Do you ever wish for change? Do you ever wish the wind would blow another way? What it would be like if you were somebody else.
Sometimes there are just those things we undeniably, cannot change. But others, we can. In the end, the direction we take in life is ultimately up to us; whatever happens, wherever life takes us. In the end it is up to us to let go of our fatalistic ideas and take control of where we are; of who we are.
***
The willow tree stood in all its glory; a slight illusion it casted as it always looked to be swaying with the breezes. A giddy shriek filled the summery air as two children played around the tall, wispy tree.
She was 6, he was verging on 7. It was the first memory of many more to come. They chased each other round and round before they finally collapsed, exhausted from the screaming and laughing.
***
"Prom, prom, oh my god, prom." Rachel breathed heavily as she looked through the stores selection of dresses. They were all beautiful in their own way, each fabulously stitched and put together. Each with small sparkles here and there, like a spotlight they shone for the dresses. Rachel vigorously pawed through each one, growing more nervous with the next. Brooke sighed and smiled at the nervous wreck before her.
"Rachel, sweetie." She had a small Brooklyn accent than flowed smoothly with her words. "Calm. Stay calm. You'll find that dress, I promise."
Rachel smiled wearily at her friend and headed back into the jungle of bright, flashy dresses.
***
The stars splattered themselves across the night sky. Rachel looked up from her hard, tiled roof. The shingles scratched gently at her bare skin. Rachel watched the world from up there, she watched the hustling of her quiet town, she saw the streetlights swim before her. A few minutes later, Dominic climbed up and joined her on the roof. He had been her next door neighbour for years, and their late night talks up on Rachel's roof became somewhat like a tradition.
"Where were you today? Didn't see you around the house." He lay down beside her.
"Prom dresses with Brooke. My god, I still can't believe we're graduating so soon. It still feels like yesterday was the first day of kindergarten."
He smiled a little, and closed his eyes.
"Yeah... "He looked over at her. "I think I am actually going to miss this so much once we graduate."
She sat up suddenly and her hair began to whip around her face fiercely. "You're really going to leave, huh."
"Rach, I have no choice. My entire life I've spent here. I want to find out, what's beyond the horizon, you know? There's a whole world to explore out there, and I want to explore it."
***
At school, they would part ways. Dominic was a jock, and his group of stocky friends naturally flocked towards him. A couple of girls stood by, shooting casual glances towards him. At school, they were two different people. Two different people you never would've thought were connected in any way. Rachel was offbeat, unique and hung towards a more artistic scene. Dom played sports, and constantly had people around him. He was just a people person.
She saw him, she saw who he was, she saw who she was. And she saw the distance slowly forming between them.
It broke her heart.