Okay guys, please be gentle with my heart. It's still a rough copy, so I am open to suggestions, just, keep it sweet, please
We’d just left Chicago after a small snack at a Starbucks with a ridiculously pretty cashier. It was getting really cold outside so everyone was very happy to get inside the heated car.
“Are we there yet?” My sister asked for the trillionth time since we’d left the café…which was like, fifteen seconds ago.
“Amy, dear, I’m really sorry but I think you’re gonna have to read another Angie A. But I’m pretty sure that by the time you’re done reading, we’ll be there.” my father replied. “Alright, but this is the last one I’m reading, for now, I think I’m gonna need some more when we get there.”
Angie Amazing are my sister’s favorite book, and are probably the stupidest piece of literature on the planet. I really can’t think of anything stupider, the lead character is an eight year old girl who keeps going on different adventures with her pet dog. I once saw Amy reading one where both of them go to the moon on a bicycle, on a BYCYCLE! No space suit, no gear, no nothing. I always thought about the time when they run out of air and freeze and die in space, not gonna be so amazing then, huh Angie.
But as she took the book out of her bag, I felt sorry for her, because I knew better. When on a road trip your parents ask you to take a nap, look at stuff outside the window or read a book, they just want you to shut up.
Oh and I almost forgot, before we go any further, I think I should tell you something important about me. This is gonna sound a little weird, but don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
Sometimes, when stuff happens, the words from a random song related to, you know, the stuff that is happening, just pop into my head. It’s my thing, and when I say ‘thing’, I mean problem, which is also my thing.
I can’t help it, it just happens. I think the first song I ever heard was ‘Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Head’ by B.J. Thomas, and honest to Facebook, the song used to jump into my brain whenever it rained, and whenever I got an A.
Now where was I? Oh yeah, we were moving from Detroit to this mysterious town called daunting creek. I’ve moved a lot since the time I was born. Dad’s a chef, so whenever he gets a good deal with a restaurant or hotel, we move.
My family isn’t actually tired of moving so often. All of us like to travel so dad’s job lets us see a lot of new places.
But I was really young mostly when we moved so you don't get attached to a place that much, all you care about is the fact that you're gonna get an ice cream when you get to the new place.
But I was 15 now, leaving Detroit was hard. It was like I was leaving my hand or my leg or, you get the idea; in the place. I had good friends, a school I was doing pretty well at and lots of pretty girls.
I guess I also liked Detroit because of another reason. I love Eminem. My obsession with his music is just so ridiculous that I don’t even wanna elaborate further on the point.
So an hour after Amy had finished her reading (which was one of the only few peaceful moments we had during the whole journey) we finally saw the first signboard with Daunting Creek on it.
“Daunting Creek fifteen miles, See that guys? We’re almost there. Put your stuff in your backpack Amy.”
There were two things I liked about mom’s words. One, she made Amy put all her stupid, stupid dolls away, second, we were going to be in a place with ‘daunting’ in front of its name in a few minutes.
After about ten minutes, the road turned to pass through a forest way, which added a lot to the coolness. Our car was one of the only few on the road. It was pretty dark inside the forest and the headlights of the cars were about the only source of light.
“Afraid of the dark Amy?” I asked her seeing that she was totally not thrilled on being inside a dark forest.
“Uh! What? Oh…scared, me? C’mon it’s me you’re talking to. Besides, everyone knows that you’re the one who takes a flashlight with you to the refrigerator when it’s broken.”
“I am not afraid of the dark! I just like my workstation well-lit!” And that was true. I’m not afraid of the dark, it’s just that I’ve got a highly creative imagination which doesn’t really help when it’s dark or when I’m alone.
Amy was about say something when dad spoke, “There it is.”
The thinning forest was behind the car and there was an old wooden signboard with the words ‘Welcome to Daunting Creek’ on it. Classic Horror flick entrance.
Amy and I were looking outside the window at the passing city while dad was searching for something in his back pocket. Mom had noticed the same thing that I was thinking about, “I still don’t get why someone would name a town Daunting Creek. This place isn’t spooky at all, it’s sort of nice”
She was right, there weren’t many big stores there, but the simplicity of the place was enough to get my attention, plus, the place was all green. The whole place was surrounded by trees, bushes, flower beds and other plant related words that are not in my vocabulary.
Call me an environment crazy hippie, but I care about the planet I live on.
