Saud and the Picnic That Changed

Saud spread a green blanket in the family garden in Buraydah. He put a basket in the middle, arranged cushions around it and drew palm leaves on little place cards. He imagined everything staying exactly where he had put it until the picnic was over.

Before everyone sat down, a breeze carried the cards to the edge of the blanket. Saud caught one and his sister helped gather the rest. They held the cards down with wooden blocks from the toy box. Then she said she would rather sit in the shade, right where the basket was.

Saud looked from his neat circle to his sister. He moved the basket beside the blanket, making room for another cushion. His father chose a place where he could hear everyone, and his mother asked for the story notebook. The arrangement had changed, but the conversation had finally begun.

After the picnic they gathered the cards, blocks and everything they had brought. On the back of one card Saud drew the basket outside the circle and a new cushion beside it. He kept the picture for their next picnic, leaving a blank space for whatever his family might suggest.