Category: Fiction

My problem started one night, on my way home from a friend’s house. It was a dark night filled with odd lights, and strange noises, but it was about to get much worse. I had never drunk alcohol before, but I was about to be accused of drinking underage. I wouldn’t even be able to tell my side of the story. Not only that, but even my parents would not believe I was innocent at first. Anyway, it all started with street lights, and a beer bottle.

I was outside at night, walking down a dark street wearing sandals. The only street light on the block not working was the one over me. I had just passed the broken streetlight when I heard the sound of a car. I turned while continuing to walk, to make sure, it wasn’t a crazy person. To my relief, it was just a cop car. Suddenly, I stumbled over a broken beer bottle, which I hadn’t seen in the dark, just as the cop car stopped right next to me. The cop got out, saw the beer bottle next to my foot, and quickly looked back up at me. She asked me to walk the curb, but I desperately tried to tell her what had happened. She wouldn’t listen to me, and I managed to stumble along the edge of the curb as if I was drunk. The cop quickly asked me where I lived, and put me in the back of the police car. I didn’t even get to call my parents, and tell them what had happened.

When I arrived at the jail, I asked the cop to call, or allow me to call my parents. She pretended like I had said nothing, escorted me into an empty jail cell, and told me to sit down. The jail cell was in need of a good cleaning, so I just stood, and watched the cop go back to her office. Several minutes later, to my relief my parents came to my rescue, or so I thought. It turns out; they didn’t believe me either.

I seemed as if everyone was against me. The cop didn’t believe me, and even my own parents didn’t believe. I wondered how my parents could believe such a story. They came into the cell, looked at my foot, and looked back at the officer. They thanked the officer, and shook hands. I was confused, and didn’t know what was going on.

The cop must have noticed my distress, and explained that she had stopped her car when she saw me stumble. At first when she looked down she wasn’t sure if I had been drinking, but then she saw my foot, and realized that I had actually tripped, and cut my foot on the beer bottle. Then, she asked me to walk down the curb to check her assumption. When, she realized that I was only stumbling, she asked for my address to see how far I had to walk. Instead of driving me to my house, she decided to just call my parents from the police station, because it was closer. What I thought was injustice, was just a misconception.

The water was cold. That was the only thing Dawn could think of as she skimmed her foot across the top of the pool. The temperature of the water was to be expected though, given the season of the year.

It was early fall, and the winds had been picking up more than usual the last couple of days. The sun was shining from behind the trees and barely increasing the warmth of the afternoon. The leaves had fallen all over the yard and even into the pool, but thanks to a net the pool had just been prepared for swimming.

Dawn shivered as a draft of wind blew past her. She would have given anything to be in the water and remembering the past couple of years. Getting into the pool on the day before the first day of school had been a yearly ritual for her and her brother Dan. It had always been their way of commemorating the summer that had passed and the school year that was about to begin. But now Dan wasn’t there, and still she felt strangely obligated to continue the tradition alone.

Dan was away at college, having to start class a week earlier than the local middle school. He’d been so excited and in a hurry he’d even almost forgotten to say goodbye on moving day. He hadn’t remembered their tradition in the excitement of that day, but then again neither had she.

“Are you going to get in?” Dawn turned to find her mother watching her expectantly from the lawn. Then seeing her daughter’s expression of upset, she continued on down the hall until she stood next to her daughter. “Dawn, I know Dan’s not here right now, but he’ll be home in a couple of weeks. And when he comes home, you two can swim together then.”

Dawn grabbed her towel from a nearby chair and walked past her mother and towards the back door of the house. “You don’t understand. Its not the same.”

“Dawn, wait.” Despite her feelings telling her to run into the house before the tears came, Dawn stopped to listen to her mother. She could feel an unknown anger beneath the surface and was afraid that if she turned around her mother would see it. So in true angry fashion, she kept her back turned. “Dawn, honey. It’ll be okay. I don’t know about this tradition you two have, but I’m sure it’ll be the same in a couple weeks when Dan comes home.”

Dawn didn’t even bother acknowledging her mother’s empty consolidations and continued walking into her house. She didn’t understand. No one did.

*****

“So, what do you want to do on this last day of summer?” Dan sat down next to his sister on the edge of the pool. Dawn stared down into the water of the pool and didn’t even acknowledge his presence, let alone even reply. If he wanted to pretend everything was fine, he could. Dan tried again. “So, I’m starting high school tomorrow.”

This time his statement elicited a response. “I know.”

“Well, do you want to go for a swim?”

“Today?”

“Yeah. Can’t really do it tomorrow.”

