Let's Play in the Garden Read Online Free

marbles. They had a small circle taped to the floor, and Aaron had his tongue protruding and one eye closed as he prepared to shoot a small, multi-colored marble.
    “Hi, Mery. What are you doing?” Tobey asked.
    “Nothing much. Mother just asked me to check up on you guys.”
    “Oh,” he replied, barely paying attention to his sister. His eyes were locked on the game.
    Aaron shot the marble and missed the circle entirely. “Damn,” he yelped.
    “Aaron Santaneen, if Mother heard you, she’d whip you good,” Merydith scolded.
    “I didn’t mean it, Merydith,” he whimpered. His lower lip quivered.
    She smiled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell.”
    “Do you want to play with us?” Aaron asked.
    “No, thanks, you two keep playing.”
    She glanced around their room with a satisfied smile. The toy box in the corner was filled to the top. The bunk beds were made neatly, Aarons’ stuffed Panda on the bottom bunk marking his territory.
    Their baseballs, footballs, bats, and tennis balls were scattered around the room in organized piles. Dark blue curtains were pulled wide around the two windows to let the sun in, some of Tobey’s t-shirts hanging off them. Tobey’s small radio sat dormant on the nightstand by a lamp shaped like a dinosaur.
    It was a typical, messy, cramped boy’s room, but the two knew exactly where everything was. Merydith sighed blissfully and then left the room, shutting the door behind her.
    She went down the hall to her room, and as she ran her hand along the wall, she gently touched the small imitation wreath hanging on it. The texture was hard and rough, yet she always ran her hand over it when she came down the hall.
    She looked up and took note of the small door in the ceiling that led to the attic, a set of folding stairs hidden behind it. The attic had a slant roof built off it, allowing the solar panels to hit the second floor. Merydith wondered who had built it all this way, her grandfather, or someone he’d hired. She had no doubt that he could do it. But why the irresistible urge to have every spot in the house heated by the solar panels? It was something she never asked. Maybe someday she would.
    Inside her room a large bed with pink sheets and pillows waited like a giant sugarcoated marshmallow. It was so inviting. On her bed was a collection of stuffed animals—teddy bears, raccoons, rabbits and more.  Her room was indeed a world all its own.
    She had her own writing desk and a dresser with a mirror, where she curled and brushed her long chestnut hair.
    Her shelves were lined with dolls of all types, beautiful antique ones with spacious gowns and dazzling faces. All of them had shiny glass eyes and bright pearly smiles.
    In the corner was a small, stool-like table with three shelves. On each sat a different plant. The first was a fern, the second was an African violet, and the third was a cactus. She took care of the plants with delicate care and used the solar panels to help grow them. She knew the panels had more than one use. Her grandfather wasn’t the only one who loved plants.
    Her closet held many fine dresses and accessories from scarves to large-rimmed hats. Summer and winter dresses fought for space in the spacious closet. It glowed with an array of bright, pretty colors. Grandma and Mother had knit most of the clothing specifically for her.
    The last feature of Merydith’s bedroom was the round tea table at the left wall. It wasn’t used for tea. Instead, it held an enormous puzzle of more than a thousand pieces. She had only just begun it, and little by little each day she would add some more pieces to the puzzle. She wanted to make it last. It kept her days on a routine basis, something she could do every day and it would always be there.
    The puzzle was of a circus—a place she had never been to in her life. The box showed a bunch of colorful clowns, costumed horses, the ringmaster and a huge blue tent. A lion tamer and the trapeze performers delighted a crowd of