[["Everything floats,"]]
"Everything floats," she says, dropping the paper boat into the creek. It bobs, rights itself, and then its soft white folds carry along at a gentle pace.
You do not quite realise you are leaning forward, watching a small paper boat make its clumsy way along a thin ribbon of water until you almost lose your balance on an unsteady rock. You are standing at a precarious angle, thighs tight, toes clenched, shoulders pulled back. (either: "Out of the corner of your eye, you see a squirrel run past.","You see a centipede crawl along the edge of the rock, careful and slow.","It is hot out and the humidity is high.")
[["Paper floats," you say, a little tired. "Not everything."]]
"Paper floats," you say, a little tired. "Not everything."
She sighs a small, noncommital noise, but does not turn around to look at you.
You remember watching her fold each delicate crease, Tab A to Tab B, at the kitchen table, tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth, corners kissing corners until she held a boat in her hands, eyes wide.
(either: "'Isn't it amazing what you can do with paper?'","'Isn't it amazing what you can do with your hands if you are careful?'")
(either: "There is a breeze, a little cold for late August. It kicks up some dead leaves beneath a fallen long. (set: $breeze to 1)","There is the whispering sound of tide coming in down toward the marina. A man shouts something on the docks, you cannot hear him clearly. (set: $tide to 1)")
[["Mom is going to wonder where we are. We have to get back."]]
"Mom is going to wonder where we are. We have to get back."
She sits crouched, hugging her knees – (either:"mud stained", "grass stained") khakis – to her chest, and inches along the bank of the creek sideways like a crab. (either:"Her shirt is hot pink. It says, “I’m a control freak.”","She has a bright blue headband on. It keeps hair from her eyes.") Your mom bought it for her.
She won’t take her eyes off the boat, and you fear it will begin taking on water, or dissolve in front of her.
(if: $breeze is 1)[You reach into your pocket, find nothing but guitar picks, and scratch your neck.]
(if: $tide is 1)[The rock beneath your feet wobbles again. She won't budge.]
[[You sigh.]]
You roll your eyes, and look up at the canopy of warm green. (either: "There is speckled sunlight, dirt on your palms, the smell of wet earth all around you, and a small bead of sweat trickles down the back of your neck. (if: $breeze is 1)[The breeze doesn't help.]","Light filters in, and you watch the branches ripple as a bird perches among the leaves. Your palms are sweaty, you taste salt at the corner of your mouth, you have tied the laces of your shoes too tightly. (if: $tide is 1)[You wonder idly whether Jeff has taken the boat out yet this summer.]")
In front of you, a small girl sits huddled next to a smaller body of water, where a fist-sized origami boat suddenly collides with a rock too big for it to ignore. The boat stutters, caught up by the impatient flow of the water around it, no time for small paper boats, and it slowly capsizes.
(either: "She doesn't intervene.", "She does nothing.", "You wait for a minute.")
[[“Well?” You say, and she bites her lip, pushing her glasses up her nose.->Well?]]
"Well?"
"Hmm," she says.
(if: $tide is 1)[There is the soft static of tide again, a ring of bells.] You can hear a whistle from the pool signalling that the guards will be taking a break. Someone at the marina starts their car. The engine turns, and gravel crunches as they angle their tires.
"C'mon," you say, and push yourself off your pile-of-rock perch. You wipe your palms on your jeans. You walk for a few seconds, then hear her scramble after you.
[["Wait," she breathes. "Wait, I'm coming."]]
the end
thanks for playing
xx
kb