Hide and Blue
By Roxanne Sackville



“Robin,” called out a soft voice.

Robin giggled but refused to respond. She knew exactly what her sister was doing—trying to get Robin to give away her ‘far-out’ hiding spot.

Sitting as still and quiet as she could, she waited for Vannie to find her and she knew it would not be long since Vannie was a pro at Hide and Seek.

“Okay Robin I give up,” Vannie called out.

Robin could tell by the tone of her voice that she was frustrated and truly had looked everywhere. With a gasp, she jumped out from behind the freezer in the basement, startling her sister.

“Holy Robin, you scared me,” she cried while holding her hand to her fast beating heart.

“Oh Vannie, you overreact all the time. I have been hiding out in plain sight,” she pointed out.

Vannie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. She hated when Robin acted like that, thinking she was so much better at everything. Instantly a thought came to her mind. She knew exactly how to teach her sister a lesson.

“Your turn now Van,” Robin yelled excitedly before running up the stairs into the kitchen to begin the long count to 100. Vannie always demanded Robin to count slow, giving her enough time to hide in a spot Robin would never think to look, but today Robin was wise. She knew exactly where to look first. She noticed Vannie look towards it. She probably thought Robin did not notice, but she did.

Robin took her time, as Vannie would expect, “Fourty-nine Mississippi, Fifty Mississippi…”

Slowly Robin lifted her head and checked to see if anyone was listening. When she was confidant she was alone, she hollered, “One hundred, here I come ready or not.”

With her last word, Robin jumped up and raced down the stairs. Scanning the basement, she pretended to search for her as she took small steps towards where she knew Vannie was hiding. She knew it would make the game more exciting if she took her time on finding Vannie. She also knew that Vannie would think she had picked an awesome spot the longer it took to find her.

“Oh Vannie, where are you hiding?” she asked while she giggled aloud.

Finally, Robin could wait no more. She could practically see the look on Vannie’s face when she opened the lid, illuminating the spot she hid. Robin knew that Vannie would call her a cheater, a peeker and every other name, but she did not care. All she cared about was beating Vannie at her own game.

Robin stood before the large, white freezer. Reaching her hands out, she touched the lid before quickly pulling them back.

“Ouch!” she cried, “It’s so hot.”

Robin decided to try once more, yet the lid was burning up. Confused Robin scratched her head and looked around the basement. She knew her dad would have some kind of tool to open the freezer in the event it got stuck.

Minutes passed and Robin had gone to the freezer many times with anything she could think of—a screwdriver, a broken handlebar from her old bike, and even her favorite Barbie’s head, but nothing worked.

“Vannie,” she hollered. “I know you’re hiding in the freezer, so just come out now. I can’t open it myself because the lid is way too hot, so just come out now.”

Robin listened for Vannie’s smart remark or even a sound that would warn her that Vannie planned to whip the door open to scare her, but there was nothing.

“Vannie, stop screwing around. You won, okay?” she huffed.

Still no noise came. No jumping, laughing, smart mouth Vannie popped out.

“That’s it Van, I’m telling mom you’re hiding in the freezer and you won’t come out. You are gona be in so much trouble,” she hollered before stomping up the stairs.

Within seconds, Robin and Vannie’s mother ran down the stairs to where her daughter had said Vannie was. She quickly looked to her youngest daughter before turning back to the freezer. Without asking any questions, she grabbed the lid and quickly withdrew her hands.

“Oh my God, it’s so hot,” she said as she looked fearfully at her daughter. She knew what the heat meant, but she could not get the words to escape her lips. Turning back to the freezer, she summoned all the strength she had in her, grabbed the lid again, and ripped it open.

Before Robin could blink, her mother let out a scream unlike anything Robin had ever heard in her life. The scream sent shivers of fear through her body and into her bones. Robin quickly ran to her mother’s side and looked into the freezer. There, sitting amidst the chicken legs and packs of hamburger sat her older sister. Her knees were up against her chest as she had tried unsuccessfully to stay warm. Her lips and skin were blue. The most disturbing thing that Robin had seen was the smile on her face and the blue crayon note in her hand.

‘Ha Ha, I won again.’

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