Out of all of my memories of All, one particularly stands out. It was on a chilly, wintery day. One of those days where everything was bleak and dull in hindsight, but happy and carefree in the moment. I do not experience the joy of snow anymore. Now it is more of a nuisance than anything. However, on that day, it was exciting.
I think it was during one of those days before Christmas. That buildup to quite possibly the biggest holiday of the year.
Anyway, on that day, All and I were all dressed up in warm clothing. Boots, scarves, hats, the whole deal. Our house is nearby a clearing in the woods. An ideal place for playing around. The game we were going to play that day was Hide and Seek. I was the seeker, being the oldest one. That's how it always went. The first round, I was seeker. The next, I was the hider. Of course, All grumbled about it. He always did.
In the middle of the clearing was a cluster of trees, stripped completely of their leaves from the autumn that had passed. I faced them, covered my eyes with my hands, and counted to ten. There was a clomping of snow, moving away from me, for a few seconds, but then it stopped. All had found his hiding spot. I kept on counting to ten, anyway. No point in breaking the rules.
When I was finished counting, I called, "Ready or not, here I come!" and went searching for All.
I forgot how long I searched for. Minutes seemed to stretch to hours. The forest seemed almost timeless. Eventually, I got worried. My search became more frantic.
And then I found him, standing in the tree cluster at the clearing's center. This confused me. I had never seen him there, and there was no way he could have passed by me without me hearing him. More then that, he was grinning in a rather unnerving manner. But I had found him, and that's what was important.
Instead of playing another round, however, All insisted that we go inside. He said he was cold. I wasn't all that chilly, but I decided not to argue.
After that, All let me be the seeker all the time. He said he was happy with hiding. Every time, he stayed hidden for ages, only for me to find him in a place I had already searched.
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