abase [uh-beys]

I am seven years old. The other boy is younger and I do not know him well. The field has turned mostly to mud since construction began on the new townhouses, and it is cracked with the evaporation which follows recent rains.

I gently pry loose a slab; keeping it intact. “Want a piece of chocolate?” I say.

I don’t remember if I expected him to get the joke or not. I remember my surprise, and the look of confused horror. I remember going inside and grounding myself to my room.