My boys like to play by the riverbed. They like to run around and pretend to be knights and bandits. Thomas likes to pretend that he is the son of a dethroned lord, while Gregory likes to pretend to be a gentleman thief giving back to villagers. Allen, the youngest, mostly sat quietly by the river bank and stared at the flowing water.

When I was younger I used to play with my brother by the same river that my three boys loved. We would skip stones across the river’s surface. Caleb, my younger brother, he would always try to find stones tall enough so he could skip across the river himself. I was not as brave, the flowers on the other side of the river would give me coughing fits. But Caleb loved to pretend the other side was his domain.

My boys always leave right after lunch and return right before dinner. Sometimes they arrive a bit late and I start to worry. I’ve had to be stern with them several times before due to their late arrivals. Thomas, the oldest of the three, he started to argue that he is getting old enough to stay out later, but not anymore.

One night, after they arrived late, Thomas and Gregory went on and on about their games. Gregory was miming a sword fight while Thomas pretended to die. I don’t like to raise my voice, but I had to to get them to calm down. They left Allen by the river.