Dawn looked up at her brother for the first time. “What was wrong with the rest of the summer?”

Dan sighed as if he should have expected this comment. Look, I’m sorry we haven’t hung out all summer. I was out with my friends.

“Friends you just made. But your friends don’t mean you can ignore me practically all summer. It’s always been you and me. Then we move to a different country and you ditch me in a matter of months.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to end up alone this school year without any friends just because I’m the new kid. I didn’t think that you could be lonely.”

“Not good enough.”

“Well, how do you want me to make it up to you? I’m here today. We can swim all day long if you want.”

“Still not good enough.”

Dan was beginning to become frustrated. “What else do you want?” He looked towards his little sister who was deep in thought. Suddenly, Dan became very afraid as his sister’s eyes lit up.

Dawn made a wide smile of delight. “To make up for all these days of summer that you missed! You owe me all those days back. That’s equal to one day a year, for the rest of our lives. Starting today.”

He took this in stride, still not believing she was serious. “Why this day?”

Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know. Just cause its today.” And with that he watched as his little sister made a cannonball into the pool, succeeding in splashing her brother.

*****

Dawn sat on her bed with tears in her eyes as she rummaged through a shoebox. Once again Dan had forgotten her. Sure, he had more important things to think about. And sure, he was too grown up to probably care about mindless childish traditions. But still, no one understood the bond that had grown between her and her older brother.

Her brother had been her closest friend for so many years. Growing up in a different country where you were the only two who spoke English had that effect on them. Yet, that wasn’t the only reason they had grown closer than brothers and sisters usually do. It had been her brother she could always count on and talk to as they had moved from location to location as their father’s job had been transferred time and again. He had always been her constant as other people came and went in her life. He was her touchstone.

This is why she sat on her bed rummaging through old photos, comic book cards, and memorabilia she had kept from their various adventures together. There was a medal with a stag in the middle of a forest of trees they had won for completing a Volksmarch. Then there was their special Go Fish cards they used to play every week when it was too cold to go outside. On each card was a variety of fish dressed in different clothes with big bubble eyes. Dawn chuckled to herself as she looked through the different cards, remembering the picture she hadn’t seen in almost a year.

There was a lifetime worth of memories contained in her room and in this little box alone. The objects and pictures could tell a story of her life, but Dawn wondered what exactly it told. Did it show the bond between her and her brother? Or was it just a random assortment of objects having little meaning to anyone but herself?

It didn’t matter, Dawn realized. These objects were only memories connected with the past. Dawn quickly placed all the objects back in the box and set the small box on the floor of her closet. It was time to take her first swim alone.

“How much longer are we going to suffer? This has to end now!” Casond yelled to the crowd that had gathered to hear him. I had never heard him this distraught, in all my years as his best friend. This was unwonted, but it made sense.

Casond stepped down from the stage, and came to stand next to me. “How are your parents doing?” I asked him.

“Fine.” He responded with celerity. He wouldn’t look at me. I grabbed his hand, and he looked me in the eyes. “Sarama, I’m thinking of doing something…dangerous.” He paused to make sure no one was watching. “I’m going to find a cure.”

I was excited. We were going to find a cure to the disease that had devastated our planet. We left summarily the next morning, and boarded my ship. Like Dante in the Divine Comedy, we were heading for places unknown.

“What do you expect to find?” I asked Casond when we weren’t manning the ship.

“I’m not sure.” I was about to propound an idea, when his eyes lit up. “I’m going to find the universe’s Holy Grail, immortality.”

I thought that was the least coherent and plausible idea that he had ever thought up, but I said nothing. Days passed and we saw nothing but space, until one fateful day.

We were sleeping, when I awoke to find something bright blue outside my window, a planet. It seemed to be a simple halcyon planet, but Casond saw something else. He saw the perfection of the universe, a utopian world. He was sure he would find immortality here. We landed so fast; the ship undulated on the way down. What we found was different than he expected.

We found a city where people still fought for stupid reasons. Casond was devastated, but he tried not to evince his feelings. The world was only primordial compared to our own, but he expected more. Before I knew what had happened, Casond had opened the door to the ship, and was out on the surface of the planet. People turned to look; the humans looked at us with curiosity. Then, Casond pushed a button on his remote and a thousand people were dead. I tackled him to the ground, and the remote flew out of his hand. That’s when five humans grabbed us and locked us up.

“Why?! Why did you do it?!” I yelled at him from inside our prison.

“It was nothing.” He simply said. I never knew Casond had such a myopic view on things.

