Watch Marscha -

Toby paused, looking down. He poked the edge with a long stick. The entire lip of the ravine collapsed instantly, sliding into the muddy depths below. A heavy silence fell over the group. If Toby had jumped, the ground would have vanished beneath him.

Marscha didn't snap back. She was looking at the edge of the bank. She noticed the way the soil was crumbling under Toby’s sneakers even before he leaped. She noticed a hidden root slick with moss. "Toby, don't," Marscha called out. "Why not? Scared?" Watch Marscha

The rhythmic tick-tock of the grandfather clock in the hallway was the heartbeat of the Miller house, but for ten-year-old Marscha, it was a reminder of everything she couldn't yet control. Toby paused, looking down

Later that week, the neighborhood kids were gathered at the edge of the "Old Gully," a steep ravine they used as a shortcut to the park. The recent rains had turned the dirt path into a slick slide of mud. A heavy silence fell over the group

She walked over, knelt in the grass, and guided Leo’s hand. "Don't pull. Wiggle the pedal backward while I guide the top loop."

"Watch, Marscha," Leo grumbled, tugging at the metal. "I’m just going to kick it."