One, day, As I was setting out for my secret hideout, my two brothers’  called to me. “Hey Annette, where are you going? You never play with us anymore.” Rodger was two years older than I and until I had discovered the dugout, we’d done everything together. “Yeah Annie, come play in the hayloft with us.” Little Jim quipped. Not wanting to raise suspicion, I decided to spend the day with them. It was really quite fun swinging from the rope dad had hung for us a few summers back. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed playing with Rodger and Jim. I almost told them about the house, but decided it might spoil the mystery of it. Little Jim plopped down on the hay beside Rodger and I. “What should we do next?” He asked. Rodger was about to answer when Dad called up to us. “Anyone home?” All three of us peeked down out of what we called the “hay drop.” It was a large hole in the middle of the loft floor where we’d throw hay down to distribute to the animals. “There’s some new neighbors to the east of us about two miles down. Heard they got a kid or two. Wanna come?” You bet we did! We quickly climbed down the rope and raced for the wagon. Though most folks had cars by now, we couldn’t afford one. As we bumped along the road, I wondered what the new neighbors would be like. The closest neighbors we had were at least eight miles away, and were the oldest people I thought could exist. Pulling up the driveway, I saw a middle aged couple untying a bundle from a wagon. There were no kids that I could see. My father tipped his hat and stopped the team of horses at almost the same time. After introductions were  made, the couple led us up to the house. Upon approaching the house, the door swung open and a young girl stood there. I gasped. The girl’s skin looked as pale as if it’d never seen the sunshine, and her shoulder length hair was just as pale. But the most disturbing of all, was she was a cripple. She could stand, but barely. Her thin lips cracked a crooked little smile   and she tried her best to curtsy. I finally shut my gaping mouth and returned the bow. “Oh,” she began, “Your curtsy is so flawless! I wish I was able to perform it like you. My name’s Nora and I’m fourteen years old. How about you?” “I’m Annette and I’m thirteen.” I replied. I heard Rodger clear his throat, and saw him blush. I realized he’d never seen another girl around his age before except for me. I giggled and followed Nora into the empty living room.