Diego was the new kid at school and claimed he was the best kicker. So we rolled him a fast ball and he kicked it past the basketball courts, past the fence, even broke the line separating the sky from the ground. Both his shoes came off when his foot met the ball. Then the hair on his legs. Then the meat on his bones. Everything fell hard and he took off to run the bases.

If we ever get the chance to ask him how he did it, we will. We’re still waiting for the skeleton to stop or dissolve, whichever comes first. The bell told us to go inside but the last thing we heard was the rattle of bones circling the pavement and the flowers we drew with chalk just that morning.