bubbles.

she stands in the playground, in the shadows of the big tree. well, it's not too big, but big enough.
above her its canopy of yellow leaves allows slivers of sunlight through... occasionally a leaf or two flutters down.
below her, woodchips, and more yellow leaves, all slightly damp from the night before.

the sun is shining brightly, a welcome change from the foggy morning...
but it's still cold enough for her to see her breath when she breathes or blows out.
she feels warm though.

the best part of it all, what she loves best - the

bubbles.

bubbles all around her,
bubbles, bubbles everywhere...
floating up into the tree, over the roof, into the clear blue sky...
turning the playground into one of the fairytale lands from "the cave of the golden roses", which she used to watch on tv with her mother.

a land of centaurs, and goblins, and fairies, and
princesses.

they float past her, the bubbles... translucent, delicate, iridescent.
she reaches out to touch a bubble - it's too tempting to resist...
and the bubble is no more.

she just stands there for a while longer, allowing the bubbles to dance past her...
then she reaches out again -
there goes another bubble.

she sees a big bubble within reach... pretty, pretty bubble, perfectly round;
translucent, delicate, iridescent.
but she keeps her hands to herself this time...
no, i'll let it go.