Just then, the prison door opened and two armed humans came in. They had an overt anger towards us. They asked us who had pulled the trigger, but I held my tongue. Before they had come, Casond and I had made a covenant to stick together. We stood quietly as they looked at us.

“One of you will die tomorrow for what you’ve done, and if you don’t tell us who did it, you’ll both die.” The human told us, trying to get us to talk.

“She did it!” Casond exclaimed, as he tried to dissemble his lie. They quickly grabbed me and pulled me out the door. Casond had betrayed me. My best friend had betrayed me. I felt sick. I shook the guards off me, and ran for it. I found my ship outside and flew off. I put it on autopilot and headed home. I quickly went to the back of the ship, so I wouldn’t change my mind and make the ship go back. Now that Casond was the only one left, they would surely kill him for what he had done.

When I arrived back home, I learned that Casond’s parents had died the day we left. He had lied and betrayed me for nothing. His parents had already died. In my heart, I felt glad his parents didn’t know what he had done. As I listened to the eulogy at their funeral, I realized nothing had been gained from our trip. But two planets had lost their people, and I had lost my honor for Casond. I sat down and watched our suns set.

“Sarama, honey, are you coming inside?” A voice asked from behind me.

“In a second, Mother.”

A storm slowly made its way into the tiny sleepy town in the dead of night. The forecast for tomorrow called for a heap of rain, but for now the clouds took their sweet time rolling in. Outside one particular two-story house, the wind had just begun to pick up, and the branches of an old nearby tree swayed gently in the breeze.

It had been a dry last couple of months, but lately they’d had a number of strong storms pass through the area. It seemed the searing heat of summer, coupled with the oncoming moisture of fall, made for the perfect disastrous combination. In fact, just a few hours earlier during dinner, the father of the house had commented on that very tree’s age. He’d mentioned how it was weak, battered, and would need to come down soon, lest it come down on its own during one of these freak storms.

And so, the wind continued to picked up outside, and the tree’s branches began to scrape and bang against the side of the house. A few more hours passed, a couple more hours of howling wind, and slowly but surely one lowly little branch began to crack from all the pressure. The tree attempted to hold strong, but it was no match for the storm’s fury, and at last the tiny branch finally broke free.

Down it fell. Down, down, to where the backyard lay in wait to catch it. A couple inches to the right, and perhaps it would have landed on the grass and merely joined all the other debris that had fallen during the night. Instead, by some choice of fate, or some twist of chance, it fell down toward the patio deck and landed on the open grill. Thankfully, the grill’s settings were set to off, or so it appeared.

After having been on for hours, even at the lowest setting, the coils now glowed a bright orange from the heat. They reacted instantly with the branch that had fallen. The remaining leaves on the branch became singed black, and the edges began to curl in on themselves in a desperate attempt to get away. Soon, there was no stopping the assault, and the branch and the leaves began to smoke. Tiny red flames began to appear as the branch gave in to its fate. Soon the army of flames were moving and spreading to engulf the entire branch.

From there the flames jumped to a grease soaked rag lying nearby. The flames instantly fed off the welcome fuel. Another gust of wind blew the flames off the grill and onto the welcome mat in front of the back door. From there the flames now grew and reached their way up the house, welcoming the added food. Each second that passed, the flames consumed more and more ground, and looked to their new exciting . The storm had done its deed, and the rain wouldn’t come until it was too late.

A young man wearing a turban pushed his way through the crowds of the marketplace. The crowds were thick today, as a result of the upcoming religious holiday, and the market tables were lined with various types of merchandise from jewelry to exotic types of food. He readjusted his turban to get a better view, which not only helped to shield him from the sun, but also helped to hide his wandering eyes. He was scanning the streets and one thing was certain, he was looking for someone.

“You there! Young man!” Hasif looked around to see who was calling him, finding a man wearing a turban of his own staring at him from behind a table and hidden from the sweltering heat by the canopy above. “I have a special on snake. Two for the price of one. They make a good afternoon meal.” Hasif tried to hide his grimace at the thought of attempting to eat the half dead creatures as an afternoon meal.

Still, he walked up closer to get a better view. He stared at the snakes laid out on the table carefully, noticing the strange patterns and shapes. Finally, he looked up to the man behind the table. “Aren’t these poisonous?”

Instantly a look of surprise came on the old man’s face. “We’re closed,” the man said, hissing through his teeth. He grabbed the merchandise, threw it into his baskets and was on his way.

Hasif watched him go. On any other day, he might have contacted the local authorities about this man, or what passed for authority, but today he had other problems. Besides, the man was sure to be careful about his activities for a little while, since someone had caught him in the act. