A Moment in Time
Where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Where have you been, my darling young one?
Soda was walking along the beach, following the sound of music. It was early in the morning and he was a bit surprised to hear somebody playing guitar and singing. That person had a nice voice and he found walking on the shore, observing the waves and listening to somebody's rendition of A hard rain's a-gonna fall strangely relaxing.
He and Darry had arrived in Berkeley the day before. They had come out to visit Ponyboy, who had started his first year of college a couple months before and had practically begged them on the phone to come see him. Soda couldn't have said no even if he'd wanted to, and it's not like he had had any desire to do that anyway, so he and Darry got a few days of leave from work.
He had woken up early and hadn't wanted to wake anybody else, deciding to go for a walk on the beach instead. He loved the ocean, the salty air, the peace and the colors. It was like being transported into another world, so unlike his hometown.
He stopped when he finally saw a group of people sitting around in a circle only a few meters from where he was standing. One of the guys was the singer, happily strumming away on his guitar, surrounded by two girls and two guys. They all had really long hair and wore colorful clothes. The word came to mind at once. Hippies. Soda tensed for a moment, but then relaxed. He had been to Vietnam, but they couldn't read it in his face, surely... they couldn't yell at him that he was a baby killer and he should have died back there. He had heard stories like that one.
One of the two girls, the blonde one, suddenly turned to look in his direction. She was really pretty and her smile was soft as she stared at him as if trying to figure out if she knew him from somewhere. Soda thought about leaving, but felt he couldn't move. He could only stare at that group of people, probably Ponyboy's age or a couple years older, and wonder how life would have been different for him if he'd never been drafted, if he had ended up like them. A flower child. He had got through hell on the other side of the world, he'd survived and come back, but he wasn't the same. He was still learning how to cope with regular civilian life, and it had been a year since he'd come home. At least the nightmares weren't as frequent as when he'd first returned, but they still haunted him. He didn't talk about those with anybody. Steve, who'd been through a very similar experience, did the same. They both found opening up really hard.
But these young people seemed to be so carefree, and he envied them so much. He craved their peace, their innocence. Their freedom.
I heard the sound of a thunder that roared out a warnin'
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin'
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'
Soda exhaled loudly. He wasn't a huge Bob Dylan fan, but he did like a few of his songs. And that one hit really close to home.
The blonde girl got up and started walking towards him. It only took a minute for her to reach him, as he was standing so close.
"Hi. Would you like to join us?" she asked, tilting her head sideways, pointing to her friends.
Soda didn't know how to reply. Should he? Why, though? What was the point? "No, I... I should head back."
"Are you sure?" She hesitated for a moment, before offering him her hand. "My name is Sunshine. Nice to meet you."
Soda automatically reached to shake her hand, blinking twice. Unusual names ran in his family, but hers was even weirder. He figured it must be a nickname. "I'm Sodapop."
She smiled even brighter as she let go of his hand. "That is such a cool name! I love it!"
Soda couldn't help but smile. Usually, the reactions he'd get from people would be skeptical looks or uncomfortable questions, but she had just accepted his moniker as if it was a totally normal name. Well, he figured hippies were chill that way. "Thanks. I like yours, too." He paused, trying to find something else to say. Ever since he'd come back from 'Nam, conversation didn't come to him as easily as before. "I... I need to go back."
"Ok. See you around, Sodapop."
He didn't think he would, but it was nice to get lost for a moment in time. It was fleeting, but as he looked at that group of people, as he listened to the sounds of their music and their laughter, he remembered the world wasn't all bad and rotten.
He remembered there was hope, and hope was worth living for.
I wrote this very quickly, or should I say - it kind of wrote itself. I don't know whether to add more to the story or keep it as one-shot, so opinions are welcome!