Here is a shorty story for the creative competition that @sammosk runs!

Innocence

We were the best of friends.
Just toddlers at the time.
Playing in the sandbox, ignorant to the world outside us.
During our early years, we grew to know each other well.
Caring for each other like brothers.
When it came time for grade school, we went our separate ways.
Your school was on the north side and mine on the south.
Our parents would bring us together on Sundays,
At the park with the same sandbox we had once played in.
So glad to see each other, we ran dizzy around the park.
Before we said goodbye that day,
I asked how school was.
For the first time, I saw your demeanor completely change.
You said school was alright, but I knew something was amiss.
The next several Sundays, you seemed to have less and less life.
Once so very joyful, you had no desire to play.
I needed to know what spurred the change.
The next day, grabbing my bike, I snuck from school.
Pedaling fast to the north side, I had to make it for recess.
In the schoolyard, I saw you standing alone.
An older boy walking toward you,
He knocked you to the ground again and again
Suddenly I understood why the friend I once knew was hiding within.
Rushing to the scene, I picked up a stone.
As I neared your bully, I raised my arm, stone in hand.
That was the day I lost my innocence

---

Regards,
Mitchell J
Thanks for the pics pixabay