The playground was loud with kids playing. Tyson climbed the yellow slide and looked around. Where was everyone?
A swing creaked back and forth. Empty. Tyson sat down. He kicked the mulch with his sneaker.
'Hi, I'm Elea,' said a woman. She blew a bubble. It floated past his nose and popped with a soft tickle.
She handed him the wand. He blew and blew. Nothing. A tiny bubble wobbled and popped right away.
He thought: I can do that too.
The woman blew in a steady stream. A long snake of bubbles zigzagged up into the sky.
One bounced off his finger. It drifted toward the slide. 'Wow,' he whispered.
He blew again. A big round bubble floated right into his hands. He giggled and popped it.
The woman laughed. They stood side by side, blowing bubble after bubble into the sunny air.
Bubble after bubble rose up, up, up. The playground felt brand new.