The Playground

From the fountains adorned with infinite detail and care, it seemed in the light of the intense midday sun that shone bright diamonds, which later precipitated in a swamp full of lilies of dawn, sky and snow. On its bright leaves occasionally small frogs would jump, disturbing the water when leaving or entering it. They swam making magical figures with the waves that resulted from their movement. And only occasionally did they get upset when they saw a naughty white hand approaching to touch them. Esmeralda played with these little animals, leaning too close to the bottom of the fountain. Her white summer dress was in danger of getting stained and was going to acquire another range of colors when a frog was about to jump over the girl carrying a water loop with it. More than sad for her ruined dress, the girl was ready to cry from the fright that that monster had given her.

She stayed like that for a few minutes until it passed and a large orange butterfly distracted her from her anguish. She followed it slowly, at a distance so as not to scare it away, and when she saw the butterfly perch on the flower of an orchid her hands rushed at it in a failed attempt to catch it.

The beautiful creature escaped from the view of Esmeralda who's next game would be the great cobbles of a path that led to a beautiful marble construction. Her little feet jumped gracefully and a little clumsily on the stones moving randomly "one leg, two legs, one, one, two ..."she went back and forth, like that several times until she got tired and went into the small viewpoint that offered a nice shade.

It was surrounded by trees of a thousand colors that gave off a fresh and sweet smell that filled the lungs of the little troublemaker. First she brought her little pale nose to the purple flowers of the branch of a lilac then, to the lemon tree whose whitish flowers matched the little dry dress of the girl again. Later she breathed in the smell of a linden tree, and so on until she knew all the aromas of the flowers that surrounded her. She lay down on the cold white stone that refreshed her on that hot day and while contemplating the few clouds to cross the clear sky fell asleep. An hour will have passed when Esmeralda awoke from her sleep, rubbed her eyes with her soft little hands and left the gazebo in search of her next adventure.

Not far from there, she found a large mosaic in the shape of a bouquet of flowers. Her fingers went through the cracks between the colorful stones. The game now consisted of touching each piece of the mosaic of the same color, after another, the one there was less of. What joy it brought to her to find another square of the color she was looking for just when she thought there was no more! Then she jumped on the mosaic, made turns making the skirt of her dress dance with her, climbed on a high stone to see better the drawing of the bouquet that fascinated her so much. And then she left.

Hopping around the garden, observing everything with eyes of curiosity, Esmeralda stopped when she saw on a small plot some red fruits among little white flowers. Running, she went to get the biggest strawberry there was and put it in her mouth, how sweet it tasted! One more followed, and another, and another, until only the green ones were left that were not ready and the flowers. Wanting more in the girl a doubt arose, what if she tried the green ones? With mistrust she took one and gave it a small bite, before the lack of sweetness she spat it out and left there having learned one more thing.

Her next stop was a garden of pebbles from which sprung some flowers and shrubs. She kept searching among the colors and shapes, looking for the one she liked best. Touching the flat, playing with the round, began to make towers and small buildings that collapsed and rose again every minute. Then she decorated them with the tiny plants and flowers that were near her. When she had had enough fun she also left from there.

This would be followed by the part of the garden that Esmeralda would like most. A meadow with shrubs in the shape of animals. There were peacocks whose open tails consisted of blue and yellow flowers, horses and elephants who she would try to climb on without success because she was very short, although in her eyes, they were very tall. There were monkeys with whom she spoke, and a family of swans for which she invented a whole story. The big one was the father and he was with the little swans while the mother looked for food and for that reason he was not there but she would come back at any moment, the little swans played hide and seek but they were only 3 because the other 2 were hidden. And with that idea she went to look for the missing swans. And in the end Esmeralda found what were 2 bushes in the shape of ducklings that she decided were the hidden swans.

That is how she stayed, living her imaginary stories until she heard the familiar voice of her mother. And together they left the beautiful garden that the girl would never forget, her playground.