After driving for about ten minutes, we entered the suburban area. The houses there were pretty cool, or at least that’s what I thought before the real houses came into view.
“Okay kids, close your eyes.” dad told us, a smile as big as Amy’s head all over his lightly bearded face.
“Why do we have to close our eyes?” Amy asked. I was hiding a smile, completely aware where this was going.
“Because I want to show you something really cool.” He answered. “But how are we going see it if our eyes are closed?” she continued.
“Uh…I’ll tell you when to open your eyes” dad hadn’t lost his fortitude at this point.
“But what if you don’t tell us to open our eyes at the right time, and we miss the cool thing”
“No dear, I’m sure I can pull off the timing, just close your eyes.” He still had his patience, although this is where I would’ve lost it.
“I don’t get it. What’s the point in closing our eyes before seeing something cool? We do it all the time!”
This is where he lost it.
“It’s for the effect! For the emphasis! For…for, for the importance of the thing, it’s a measure of its coolness! Now clo -”
“We’re here.” Mom interrupted dad with the magic words in a long whisper, she definitely won the emphasis thing over dad.
“Oh my god!” Amy and I both cried out together after seeing something that didn’t need any emphasis. We’d entered a street which was probably made by god himself…or herself, whatever, I'm not sexist.
Anyway, this is what Clover Avenue looked like -
Huge, beautiful houses, sidewalks with carved designs, a smooth, black road that went through the whole place, another beautiful sidewalk and then green, well kept grass that ran for two or three hundred meters until it touched the tip of the mighty lake Michigan.
We always had really nice places to live, but this time dad overdid himself.
There were some people walking their dogs, jogging or just taking a walk along the lake. We drove along about a dozen of houses that probably belonged to people who kept silk slippers to wear inside the house and ate food that had names I couldn't pronounce.
“Okay, we gotta look for 2112.” Dad said reading out of the paper he took out of his pocket.
We turned into an inner street and the view to the lake was gone, but our house was the second one on the street and the lake was still at walking distance.
It was 04:05 pm when we touched the driveway. The house was average sized but was covered in polished wood and had a very comfy look to it.
“Wow! Can we have a look inside, mom?” Amy asked already half outside the car through the window. “Sure honey.” Mom replied looking out through the window probably looking for the lake. “C’mon Adam, lets pick our rooms!”
Right, as if I was gonna get a choice once Amy picked the better room for herself. “Whatever, let’s go.” I said dragging my backpack out of the car.
We entered the house through a cherry red wooden door and found ourselves in living room which was nothing but a storehouse of cardboard boxes with labels.
I found a box with my name on it and carried it with me after Amy who was already deep inside the house probably looking out of a fine-looking room with big windows that had a clear view to the street and trees.
But when went deeper inside the house I found otherwise. She was standing in narrow hall between two rooms exactly opposite to each other. ‘Which one do you want?” she asked looking up at my face, smiling. “Wha…why…huh?! Is this some kind of a joke?”
“No, it’s just that I feel you’re my big brother and you should at least get the room of your choice for all you’ve done for me.”
She was good, but not good enough for me. “Yeah right, how much did mom give you to let me pick rooms?”
She looked at me for about five seconds with an open mouth then her face was all grins. “The whole cookie-jar, she said I can eat them whenever I want; well except for the time before and after breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
I always knew Amy was one of the stupidest people on the planet, that day I realized she led the list.
“I knew it! Now get out of my way.” She stepped backwards to let me through.
I entered the room on the right first. It wasn’t very big but like the rest of the house it had a comfy feel to it. The wall facing the door had four large windows looking out at the backyard. The single bed was stacked girth wise along the left wall.
It was nice, but something was missing. “Like it?” Amy asked hopefully. “Not so fast,” I replied “let me have a look at the other one.”
I got out of the room and looked inside the next room. It was perfect. It was the exact mirror image of the other room. The thing missing in the first one was the view. The windows looked out at the beautiful street and houses and the room was filled to every spot with light from the setting sun.
“It’s perfect. I’m taking this one.” I said, smiling down at her thwarted little face.
“Whatever, but you can’t have any of my cookies.”
I put my bag on the bed and looked around. I opened the closet and hung my jacket inside it.
“Adam, help me get this stuff out of the car.” I followed dad’s voice outside the house and took one of the two cartons of beer and food he was carrying in his arms.
