Meeting Gulch for the first time today, I was feeling quite anxious, especially with the thought of my mischievous younger brother William .  I opted for long-sleeved clothes and wore a mask, grateful that the current circumstances didn’t require an explanation for it.

We had agreed to meet at the Arcadia park , where Gulch arrived promptly after his painting class.  I had learned from my mom that he had a deep passion for painting and basketball.

Gulch was a pretty and slender 6 years old boy, with large, captivating eyes.  He greeted me hesitantly, avoiding direct eye contact and seemed as though he might bolt at any moment.  We settled onto the grass and started to paint, and I noticed how intensely focused he was on his art.

As we painted, I tried to engage Gulch in conversation, asking him about his interests in art and if he had any favorite techniques. He didn’t seem to be very talkative, but I noticed that his mother had brought along many pens for him to use, and he enjoyed arranging them in a neat row.

After some time, I noticed that he had wandered off and was staring at a nearby family, lost in thought. Worried that he might wander too far or get into trouble, I called him back to our painting area. He seemed hesitant to leave the tree he was next to and appeared ready to climb it. To distract him, I mentioned that I liked to draw dinosaurs and asked if he would like to see some of my sketches.

He turned to me, and for the first time since we had met, he looked at me directly. His eyes seemed to light up at the mention of dinosaurs, and he eagerly showed me the drawings he had done of them. We bonded over our shared love of these prehistoric creatures, and I was thrilled to see Gulch come out of his shell a bit more.

It was time for us to say goodbye, and as we packed up our supplies, Gulch looked at me with a newfound sense of confidence in his eyes. I couldn’t help but feel happy and hopeful as I walked back home.

Thinking about my younger brother William, I remembered the rubber dinosaur toy he loved to play with. It had been a while since he played with it, and I thought maybe I could bring it along the next time I saw Gulch.