Lonely Boxcar

I rocked side to side, my arms outstretched to catch the air. One foot at a time, I balanced on the metal rail of the track. On tiptoes, I began running down my tightrope, laughing at my friend who straggled behind. My loose overalls flapped as I ran, the legs rolled up so I don't trip. Jessie had her shoes on 'cause she's always afraid of getting bitten. I tell her that's what slows her down all the time. She fits her clothes better than me. She isn't so slight that a tornado wind could blow her into the sky. That's what Mama always tells me, that when there's a storm I gotta stay in so I don't get whipped up. It ain't my fault I'm the size of a sapling, I just am.

"Lizzie, slow down!" she calls from behind me. I almost pretend I don't hear her, but I stop when I see something up ahead. A big red boxcar sits alone on the tracks. I shove my hands in my pockets and look hard at it. The stale heat presses down on me and the sun beats on my back, but I ignore it.

"What's that?" she asked, finally beside me.

"Old train car, I s'pose." I shrugged, still looking at it, wondering how it got left here. "Wonder what's inside."

I walked away without looking back, knowing that Jessie wasn't following me yet. I've always been the more adventurous one between the two of us. Jessie thinks that curiosity is dangerous, that it gets  you in trouble. She says that all the time. But when I start off on adventures, she always follows. I think she really is a curious person, she just doesn't wanna tell nobody.

I turned my eyes toward Jessie, still in the spot where I left her, but a moment later, her feet start moving toward me. I smile as I swing myself into the abandoned train car, wondering what we'll find this time.