An old monkey bar dome of dull gray aluminum dripped from a recent storm. The bars enclosed a thick pool of mud. Nathan held his mother’s hand as they approached. She was a tall, slender woman. Dark brown hair bobbed around her neck. A subdued red gloss wrapped her lips. Her eyes were the same dark green and brown shades as her son’s. She was tanned, but whenever the strap of her blouse slipped it revealed lines of successively paler skin. His mother’s details contrasted sharply with the hazy surroundings. But the bars made his heart beat faster.

“I want to climb the bars!”

“No, it’s too dangerous. How about we ride the frog instead?”

Nathan grumbled as his mother picked him up and gently set him on a saddled frog bouncer clear of the mud. He rode it back and forth while his mother clapped. Then she spotted a friend jogging on the macadam path up the hillside.

“Ride the frog, okay? Mommy is going to talk to Sam for a moment and will be right back.”

She waved to the woman and walked over a bit, not too far from her son. Nathan tried to make the frog sway a bit more violently but it proved a bit heavy. He heard the women talking about whatever, he couldn’t be bothered about it. The frog slowed and he sat watching his mom and her friend talk. Though engrossed in conversation, his mother kept him within eyeshot. She never trusted him to do anything on his own. The sun warmed his long pony-tail.

Then his mother turned her back for a moment. He hopped off the frog. A deceptive push would convince his mother he was still riding it. Her hair glimmered with sunlight as he ran to the ever-beckoning monkey bars. His mother gasped. Reaching them successfully, he tested his prowess. The biggest challenge was finding out how many bars he could skip. He skipped two bars at a time, swinging across like a primate. His mom ran over but he was inside the bars and she wouldn’t go near the mud.

“Nathan! get out of there!”

The voice sounded angrier than he expected and broke his concentration. The next bar was only inches from his fingers before they slipped off the wet metal. He caught the closest bar with his other hand but the grasp was tenuous. His mother reached to grab him, but he held the center bar. His fingers slid over the metal. Nathan’s rump splattered into a deep pool of mud. He pulled himself up, mud coated his shorts and stained much of his shirt, but his hair had come through almost unscathed. His sneakers pulled like suction cups as he slogged through the puddle. It made a hissing and snapping sound Nathan liked, so he took his time.

“Hah! I fell!”

When he reached the edge of the puddle, his mother pulled him through the bars, set him down, and led him by the hand up the hill to Sam. Her rosebud lips pursed in frustration.

“Ugh, can I trade this boy in for Jody? Would you accept? Please.”

Sam looked at the muddy boy, “No, I think I’ll pass. But if Jody was here, she’d probably have found a way to get dirtier. She’s essentially a boy too.”

“I wish I had a little girl who liked to stay away from mud. I have an important meeting with a client and this is the absolute worst time. I can’t take this boy anywhere. I swear!”

“I have hand me down dresses for Jody that are a little too big for her. If we can get him rinsed off perhaps, we can get him changed.”

There was a restroom cabin not far from the playground.

“I’m fine! I like mud! It’s fun!”

“Don’t get that on us!”

The sound of running water dribbled from the sink. The feeling of shivering as cold water rinsed him. Loafers slapped the cement floor. A towel dried him quickly. Darkness overcame him as his mother helped him get dressed. Muddy clothes dumped in a small plastic bag. A hair pin clipped to his hair as his pony tail was let loose down his shoulders. It all felt rushed. Sneakers were covered in mud so they had to switch to pink sandals that fit poorly. At the very least, he looked clean. A pink dress with a big daisy on the front covered his frame. Sam towered over him as she leaned forward and looked closely.

“Well, look at this, you have a girl now!”

“What!?” Nathan shouted as he blushed.

His mother looked over him as well, “Stop fidgeting. This wouldn’t have happened if you had listened to me. I told you not to play in the mud!”

“I like mud! I hate being a girl!”

“It’s just a dress. It’s no big deal. You look very cute.”

The plastic bag filled with muddy clothing crinkled as his mother picked it up.

“He’s so adorable!” Sam said, “There’s no way anyone could tell the difference!”

“I’m a boy,” Nathan grumbled and blushed at the same time.

He frowned and started pulling the dress up. A hand slapped against his hand hard enough to sting and Nathan rubbed the slightly red skin. He stifled tears. All the way back to the white ford with the dented front fender he frowned. His mother rushed as she opened the back door, but took time to kneel beside her son before strapping him in the car seat. There was a slight gleam in her eye.

