Heroes are often faced with challenges. How they face them and overcome them often shows more about them than anything else.

“Wanna play a game?”

“Where is Wilson?”

“Sure. I think he is still stuck in solitary,” said Brad.

“That sucks,” said Taylor. “Isn’t that like twice in two months.”

“It has been three, but who is counting,” said Greg. “What should we even play? He had all of the cards. I don’t know if I could find where he stashed that contraband.”

“We could go play with the older kids,” suggested Brad.

“No,” said Greg.

“Younger?”

“No. Definitely not,” said Taylor.

“Older it is.”

“Fine.”

Each of the children's age groups formed natural cliques. Any further splitting would create solo person groups and few of the children wanted that. To deal with their situations they needed friends, support, and someone to understand them. Brad had tried to make friends with some of the other kids in town, but none of them understood him. Even some of the other kids in the orphanage didn’t understand him, but he knew he was ok. He had arrived at the orphanage so long ago that he didn’t remember anything about his parents except what the priests chose to tell him. Eventually, he stopped asking them for stories. They had gotten more and more wildly outlandish. They were unfortunately in the past and there was nothing he could change about that.

Together as a trio, they approached the older group of kids. They ranged from fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. Any older and they would be sent to find a job and were no longer cared for. These kids had been in the orphanage for the longest and had different expectations thrust upon them. They had their futures to think about. Brad just had to think about how to stay within the rules and avoid the eye of trouble.

“What game are you playing today?” asked Greg. “Can we join in today?”

One of the older boys stepped forward with a ball under his arm. He looked over them, examining them and mentally summing them up. “Today we are doing kickball, but we already have an even number of players. Find someone else to join or she can go play with the little girls and practice her crafts. We play in five minutes. Decide what you want to do.” He turned around and returned to his friends with no interest in further discussion.

Greg turned to Taylor. He started to give her a look. “No. I said I didn’t want to play with the younger kids, and I meant it. Nor am I going back to reading. This is my break from that.”

“Which other kid will play with us?” asked Greg.

“Wilson has probably already broken himself out and is available,” said Brad.

“No. He won’t agree to it and if the older kids see him then they might rat us all out bringing more trouble onto us. We have to find someone else,” said Brad.

“I do have an idea though we only have five minutes to convince her and come back to play,” said Taylor. “And I think I already know where to find her.”

“Lead the way,” Greg said with a sigh.

Taylor ran and the others followed as they cut through the edge of the woods and ran back toward the orphanage. They all knew the path back well and made good time getting to the orphanage. She circled the back where a smaller stone wall marked a back area for the place. Behind the orphanage was a garden, a play area for the smallest of children, and a pen for orphan-raised chickens.

A few kids were in the back enjoying their playtime in the area or tending to other duties. Some orphans had chosen to stick to unusual schedules for the sake of the animals and took their free time at other parts of the day. Only at night was the backyard area devoid of children.

Taylor scanned the rows of planted food, flowers, and the pen. “Ash!” she exclaimed when she saw the younger girl picking flowers from a pot. She looked up in acknowledgment.

Ash looked to be a year or more younger than the boys at nine or ten years old. Rarely were ages meticulously counted except for time spent at the orphanage. She had brown hair neatly braided with flowers pulled from the current plant in them. Her clothes were sturdy and meant for outdoor work and play.

“What do you want Taylor.” Her focus was more on the plants than on Taylor. Brad and Greg got more of a suspicious eye than her.

“We need one more person for the kickball game. Otherwise, we can’t play. Please?”

“Why don’t you do something else or join me?”

“I don’t want to play with the youngest of kids. They just want to play with their old dolls and play house. It’s too boring and I was never really into it.”

“As I said you could help me garden for the hour instead?”

“How about next free time we do that together? I’ll even bring out my books on gardening?”

“We these two be joining in the garden as well?” she asked with a look past Taylor.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Brad shrugged. “If we have to. I don’t know much about plants, but I’ll help you out if it means everyone gets to play. We should hurry though. We are on a time limit.”

“Of course you are. I’ll have you take care of planting seeds. You can’t mess that up. Or at least I hope you can’t.” Ash set her trowel and gloves down. “Lead the way.”

They ran back eager to get started with a spring in their step as Ash trailed behind.

“I didn’t think that you would find one. Have you played kickball before?” he asked Ash.

“Yes. I know the rules too.”

“OK then. You guys are on your team.”

“But…” Greg started to say.

“I said that you could play. I didn’t say anything about how the teams would be arranged. It’s ok. We will be sure to go easy on you.”

The older boy spun the ball in his hands waiting to hear further challenges. Greg just scowled and accepted that this was how it was going to be. When no further word was spoken on their end the older boy stepped back and gathered with his team.

“Because you are younger you four with start with the ball. That tree is the goal. Ours is there,” he said. The two trees were marked by old knife marks. One had a square while the other had a roughly cut circle. They had held the marking for these games longer than any of the children had been alive. Each year the cuts were reopened to make sure that the signs were clear.

Then he tossed the ball. It spun quickly and the kids barely realized it had left the older kid’s hands. It flew toward Greg who instinctively raised his hands and caught the ball. He felt the stinging in his hands but couldn’t linger on that fact as ‘Start’ was yelled by the older boy.

