspberry? Not in a house with you?”

My mouth is so dry it hurts when I talk. “He just don’t, that’s all,” I yell.

Ja’nae tells me to stay put till we can think of what to do. The ants are on my legs and arms now. I’m sweating and itching everywhere.

Sato is talking about the sun going down and us not being in here when that happens. I look up at the sky. It’s as bright as it was first thing this morning. It’s only seven o’clock at night, I want to tell him. The sun ain’t going no place.

Ja’nae is talking and talking. Saying that even though my father ripped me off, he is still my father.

I look at a man wrapped tight like a mummy in a greasy, green sleeping bag, and a woman with no hair pushing a shopping cart full of trash.

“I wanna go,” Ling says, starting to cry.

Su-bok says she ain’t scared, but she’s holding on to Ming’s shirtsleeve.

My feet start up again. And we all walk past the swings with no seats, rusted monkey bars, and seesaws with half the seat broken off. Sato says Daddy is over there. I run to where he is and holler at the top of my lungs, “Give me my money back!”

My father is covered with old newspaper. His eyes open and shut. Half a smile is on his face.

“Had a bad night,” his friend says, covering his eyes from the sun. “He can’t hear nothing you say.”

I put my hand out, and tell him I want my money now. His friend laughs. Says whatever Daddy took off me is long gone now. Then he tells me I better get going. “Your dad would be mad at you being in a place like this.”

I push away the newspapers. Dig in his pockets. Tell him over and over again he ain’t have the right to take my stuff. “To steal what I worked for.”

“Raspberry,” Ja’nae says, coming over to me.

I take both my hands and shove my father good, trying to make him turn over so I can check his back pockets. “You got it. I know you got it!” I say.

Sato and Ja’nae pulling me by the arm. Saying we need to go. My father still ain’t awake, and Ling is crying so much I think she gonna be sick.

“No! No! I ain’t leaving till he gives it back,” I say. “All of it.”

Daddy’s friend digs in his pockets and pulls out the insides. “We broke, girl. Don’t you see that?” He stands up, smelling just like he did in the hospital. “And if we get us a quarter, we gonna go get more stuff. ’Cause that’s how it is.”

I back up. Look down at my father, snoring. “Where’s his tree?” I ask.

Ja’nae says I’m crazy. “There’s trees everywhere.”

Daddy’s friend points to a tiny little plant near their bench. Rocks are circling round it. A big, flat stone is laying on the ground next to it with “My Little Raspberry Girl,” scratched on it, in big crooked letters. I throw the stones outta my way. Lift my foot high in the air and squish the plant with my sneaker.