Mom was taking Amy to the backyard who was probably whining about the room.
“Where do I put it?” I asked him from behind the box. “The kitchen’s right from the living room.” He replied.
“Got it.” I took it inside the house and looked at the right wall of the box- deluged living room where a tiny opening in the wall indicated a kitchen.
I carefully walked between and around the piles of boxes making sure they didn’t fall on me and make me a human tortilla.
After putting the carton down on a shelf I looked out of the window on my right where mom and Amy were looking at some flowers in the backyard.
The backyard was pretty big and had a lot of trees and plants surrounding it. The roofs of the houses around us could barely be seen.
This isn’t so bad, I thought to myself. When we left Detroit, I was sure I’d need something really good to lift my spirits and this place was doing pretty well.
Dad entered the kitchen and put his carton on the shelf. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked looking out of the window.
“Yeah, it is.” I replied. “I’m gonna help your mom make dinner. You can have a look around the place if you want.” Dad said turning to the basin.
“Alright.” I said and walked carefully through the living room out of the house.
I walked to the road and looked towards the lake. It was absolutely gorgeous. The sun seemed to be going right inside it and the water was bright yellow and orange, ish.
There weren't a lot of people out now. I walked towards the lake and sat down on the bright green grass that touched the water. It was amazing, listening to the quite whispers of the lake, looking at the setting sun, not to mention, my butt was very comfortable on the soft grass, it didn't cut into clothes and stab you in the backside when you sat on it, like SOME grasses I knew. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Mindy Jones' front lawn.
I really missed Detroit but if the people here were as beautiful as the place, I could live with it.
I looked around; I was the only person out now. The sun was almost inside the water and the sky was getting bluer by the minute.
I was starting to get up when the water a few yards away from me shook faintly as if something was moving inside it.
I thought it was probably a dolphin or some other king of beautiful water animal that would complete the panorama and stood by the lake to see if it poked its head out of the water.
That was the day I lost my faith in wishful thinking.
Suddenly, the surface of the water burst open like a rocket had just been launched from the inside. For obvious reasons I didn’t run but stayed there to watch what was happening.
Something big and as winged was flying fast into the sky. I craned my neck as far as I could and after some time I had to move on the spot to keep up with the thing.
It flew so fast I couldn’t even see what it was.
Whatever it was, it was flying very fast and…moving, like it was struggling with itself. Then I realized it wasn’t one, but two things flying together and fighting at the same time.
They were too up in the sky now and I could only make out two little boxes fighting with each other. Then one of the two flying things started to fall back towards the lake really fast like the other box had punched it extremely hard.
It fell back into the lake about a hundred yards from me with the same gush of water with which of had flown up. The other thing flew right behind it as it was falling and entered the water with it.
I was standing there on the edge of the lake completely incapable of any movement. A second ago something was flying in front of me at the speed of a jet plane and now everything was still again.
Everything was so still I could hear my heart beating out of my chest. I tried make out a logical explanation for what I had just seen but nothing seemed to work.
It came out of the water. Really big remote control boat?
But it was flying. Really big remote control plane?
But it went back into the water again. A really big remote control boat tied to a really big remote control plane?
But who would play with something so stupid. I would. Arrgghh!!!!!
I couldn’t make any sense of what was going on inside my head. I always thought about how I would react if something out of the ordinary happened to me, now I didn’t know how to.
I went down on all fours at the edge of the lake to look inside the water but it was dark now so all I could see was my scared little mug staring back at me. I leaned down at the lake again to see if I could make out anything else. I stretched my torso as far as I could, then I stretched some more, BIG mistake. My hands slipped on the mud and my upper body was inside the water.
I quickly got out panting and with even wider eyes.
I stood up and looked around me to see if anyone else was standing there with their mouth wide open but I was still the only one out.
That was both good and bad. The good part was no one saw me make a complete idiot out of myself; the bad thing was I didn’t have any witnesses. Now no one would believe that I saw a really big remote control boat tied to a really big remote control plane.
I ran home as fast as I could, half because I was scared, half because the little dip had messed with my head.
I ran to the door, went inside and carefully made my way through the forest of cardboard to the kitchen.
My dad was chopping carrots and mom was taking out broccoli from a carton.
Great, first experience a paranormal event and then eat broccoli for dinner. My favorite combination. This day was starting to get too good to handle.