Greg stepped back as the three older boys and one girl ran for the ball. The game was simple. Get the ball to its target destination by almost any means necessary with the first to three winnings though the exact number could vary. Of the few things that were off limits, they were holds, extended grappling, and brawling. This left the use of feet as a means of attack or trip giving way to the name ‘Kickball’. It was unfortunately obvious who had the advantage.

The others were caught off guard when he checked on his teammates. He started to run indirectly toward the goal. His enemies moved to intercept. The first of his team to run was Taylor. Greg, with a flicker of strategy lighting up his eyes, decided on their first move., he tossed the ball to Taylor, who was quick on her feet and adept at dodging. She caught it with ease and darted to the left, drawing a couple of the older kids towards her.

Her feet thumped against the ground bringing her as fast as she could. The older kids were faster. One blocked Greg who had gotten further ahead while the others surrounded Taylor. She scanned for an opening and dropped the ball. Taylor, seeing an opening, made a swift pass to Ash, who, despite her earlier reluctance, was now fully engaged in the game.

The ball reached her, and she stopped it with her feet before picking it up. The ball had slowed down too much however and one of the older kids had turned her way. Before her teammates could help her the ball was out of her hands. With a swift push, she was on the ground. The older kid ran without looking behind her.

Brad held the backline and moved to intercept before the older girl could get a clean shot at the target. He watched her feet and went to grab her as she feinted. His hands slid past her and with one hand she grabbed his shirt and rolled him over. He held on for a moment, but she kept her feet moving. She saw the tree and tossed the ball into the center of the circle.

Brad let go when he realized that they had lost the first round. “Crap,” he said instinctually.

“Better luck next time,” said the older boy. The ball back in his hands. “Ready for round two?”

Brad got up and dusted himself off. He rejoined the line and adjusted his stance. He looked to the others.

“We need to go for speed,” said Taylor quietly. “They will overpower us directly if we let them get to us.”

“Then speed it is. We just need to create an opening,” said Ash.

“We’re ready,” said Greg to the other side.

The older boy charged head-on toward Greg. Strength was their strategy while they had the ball. Greg went for a kick with his hands ready to meet the ball. His foot was met with a matching kick from the older boy. It swiftly snapped out and it pushed Greg off balance. He fell to the ground.

Ash and Taylor were next trying to pin him in. He didn’t fall for their pincer attack, and they realized the flaw in their plan. They needed to retrieve the ball in the first place. Before he reached them the ball was out of his hands and in the hands of a teammate. Ash and Taylor were quickly grabbed, and their feet kicked out from under them.

Brad was in an inconvenient spot and could only watch as the ball was tagged to the tree. They had one chance left. His mind thought of options and even briefly considered quitting. This was not how he expected to be spending his free time. And he had agreed to garden tomorrow. He looked at his teammates and sighed. They knew it too. They would see the game through even if it meant losing. If they quit now then ridicule and bullying would likely follow. Ending it now meant it would be over sooner, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try at all.

Taylor was passed the ball and got back in the lineup.

“That went well,” Ash said to Taylor.

“I didn’t consider how to get the ball. Now we start with it.”

“So much for the brains of the team,” said Greg. “We going to try something else?”

“Quick and fast is fine, but we also need to go wide. Pass the ball further. It is risky, but so far we have been stuck in a short, small line. We have the whole forest around us. Use it,” said Taylor. She looked over to the other team. “We are ready.”

Taylor took off without warning and ran to her left. The others split off in other directions. Their enemies chased. She held the ball tightly as she ran and watched the others while she did so. Her pace wasn’t very fast, but she stayed ahead of the enemy chasing her. As they grew closer to her she tossed the ball.

It bounced off a tree and spun in the air. Greg shifted directions mid-sprint and picked up the ball. Another boy was hot on his tail and had started to catch up while he had to grab the ball. He started to run back toward their goal.

“Stop him!”

Greg ran unsure if he would make it. He searched for the tree. Once he spotted it he kicked. The ball dropped out of his hands and fell in time for his foot to kick the ball. He was tackled as the ball soared through the air. Though he was unable to watch, the others did as it bounced off the ground and landed near the tree.

Ash’s eyes rose in surprise, and she ran toward the ball. Another player raced to get the ball before her. She kept her feet light. The grass slid under her feet keeping her steady. She pushed herself closer and felt the wind in her flowered hair. Her hands reached out wishing she had more time and was closer.

The enemy player ran but did not check their feet as they got closer. They were almost to the ball but felt a pull on their foot. Their boot snagged on the gnarled roots of a tree, and they fell. With a thump, they hit the ground and Ash was able to dance passed them to touch the ball to the tree. They had gained a point finally hitting 1-2.

“Nice play,” said one of the older boys almost mockingly. “But it is our turn.”

He grabbed the ball from Ash’s hands. She almost didn’t let go in time. The other team backed up getting ready to start once more.

“We are about to lose aren’t we,” said Brad.

“Probably, but at least we got a point,” said Greg.

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“We could try and slow down their win. Brad is right. There is no chance they are going to let us win,” said Ash.

“I’ll see them try,” said Greg with a cocky grin.

The next round started. With the ball in hand, the four older kids stuck together as they ran. They had the physical strength and more endurance while the others had tired themselves out getting that single goal. Greg tried to keep things together, but the older kids barreled through him before pushing past the others. He was stomped underfoot and felt a snap. The pain started to register as the enemy team scored their third point. They had lost.