Jenny stood on the back porch. The air was so hot it shimmered like sheets of glass stacked one on top of another. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and squinted toward the river.
She gripped the swimsuit hanging on the door hook, grabbed it with both hands, and ran out the door with her socks still on.
She skidded to a stop at the water's edge. Lily was already in, waist-deep, flapping her arms up and down like a duck learning to fly.
Jenny kicked off her sandals and stepped into the river. The cool water shocked her ankles and made her shiver — then she grinned and waded deeper.
A dragonfly hovered right in front of her nose. Its wings hummed like a tiny motorboat. Jenny reached out slowly — and it zipped sideways, then dropped straight into the water with a soft plop.
Lily grabbed Jenny's wrist and pointed down. Her mouth formed a perfect circle of surprise. Jenny looked and saw a silver fish wiggle past her knee, then vanish between smooth stones.
Both girls burst into giggles, slapping the water with their palms. The fish disappeared between the stones, and they didn't even try to catch it again.
They lay on their bellies in the shallows and let the current ripple against their stomachs. The late sun turned the whole river into liquid gold.
Jenny reached into her pocket and pulled out a dandelion head — the one she'd been saving since breakfast. She held it at arm's length and set it on the water.
The dandelion caught the current and began to drift. It passed Lily first, who blew a soft kiss toward it, then slipped past a pair of stepping stones.
Jenny watched it drift past the willow where the water slows and swirls in little circles. It passed a frog on a lily pad without stopping. It kept going, smaller and smaller.
Jenny kept watching until the dandelion had shrunk to a tiny yellow dot, then blinked and the whole river was just shimmering light again.