Wayne+Yu

Ib holds onto the back belt loops of my jeans, and I pull her up the hill into the sunshine. The sun felt good on my face, like relief mixed with comfort. I turn and look at Ib, who looks quite happy to be out of the ditch. As we walk home Ib asks me, “Who are those girls with long hair?” I hesitate and look up at the sky. It looks cool and comforting. I take a deep breath and say “It’s not important. How about we get some ice-cream?” I reach into my pocket to see how much money I have-$5 perfect. We start to head over to the local convenience store. When we arrive there I tell Ib to pick the type of ice-cream she wants. She picks a Popsicle and I pick an ice-cream sandwich. As I am paying, Ib says, “I like Popsicle much better than the cake that the long haired girls were going to give me. Who are they anyway?” I finish paying and we walk out the store. I figure that she isn’t going to let this one go, so I answer, “I’m not sure who they are.” We walk side by side in silence for a moment. “When I was about your age I went to the ditch with my friends, who dared me to crawl through to the other side of the tunnel. I didn’t want to be a chicken, so I took the dare. It was really dark and there were blood suckers on the bottom of the tunnel. Then I heard the song that you were humming earlier. It was reminded me of the long haired girls’ song. At that point I was so terrified that I peed myself.” I say. Ib starts to giggle. By this time Ib’s house is in sight and her parents car is in the driveway. I stop and look at Ib. She stops too. “Promise me we’ll never visit or talk about the ditch again.” I tell her. “Only if we have a Barbie fashion show when we go home,” she says. “Deal.” It is going to be a long summer.
 * __The Tunnel continued__**