HERE'S TO DREAMS AND SELF WORTH
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of its characters. I only own the character's Samantha and Cindy. Okay enough with this legal junk.
Samantha looked around at the smiling faces of her family and classmates. Above her was a banner with the words: CONGRATS CLASS OF 2005! Her best friend bounded up to her and said, "It is so cool that you are reaching for your dreams and working toward your goals in such a determined manner. I really admire you. You are so beautiful and talented, I so wish I was you." "Cindy, are you feeling okay," Samantha replied, playfully placing her hand on her friend's forehead. "...and funny too," Cindy continued with the praise. Cindy disappeared leaving a very confused Samantha. Her parent's appeared in her friends place. "Honey, we are so proud of you," her Mother said as she and Sam's Father hugged her. Just as suddenly they disappeared into the crowd as well.
What the hell is going on? "There is my sister who is practically perfect in every way," her sister Sarah said interrupting her thoughts. Since when did my sister become Mary Poppins? "Sarah," Sam said, finally speaking. "I thought you couldn't make it."
"What are you talking about? I wouldn't miss such an important event in my sister's life..."
"Neither would I," her brother interrupted. "Toby!" the graduate yelled, happily throwing herself into his arms. They pulled apart and he was about to say something when
suddenly the lights went out. Thunder and lightening followed, people disappeared from her view and she was alone. That is until she saw a pair of mismatched eyes looking right into hers. Amazingly she wasn't as much afraid as she was intrigued. A flash of lightening revealed she was looking into the eyes of a barn owl. They starred at each other for a few moments and then, without hesitation, he spread his wings and flew out through an open window.
"No wait," she called, "Please, come back ," she cried, desperately wanting him back and yet afraid he would return. He did not return and so Samantha fell to her knees and started to weep. "Samantha, Samantha," a voice called. Samantha looked around, trying to decipher where the voice was coming from. "Samantha, SAMANTHA!" Sam awoke to someone shaking her shoulder. "SAMANTHA, wake up or I will forced to pour ice water over your head." Sam opened her eyes and looked up at her now very irritated Mother. Still shaken up from her dream she forced the reply: " Mom, come on, cut me some slack. It's not like I need to get up early, I graduated last week, remember."
"Well, just imagine if I had cut you some slack in the past. You wouldn't have graduated and you would still be getting up early to go to school." "So, why don't you cut me some slack and get out of bed!" Karen through the blankets off her very stubborn daughter. Stubbornness, a trait that all the Williams children share. "Oh," Samantha moaned, "why?"
"Did you already forget that Sarah and Toby are arriving today?" "Oh, yeah," Sam
replied slowly, "Now hurry up , shower, dress, and meet me downstairs." Samantha let out another moan and slid out of bed. "Oh, I almost forgot," Karen said as she reached the door. "Sarah is bringing her new book that is about to be published so we will get a sneak peek. Isn't that great!" She opened the door and then shut it behind her. "Joy,"
Samantha said, rolling her eyes.
She walked over to her full length mirror slightly disappointed at her reflection.
She only stood at 5' 3" tall unlike Sarah who was the nearly perfect height of 5' 8".
Samantha always thought of Sarah as a raven haired swan with starry, green eyes.
When Sam looked at herself she saw a short, dishwater blonde crow with eyes the color of a swamp. (Can we say low self image.) "God, you need to go on a diet, girl," she said, her reflection looking back at her disapprovingly. Just one more thing she resented about Sarah, she just couldn't loose those irritating ten pounds that would make her as thin as her sister. "But, you are beautiful in your own way," she said, mockingly imitating her mother's voice. She hated Sarah so much and yet loved her at the same time. Sam contemplated this as she padded to the bathroom.
We did have some good times though. We talked and giggled about boys, even after she had married. O how I loved to tease her about her obsession with David Bowie. She was there for me when I got my first period. Heck, she was there for me during all my firsts no matter how much I resented it. She even witnessed my first heart break over that jerk Steven.
There were many times Sam wondered why she resented her sister so much.
But, it just seemed to hurt her head thinking about it so she decided that it would be easier just to hate her. She rinsed the soap off her body and turned off the shower faucet. She grabbed a towel off the towel bar, wrapped it around her and headed back to her room.
After she had put on her clothes and dried her hair she sat down and started to
sketch. This was the one think she took any kind of joy in. She had barely started when her cell phone rang. "Hello, oh Hi Cindy. What's up? Oh, hot date tonight, huh. No, I don't want to double date. Cindy, I said no, I don't care how hot his friend is...well, how hot is he?" What am I saying? My answer is no Cindy." On the other end of the line Cindy was debating whether to push her best friend any further. Sam was still jabbering into her ear and Cindy bounced to attention when she said, "...and don't forget old pal of mine what happened on the last blind date you set me up with!" "So, your date stuck chinese sticks up his nose trying to imitate a walrus, at least he pulled out your chair for you." "Yeah," Sam replied, "right after he tried to impress me with his musical talent."
"Okay, I admit playing his musical armpit was going a little too far," Cindy said, struggling to not laugh out loud. "A little," Sam replied sarcastically. That was it, Cindy lost it and started laughing uncontrollably into the phone. Samantha tried to chastise her but ended up joining in on the laughter. "Seriously, Cindy, even if I wanted to go on this date I couldn't because Sarah and Toby are, OH NO," Sarah interrupted herself. The moment those words came out of her mouth her Mother yelled up the stairs: Samantha Elizabeth Williams why aren't you down here yet, it has been over an hour!" "I will be right there Mom!" "Sorry, Cindy, I have to go, have fun on your date." "Thanks," she replied, "and you have...a tolerable time, Sam." "Very funny," Sam replied, hearing Cindy's obnoxious laughing even as she was hanging up. I think Cindy knows me to well, she thought, smiling in spite of herself. She was about to put her sketch pad away when she gasped.
She had been sketching subconsciously while she was talking to Cindy and what she now saw stunned her. The picture filled her with a sense of serenity and fear all at the same time. She had sketched a barn owl with very familiar mismatched eyes.