Understory, Fall 2026—Issue I (Digital Edition)

hide and seek

by Kenneth Kapp

There were four of them, three really. Charlie’s mother was strict. When she told Charlie he needed to be home by 5:00 and washed by 5:15, she meant home by 5:00 and washed by 5:15, since he needed to set the table for supper, even if his father would be late coming home from work. “I can’t take any chances, guys. In our house, the rules are the rules!”

The other three boys rolled their eyes: Henry’s were blue, Lenny’s hazel, and Luigi’s deep brown. They were all twelve. “Plus or minus one,” Lenny would say. “Even with Charlie we’re plus or minus one in age. Next year we’ll be thirteen. Teenagers!” Lenny liked the idea of being teenagers, but it was Henry who led the way. Lenny was only second up, just like in their softball team.

Luigi, everyone called him Louie, griped, “Teenagers? I’ve got two older sisters. Trust me, teenagers you don’t need. They’re always hogging the bathroom. And boy, do they ever give lip. And it’s no big deal. I already got a couple of pubic hairs and man do they itch! And listening to my sisters, they think Charlie’s cute. Some girl’s going to come and break up the Three Musketeers.”

Henry laughed. “The Three Musketeers were really four, dummy!”

“I know. I was counting Charlie, even if he’s already gone home.”

Lenny smirked and pitched his voice an octave higher. “Better be home by 5:00, Charlie!”

Louie yelled, “Hide and seek. Corner to corner, alley to alley.”

“Time, I call time!” Henry barely got it out, he was laughing so hard.

Louie and Lenny looked at each other, pulled down their lips. “Duh?” and then said in unison, “First mom yells or when the streetlights come on.”

“Yeah, that’s what we usually play. And don’t forget, no insidies.”

For the last three years, the rules for hide and seek were reviewed at the beginning of each summer and revised as needed. Corner to corner meant they could only hide between 35th Avenue and 36th Avenue. Since the boys all lived on 230th Street, alley to alley meant they had to stay between the back alleys running midblock behind their houses. 

No “insidies” was one of the revised rules, added last year when Charlie hid in one of the dumpsters. He pulled the top down and then fell asleep. He was not home at 5:00 or even 5:30 when the boys got worried and ran up and down the alleys calling, “Come out, come out wherever you are!” 

They never told their parents and Charlie just fibbed, “I lost track of time, Mom. We were playing so hard.” It didn’t help that he smelled of garbage, was told he had to shower and then his mother would decide if he’d even be given supper!

Now Louie and Lenny yelled, “You’re it. Slow to one hundred by fives and no peeking!”

Lenny took off through the driveway going east towards 232nd Street; Louie ran up the block to his house and then down the side. He was smiling from ear to ear. He knew the perfect place to hide—on top of the roof of his garage. He could get up without a ladder. They’d never think to look, and he could spook them, calling out and then lying flat behind the short wall that ran around the top of the roof.

Henry reached one hundred as fast as he could. He turned from the tree where he had covered his head by pulling up his shirt. At least they weren’t making spirals on my back. His friends had disappeared. He was miffed. They always make me IT first. He knew Lenny’s tricks. Lenny always ran to his house, circled it, and then peeked out, moving whenever I got close. I’ll run past his house, duck back around the next one and come up behind. I’ll spook him out. Make believe I’m his mom and call out from his side door. He’ll never figure. Just go on a run. I’m faster. Catch him in nothing flat!

Lenny smiled. He knew that Henry knew he always hid by his house, so this time he hid across the street at the Rileys. They were good friends with his parents and wouldn’t mind. He laughed when he saw Henry trying to play dumb running past his house. He kept quiet, watched him run circles around his house and then waited while he was searching his backyard. 

When Henry came back to the street, Lenny started roaring like a lion. And the chase was on. It took twenty minutes for Henry to tag him. Then they both went to search for Louie, Lenny whispering, “I know he’s hiding by his house. He was bragging yesterday that he had found the perfect place to hide. ‘No one’s even going to see me.’ He had that ‘I’m so smart’ look about him.”

They circled Louie’s house from both directions, meeting in the back and again on the street. “OK, let’s go around the other way. Make some calls, see if that makes Mr. Smarty Pants call back from his ‘perfect place.’”

Third time, they circled together, calling even louder. Lenny pushed things, started yelling, “Louie wears his sister’s underpants.” 

Louie’s mother opened the kitchen window, “You kids playing Hide and Seek again? Luigi’s not inside. And leave his sister out of your games, capisce?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Locatelli. We can’t find him.”

“Well maybe he’s not here,” she said, slamming the window shut.

Henry elbowed Lenny. “Why’d you yell about his sister?”

“I thought it would spook him. Maybe he’s not here, like Mrs. L said.”

They walked down the driveway to the street and stood there, debating which way to go. Suddenly, “Wallal, wallal, walleeeeeee.”

Henry spun around. “It’s him. He’s back there somewhere.” 

They both ran back and circled the garage. Then they rocked the dumpsters. This time “Walleeee,” floated down from about their heads. Lenny stamped his foot. “He’s not in the cans, they’re too light.” 

“Walleee.”

“He’s in the garage. I bet he’s in the garage.”

“He’s not stupid, Henry. He knows that’s not allowed.”

And then what looked like a splat of rain fell in front of their feet, followed by laughter. “Ha, ha. You can’t tag me.”

They looked up and there was Louie, hands on hips, looking down at them. “Got to tag me to make me IT.”

The two boys ran around the garage. “I bet he pulled a ladder up with him.”

“Ha, ha. You have to tag me.”

Then Lenny laughed. “No problem, we’ll just ring the bell and tell your mother you climbed up on the roof. She’ll get you down in an instant, ‘Immediately, Luigi, or no supper!’”

Henry laughed. “Yeah, I’m going to ring the bell now. Lenny’ll tag you even before your feet hit the ground. Boom, you’re IT.”

“OK, OK. We’re having lasagna for supper. No way I’m going to miss that.”

Lenny yelled at Henry, “You go to the other side of the garage, call if you see him climbing down. I’ll watch this side.”

Louie was already lowering himself off the garage roof, his foot searching for the fence at the back of their yard. In his rush, he slipped and crashed down, bloodying his right arm on the fence and twisting his ankle. 

He got up slowly and tried to hobble away. “My mother’s going to kill me.”

Henry volunteered, “You almost killed yourself. Look, my house’s closest. Put your arms around our shoulders and we’ll walk down the alley like the Three Musketeers in case your mother’s looking out the window. You forgot your jacket at my place anyhow. You can wear it to cover the battle scar. Just tell your mother you sprained your ankle playing softball earlier today. We’ll ice it. And next time, get us an invite for lasagna.”

Lenny put Louie’s arm over his shoulder. “Yeah, me too for the lasagna.”

Kenneth M. Kapp was a Professor of Mathematics, a ceramicist, a welder, an IBMer, and yoga teacher. He lives with his wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, writing late at night in his mancave. He enjoys chamber music and mysteries.

His stories have appeared in more than one hundred publications worldwide.

Please visit www.kmkbooks.com.