“I don’t want to be a girl,” Nathan complained, “Girls are ugly and stupid.”

“Nathan, your mom was a girl once. You know that right?”

Nathan shrugged.

“Please deal with it until we get home. I’ll bake you cookies, chocolate chip raisin cookies. Just leave your clothes alone and be quiet. Play your game. If you behave, you can be a boy again when we get home.”

She put a hand-held racing game in his lap.

“I promise,” Nathan said.

She hugged him. A soft warmth and a clean scent enveloped his senses. It was the first he ever remembered her doing that. She patted his shoulder and ran her fingers through his hair. He smiled as he looked up at her, and she smiled back. Before closing the door, she ruffled his hair one last time and he started laughing.

An unimposing log cabin built against a steep mountainside housed Joplin’s Bistro. The inside was fairly dark. The mountain behind it and the trees surrounding it provided an overabundance of shade. Four groups of sturdy square tables made of darkly polished wood divided the dining area, leaving a cross-shaped path for the waiters. The hall into the kitchen was well camouflaged. The restrooms were somewhere back there as well, because Nathan always noticed the little figures on the doors. A brunette woman in a loose blouse and long denim dress sipped a glass of water with a lemon wedge at a table near the corner. The two women recognized each other immediately. A hug exchanged between them.

“Who is this adorable little girl?” the lady asked.

“I’m Nathan,” Nathan said, crossing his arms and frowning, “And I’m only a girl until I get home. Evil wizards did this to me.”

“This is my overactive son, Nathan,” Natalie sighed, “It’s a long story, but he wasn’t dressed like this a few minutes ago. He jumped in a mud puddle. I was lucky to get this dress from a friend.”

“Oh, but he’s so cute, doesn’t it make you wish he were a little girl?”

“My life would be a lot easier.”

He pulled his mom’s dress.

“Mommy, which bathroom do I go too?”

“I’ll take you with me.”

On the way to the bathroom, he tripped over loose carpet.

The vision shifted out of focus as Nadia awoke trying to catch herself. She caught her breath, looked around, and crawled back to her mat. For a long moment she laid on her back with Awlena leaning into her and stared at the post in the center of her cabin. Eyes moistened. A few drops slid down the sides of her cheeks, even onto her ears. Some air and a bite to eat would be good for her, she thought. She shook her head before wiping her face with her shirt. Slowly she sat up and escaped from her sound asleep cabin mate. Then she emerged from the cabin. The tropical afternoon sun warmed her while the breeze lifted her hair.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Nadia!” Vestor yelled, jumping up into her chest, but falling away quickly because she refused to support him, “Did you miss me?”

“You! You’re from the village! You’re not supposed to be here!”

“But I came along anyway! I can’t let you guys have all the adventures to yourself.”

“He stowed away in your bag,” Josh said.

“Did not!” Vestor said, “I’m way too big to fit with all that stuff. I snuck in while they loaded the supplies. I only went inside her bag to hide from you.”

“How could you!? Do you know how irresponsible this is? Your mother is going to die worrying about you. I would have never done anything like that to worry my mom! You ought to be ashamed. Now we have to turn back. The entire trip is ruined if we turned back. I’ll never get rid of this curse. I’m going to scream!”

“My mom is fine!” Vestor said confidently, “I told her before I left. She tried to stop me, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. And if you try to go back, I'll jump in the ocean. I'll sneak back on the ship. Nobody can catch me. I'm too fast and you'll never find me if I hide!”

“You were too fast for your mother then,” Dew suggested.

“You could say that again,” Vestor said proudly, “That’s why you need me to help you find the buried treasure. I’m fast, and I have a good nose.”

“It sure knew how to sniff out our food supply and gobble down an entire packet of dried meat,” Josh said.

“It what!?” Nadia yelled.

“I was hungry! A man’s gotta eat!”

Nadia turned red, made a fist, and approached Vestor slowly.

“Come here you little stowaway brat. I’ll give you something to eat: ocean water buffet!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Vestor backed away.

Darrell vomited over the side of the boat as Nadia and Vestor made the rocking unbearable by chasing each other. Josh laid back down over the storage compartment.

“So are we turning around or do we keep going?”

Nobody listened to him. Darrell continued to heave over the side of the boat. Nadia chased Vestor but he proved too quick and nimble even for her. Dew climbed the mast to get away from the chaos. So, Josh leaned back, put his arms behind his head, and let the sun caress his forehead.

“Yep, this is fine.”