Indian Summer

As Jackie wandered her way into the woods she opened her sketch book and
flipped through her drawings, most nothing much more than rugged outlines of
landscapes and random things she found in the woods. The most often pictured
was her cat, being a freak as usual, climbing in trees, stalking little
animals, doing cat stuff.

Jackie pushed her way through the thicket, full of thorn vines and berry
bushes. The brush grabbed at her clothing and pulled at her as if not wanting
her to go any further. She moved away from the plants and reached a small
pond in the middle of the woods. It was peaceful and serene, her favorite
spot.

Finding the rock she always sat on at the waters edge, she sat down and looked
at her surroundings. The neighborhood goldfinch family flitted around
probably scouting for Banshee. It was a little late for others to be out but
Jackie spotted a little fox bounding away from the watering hole.

"Should have come out earlier.." She mumbled to herself. It was always better
in the first minutes of dawn when all of the animals switched shifts,
nocturnal hunters leaving to sleep, the day time workers taking their place.

Jackie heard a crashing the the bushes just as she began sketching, she spun
around to see her cat race out of the trees chasing the fox she had seen
earlier.

"Banshee!!" Jackie yelped. Her cat paused only to mew at her and took off
following the trail of the fox that had gotten just enough time to get a head
start.

Stupid cat... She thought and went back to drawing. He couldn't do anything to
the poor fox anyways.

Looking around again she saw something coming in through the bushes. What in the
world could it be now? She stood up cautiously, bracing herself for the worst.
It looked kinda big.

Just then, a young boy, about a year younger than her it looked like, stumbled
through the bushes and tripped, landing flat on his face. Jackie couldn't
suppress the giggle that pushed its way up her throat. The sound echoed through
the forest reaching the boys ears.

The boy jumped up with a shocked look on his face and stared across the lake,
spotting her.

"I-I-I... Uhhh... Hi?" He called cautiously.

"Uh..Hi?" She called back.

He began to make his way across the bank of the water, moving her way.