“Hey buddy. You been running?” if dad hadn’t said this I wouldn’t have realized that I was totally out of breath.
“Why’re you so wet? And covered in mud? Adam, is everything alright?”Mom had turned away from the refrigerator now.
I was thinking hard. Decision time, should I tell them? Or should I just quietly eat my broccoli and sleep it out?
“Uh…yeah. You know, my legs were really stiff from the drive. So I, yeah, yeah I was just running, and…uh, I fell…in, the lake”
Great going brave one, even Angie Amazing had more guts than me.
Mom was looking at me with a really confused expression and dad looked like he was gonna ask me to take medication.
“Ah broccoli, yum! I’ll go clean up.” While scampering for the bathroom I heard mom say something like - “did you and Amy put beer in his soda again?”
I ran inside the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I looked at my reflection in the mirror in the warm yellow light coming from the bulb above it.
My hair was out of place, my shirt was wet and muddy and my mouth was still open. I tried to concentrate on breathing normally because I was still panting.
Okay. It was simple; my brain was still attached to Detroit and was trying to make me go back through crazy hallucinations.
That is one smart brain.
But how could it make my shirt wet, and muddy, unless I had an extraordinarily accelerated sweat rate and, I also secreted mud.
Maybe I dropped a glass of water on myself and then slipped in a mud pool but just didn’t remember.
Then I realized it was lake water, I could smell it. No, I don’t distinctly know the smell of lake water, but I think I would definitely know the smell of normal water. Wait, water doesn’t have a smell, right? Anyway.
Finally, I realized that standing in front of the mirror wouldn’t explain anything so I took my clothes off and went for a shower, not that it would explain anything either but I was all sweaty and drenched in lake water.
It felt so good under the shower and the hot water, as if it was washing off the exhaustion from the drive along with the sweat and muddy water. Since my brain was fresher now I could think straight.
First I put the facts right. I had just witnessed something out of the ordinary, something that defied all logic and reasoning, which meant there was no use thinking of a sane way to explain the incident. In other words, I actually had experienced something paranormal, period.
This also meant that I was now one of those people who claim to have seen extraordinary things but no one believes them because they have no solid evidence, which meant there was no use telling anyone what I had seen.
I would have to live with this burden all my life, and if I was lucky, I would forget all about it one day, if I didn’t I would write book or something about it. Then when I’m old maybe I would star in a paranormal documentary or movie.
Just when I was about to think about the name of the movie, mom knocked on the bathroom door and shouted, “Adam!”
“Yes mom?” I shouted back from the shower.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine…Why?”
“Nothing, it’s just that I figured you would be having a hard time letting go of Detroit, and I thought maybe we could talk or something, if you want.”
If someone needed a live definition for a mother, my mom would’ve been perfect.
She is that perfect mix of love, care, worry, anger, severity and a pinch of mean for flavoring. But it was still hard having a heart-to-heart chat with her by shouting from inside the shower.
“Mom?”
“Yes, jelly doughnut?”
Aw man. That’s because I’m soft and sweet on the outside and crazy and fun inside.
“Please don’t call me that.”
“Okay, sorry. Yes, Adam?”
“Let’s, not talk about that now. We can talk when I come out.”
“Alright, and I’m sorry about the broccoli, we don’t have anything else. I’ll get you and Amy a cheese burger tomorrow.”
“Okay mom. Thanks.”
I didn’t think about my little incident again till I was in bed. “Little incident”, that sounds so much like something dirty.
Ew.
Moving on.
While we ate dinner dad told us about all the different places in Daunting Creek we could go for hiking on Sundays.
That night when I was going to bed mom came in my room.
“Hey.”
“Hey mom. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing, I just came to say good night.”
“Oh, okay, good night mom.”
She smiled and was about to open the door and leave when she turned back.
“You know Adam, this place isn’t so bad. You’ll make some pretty good friends soon. I heard the school here’s pretty good too. I’m sure you’ll like the place.” Even though I hadn’t said anything about missing Detroit yet, she knew how badly I wanted to go back.
“Is there anything you wanna tell me?”
“No, I’m fine”
“You sure?”
Well, when you come to think of it, there is this one tiny little thing that’s bugging me.
“Yeah, mom. I’m fine. Good night.”
“Good night jelly doughnut.”
Now there ARE some parts that I wanna edit and some that I wanna take out completely, see if you can give me something.
