Never Truth

2

I could feel tears building in my eyes at the frustration of being left behind. As the youngest, it felt like I was always being left out. “I don’t want to go in the backyard. I want to stay with you two.” Marco stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders, bending low to look me in the eye. “Hey, Sof, don’t get upset,” he said softly. “It’s only a few minutes, and you’re gonna love the yard. I’ve been back there, and there’s tons of flowerbeds. I bet you can find a whole army of ladybugs.” He gave me a warm smile, and his words were just what I needed to hear. I adored hunting for ladybugs with him. In the blink of an eye, the backyard became a grand adventure rather than a punishment for being too young. “Okay, Marco! And maybe I can find one of the yellow ones just for you.” “Sounds good. You can tell me all about it as soon as we’re done.” “And Sof,” Daddy said, “make sure you stay in the backyard until we come for you, understand?” “I will!” I tore off around the side of the house, completely absorbed in my new mission to capture as many ladybugs as possible. Daddy had been right—the yard was huge. Our house sat on the edge of the water, so we didn’t have much of a backyard, but this yard was lined around the edges with trees that soared high into the sky, just like an impenetrable barrier protecting a beautiful castle. At the base of the trees were winding flower beds full of all kinds of plants and flowers. I ran directly toward the nearest bed. Ladybugs loved flowers. Dropping to my knees, I started to scour the leaves and dirt for any trace of red or yellow polka-dotted bugs. “Whatcha lookin’ for?” a voice from behind me said, startling me from my task. A boy about my age peered over my shoulder, shaggy blond hair curling into his narrowed eyes. I’d never seen the boy before, but I was always happy to make new friends. “Ladybugs. Wanna look with me?” “I thought girls didn’t like bugs.” “They’re ladybugs,” I explained in exasperation. Clearly, this boy didn’t know anything about girls. Of course, we liked ladybugs—it was right there in the name. I returned to my search, sensing the boy join me when he dropped to his knees beside me. “You live here?” I asked him without taking my eyes from the miniature jungle of vegetation. “Nah, this place is way nicer than my house. My dad’s inside talking. He made me come out here.” He grumbled the last part, his displeasure obvious. “Same here. They said I wasn’t old enough to come inside, but this is way better than listening to grown-ups talk.” “You’re probably right,” he admitted reluctantly. “How old are you?” “Five and a half. How old are you?” “Six, almost seven,” he said proudly, flashing a toothless grin. “Hey! There’s one.” He reached into a large shrub and came away holding his finger out with a tiny red bug walking across his knuckle. “Wanna hold it?” I gave him a big smile and nodded, too excited to talk. “Okay, hold out your hand flat, and we’ll let him walk from my hand to yours.” I followed his instructions, and he pressed his hand firmly against mine on the side where the ladybug was headed. My hand was frigid compared to his, but it didn’t faze me. I was too excited to care about the cold or the rock that was digging into my knee. The moment the microscopic legs touch my skin, I gasped with a giggle. “It tickles.” “Have you held one before?” “Yeah, but it still makes me laugh. I wish I got to hold them more. We don’t have a big yard, so I don’t see them very often. My favorite are the yellow ones, but they’re super hard to find. I’ve only ever found one of those before. I like them because yellow is my favorite color. You have a favorite color?” I asked as I watched the bug make its way around to the underside of my hand. “Probably green. That’s the color of the New York Jets, my dad’s favorite team.” “You know if you mix yellow and blue, it makes green? I love painting, so I know how to make all the colors,” I explained confidently. “Yellow and red together make orange.” The boy c****d his head to the side and looked at me curiously. “You think if the red ladybugs and yellow ladybugs have babies together, they’d have orange ladybugs?” I burst out laughing, making the bug on my hand fly off toward more stable ground. “You’re funny. What’s your name?” “I’m Nico. What’s yours?”