A Skateboarding Tale

 

            Kristy crashed down – hard. “Ow,” she moaned softly.

            Her friend, Becca, skated toward her, concern etched on her face. “Are you okay? That was a pretty big wipeout.”

            Kristy stood up, wincing when she tried to put weight on her leg. She hobbled over to where her skateboard had rolled away and picked it up. “I think I’m okay,” she said slowly. “But I must have landed wrong. My leg really hurts.”

            “Well, I saw how you fell,” Becca said in concern. “You tripped over your skateboard somehow and then it looked like you kind of sat on it sideways as you fell. I’ll bet your leg really hurt after that.”

            Kristy rubbed her thigh ruefully. “I guess I’d better be done skating for today.” She picked up her skateboard and started home, with Becca skating beside her. Kristy had just recently gotten into skateboarding after her uncle gave her a skateboard for her birthday. She had been a little dubious about it at first, but then she discovered that she really enjoyed it. She had convinced Becca to get a skateboard too, and most afternoons, they could be seen skating around the neighborhood.

            Kristy’s leg ached, and after saying goodbye to Becca, she went inside to check the extent of the damage. Carefully rolling up her pant leg, she saw a massive bruise forming just above her knee. “Ow,” she said again.

            Mom saw and said, “Ooh, you might want to get some ice for that, sweetie.”

            Kristy looked up at Mom worriedly and said, “Do you think it’s broken?”

            Mom shook her head and said, “No. If it were broken, you wouldn’t be able to walk at all.”

            Over the next few days, Kristy’s leg healed, but the bruise turned all different colors before it finally started to disappear. During this time, she didn’t want to get back on her skateboard. Every time Becca asked her to go skating, she would give excuses. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was scared. She was afraid of her skateboard and falling again. She and Becca found other things to do. Her skateboard lay forgotten in the garage.

            Months later, Kristy found her skateboard again while looking for something else. She took it out and looked it over. In dismay, she realized that someone had scratched the word “Coward” into the smooth purple underside of the skateboard. Who would do that? Kristy was an only child, and she couldn’t imagine her parents doing something like this.

            Kristy was still staring at her board in disbelief when she heard a small voice say, “So, is it true?”

            Kristy’s eyes snapped up, looking for the source of the voice. What she saw was a small creature, about six inches high. It looked like a tiny gnome or something with his hands on his hips. He was looking at Kristy accusingly. “What do you mean?” she finally said when she got over her shock.

            “Are you a coward?”

            “No, I mean, I don’t think so.” She looked closely at the creature’s angry face and asked, “Who are you?”

            “My name is Hobart, and I’m the guardian of this house. Some might call me a brownie or a hobgoblin.”

            Kristy felt her eyes widen at this statement. “Our family has lived here for my whole life. Why have I never seen you before?”

            “Well, I’ve never felt the need to talk to you before, but now I can’t keep quiet. I’ve gotten used to all of your faults, but I will not tolerate cowardice in this house.” Hobart glared at Kristy.

            “But I’m not a coward!” Kristy cried shrilly.

            “Then why haven’t you ridden your skateboard for months?”

            Kristy shifted her feet a little uneasily. “I’ve been busy.”

            “No, you’re scared. I watched you before you had your little crash. Didn’t you love it?”

            “Well, yeah,” Kristy answered in a small voice. “But I really don’t want to get hurt again. If that makes me a coward, then I guess I am.”

            The look on Hobart’s face softened a little. “Come on, all you need to do is get back on the skateboard. As long as you wear your safety gear, you can’t really get too badly injured. Where are your skate pads and helmet?”

            Kristy looked toward the other side of the garage where her skate equipment had sat for months. “Okay, I’ll try it,” she said with a sigh. She picked up her skateboard and safety equipment and hauled it out to the driveway. She put all the pads in place and buckled her helmet on. She stood up and placed her skateboard on the ground in front of her. Then she paused, looking back toward the garage. She could just make out Hobart giving her a thumbs up.

            Okay, she could do this. Taking a deep breath, she slowly placed one foot on the board and pushed off with her other foot. She skated up and down the driveway a few times before she realized something. This was fun. She looked back at Hobart, grinning, but he had disappeared.

            Kristy spent over an hour skateboarding outside. When Becca came over to hang out, she ran back home for her own skateboard. The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon skating around the neighborhood.  Finally, when Kristy came back in the garage to put her skateboard away, she looked around for Hobart. There was no sign of him, so she quietly said, “Thanks, Hobart,” before she went inside.

            The next afternoon, Kristy went to grab her skateboard again from the garage. This time, instead of the word “Coward” scratched into the board, it was smooth once more. Kristy ran her hand along where the word used to be, wondering if she had imagined seeing Hobart yesterday. That’s when she noticed a small painting on the end of her board. It said “Courageous.” Knowing now that she hadn’t imagined Hobart, she grinned and went outside to skate.