Chalk Squares

I slipped through the narrow gap under the front gate and padded onto the neighborhood sidewalk. Stretched across the warm concrete was a hopscotch grid sketched in dusty blue chalk. I took a slow breath, bent my knees, and made a careful hop forward, landing with a soft thud right in the center of the first square. Balancing on my feet, I hopped again into the second box. When I paused to look over my shoulder, two faint chalky ovals were stamped neatly onto the grey stone behind me.