My Young Hero

To see her relaxing like a princess, you'd never think that she could stealthily hunt down 

rabbits and chase them at the speed of light. But she can. And she does.

In the blink of an eye, Gracie took off after the rabbit.

Diving under the railing on the walkway behind the high school, she leaped through the planting strip and raced down to the lawn that lay three or four feet below us, along the edge of the woods.

Alas, it turned out to be not a rabbit at all. Just a leaf.

Oh, but that's alright. The chase is half the fun and my girl gave it her all. Happy and invigorated, Gracie retraced her steps, bounded back up the embankment and slipped skillfully under the railing.

But the shrubs that grow in the planting strip had been cut back, leaving half a dozen two-inch stumps in the garden, and her long leash caught, as it has before, between them. Not a problem. Rather than climbing down into the muddy mulch, I can usually remain up on the walkway and flick the long leash just so, getting it to pop loose from its trap.

So I was standing and flicking thusly when from the twilight shadows, a young man appeared.

He was dressed in a stylish navy suit with a dark dress shirt buttoned all the way up. No tie. Sensing my predicament, he asked if he could be of service.

"No," I said. "I'm fine. My leash is just caught on a stump down there but I can flick it free."

"Let me help you," he offered.

"No, no," I objected, "It's fine." Acknowledging that my technique was not working, I added, "I can climb down there and work it free."

"I insist," he politely insisted.

Before I could reply, gracefully, he bent down and laid his phone on the sidewalk.

And then, lithe and limber as a cat. he laid one hand on the railing and in a single, fluid motion, leaped effortlessly over the top.

In his dress shoes, he stepped confidently through the wet mulch, and walked around to where Gracie's lease was wedged. Reaching down into the soggy, mildewing leaves, he quickly worked the rope free and courteously handed it up to me.

"Thank you," I murmured, slightly under his spell.

He retraced his steps to the railing and just as effortlessly and elegantly as before, performed another perfect two-footed leap over the guardrail.

"No problem at all," he smiled as he delicately brushed off his fingertips before picking up his phone.

"Have a good evening."

And with that, my young hero walked off into the gathering darkness.