A parting of the ways.

Let me set the scene for you.

A small house hidden back away from the road. A long laneway winding its way to its destination. It meets a small country road in what some would call the middle of nowhere. Snow banks towering along the sides. Trees abound.

A lone figure, bouncing, flapping, plodding his way to the road to meet the beloved school bus. The school bus that will stop on the other side of the road. A mother follows not quite quickly enough. She hesitates. Run or watch? She chooses watch. Since a near-miss last year she knows the school bus schedule for any that pass through the area. None will pass at this moment. Her ears tune to the road and she hears no telltale crunch of gravel indicating an approaching car. She waits as her breath catches in her throat.

The figure reaches the road and...stops. A small head turns first to the left, then to the right, then checks the left one more time. Mother hears a voice as loud and clear as if it were right next to her. "No cars mom!".

And the bouncing continues accross the road.