“Fraidy Cat!”

photo@J.Hardy Carroll

The children sped by on the roller skates clamped to their sneakers. Some grabbed at the bars of the iron fence, building their speed. They all craned their necks at the estate that took up a whole city block. None of them had ever dared to venture inside, and parents warned their children to stay away.

They never saw people. No one was ever in the vast yard, mowing or trimming; yet it always appeared to have been freshly groomed each morning.

“I’m going in there someday,” whispered Johnny.

“Then why’re  you whispering?” taunted Susie. “Fraidy cat!”