Tag

The children were playing tag nearby.

I saw one girl trip, fall one hand on the ground, catch her balance and run on.

As she ran, she looked at her hand, looked around to find the adults, and turned; the group moved this way.

She broke away, ran up and hit me on the forearm. “Tag”, she said, “you’re its”.

I reflexively corrected her, “you’re it”.

Her smile vanished.

“No.” she said, and looked down at the mark on my arm. “You’re its”.

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Credits to: Pohlcat