Summers used to be filled with last minute sleep overs and waking up at 6:00 am to run over to a friends house and wake their family up at outrageous hours. They used to be filled with dodgeball tournaments, king of the kill, trampoline fights, green-machiene wars. They used to be filled with large dinners, Wii-Sports, and Nerf Gun fights, and late night hide-and-seek. But, one day we just... grew up.
I can't lie, I miss those moments. In fact, to this day, every time it rains, I want to run outside and get everyone over to swim. Yes, swim in the rain. Unless there was lightning and thunder, then we were ordered to get out and dry off with some hot-chocolate and a movie; normally we'd watch Scooby-Doo. Whenever I take a deep breath of morning summer air, my heart sinks, know that the smell used to remind me of our adventures.
There were 4 families, seven of us kids in total, and we ruled our streets and courts. Our tiny world was our kingdom, the large bush outside my house was our fort. My older brother was the "leader" of the "older kids" and I was the "leader" of the "younger kids." Or, that's how it would always end up. We'd even talk about having out own families and staying in this neighborhood forever. From the minute I was born until the summer of 6th grade, that's how things always were. All of us together.
But that summer made everything different. Two families moved away and the bond was completely severed between us, but we'd still hang out with the remaining family. Soon, though, they too moved away, and left their house for sale. An older couple moved in, without kids, and they hated noise. There wasn't much of it, anyway, not with only my brother and I. Besides, he's moved on to college now.
To this day, it's a ghost town, not a single child in sight. And when I pull-up my car into the driveway, I can't resist looking over my shoulder at the houses that used to be bombarded with basketballs, scooters, and bikes, now only littered with the occasional hose. I walk past our front flower-bed, remembering where our large bush used to be, the one we carved out.
That's all I have now. Memories. Memories that shaped me into who I am today. Memories of the people that always had my back. I only see their faces every Christmas when we meet up for an annual dinner, but I'm sad to say we've changed, glued to our phones and personal lives.
So when I escape to my rooftop to watch the sun set every night, I gaze over the seemingly empty houses and the abandoned yards, lonely ruling our fallen kingdom.
In memory of Craig Ct, Silverton Rd, and Colorado St.735Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcFxE4RsY0
Our Fallen Kingdom735Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVgBe7RPRQ
