Chapter 9
"Come on Lilly. You're going to miss everything!" Oliver shouted from downstairs. I grabbed my camera and shoved it in my beach bag before running down to the living room at full speed.
"Coming!" I shouted, almost tripping. I ran out the door and slammed it behind me before following Oliver out into the hot, setting sun. He pulled my hand as I stumbled down the sidewalk after him.
When we arrived at the beach, it was almost dark and a slight breeze was starting to blow. I looked around at all the tiki torches and camp fires around. People were barbecuing and playing music. I loved the 4th of July.
We found a spot on the beach and spread out our colorful towels. I took a deep breath and sighed happily as I smelled the salty air. I lied down on my towel and sprawled my hair out. I put my arms behind my head and smiled.
"See, we made it." I said, closing my eyes. "And you thought I was going to make us late…"
"Well, you usually do." Oliver replied, taking a seat on his towel next to me. "Want me to go get us some food or something?"
"Sure…" I said, dozing off. It was so easy to fall asleep on the beach. I had soon drifted off to slumber land and started to dream.
I was at my house, only it didn't look quite the same as it currently did. It looked like it did when I was little. But it was decorated in colorful streamers and balloons. As I walked around the house, I found myself looking upward at everything. I couldn't even see the top of the kitchen table. There was a bunch of people gathered around, all my friends from school and their parents. My friends looked about four or five years old. Then I saw my mom. She looked drained and worn out, but younger than she was now. Her face was bright and cheerful despite her exhaustion.
"Go get the door, Sweetie." I heard her say to me. I walked over to the door, tripping over the rug in front of it. You could still see the wood the door was made of. My dad hadn't painted it yet. I reached my hand up, stood on the tips of my toes and grabbed the doorknob, turning it slowly and exposing my best friend Oliver. He was about four or five, as my other friends and I obviously were. He smiled at me, showing off a space in his teeth.
"Hey Lilly." He said, still grinning like mad. He handed me a square box wrapped up in shiny silver paper with a red bow. "Happy Bwirthday."
"Thanks." I choked out. It was hard to talk in this dream. My tiny hands reached out and took the gift before grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. I guided him over to the kitchen table and climbed up onto one of the wooden chairs, holding onto the rungs to keep myself from falling. Oliver climbed up on the chair next to me and sat down. I handed him a birthday hat and he stuck it on his head, messing up his short, dark hair. He smiled again and pointed to the missing space in his teeth.
"Look Lilly. I lost my fwirst tooth." He said, still pointing. I stood on my knees from atop the chair and poked the space with my tiny finger. "Cool, huh?" He asked, while preventing his loose hat from falling off.
I tried to respond but I couldn't. My throat felt tight like I was choking.
"Lilly…Lilly?" Oliver asked, his big, beady eyes staring at me.
My eyes shot open, bringing me back to reality. "Lilly…Lilly? Wake up. You're going to miss the fireworks!"
"Huh?" I mumbled, sitting up and looking around. The beach was completely dark except for the fires and torches around.
"You fell asleep." Oliver said, handing me a hot dog and a Dr. Pepper. "What were you dreaming about anyway? You had this huge smile plastered on your face."
"Huh? Oh, nothing…" I murmured. So much for my happy trip down memory lane… Why did everything have to change? My life was flashing before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I sat up on my towel and took a sip of soda. I looked around and my eyes slowly became accustomed to the dark.
"Look. They're about to start." Oliver said pointing to the empty sky in front of us.
Suddenly I head the familiar loud bang that I'd been hearing for as long as I could remember. I watched anxiously as a beautiful stream of colors shot up into the sky. It made another loud noise and slowly began to fall down, soon followed by another…and another. The loud noise seemed to calm me in a bizarre sort of way. You would think that nerve wracking, loud racket followed by intense, blinding colors lighting up the heavens would be the last thing to make me relax. But I guess I'm just one of the weird people in this world.
I stared up and watched breathlessly, wishing this moment could last forever. There was something about fireworks that just seemed to make me feel better. It was like nothing else in the world mattered right then. You could forget all your problems and just stare up in awe at the beauty of it all. And I loved it.
They went on for a good long time, flashing and shimmering, the gorgeous colors seeming to never cease. I took some pictures of them and Oliver staring up at the sky. I sighed happily and ate my food. They finally stopped and the sky went dark again. I heard cheering and clapping up the beach. I smiled and looked at Oliver.
"Pretty great, huh?" He asked grinning, his hair falling in his eyes.
"You have no idea…"
Pretty pointless chapter but i just felt like writing about the 4th of July. Oliver's birthday will be the next chapter. i'll try to update tomorrow or at least very soon. my spring break started so i'll have more time. review please.
-Andi-
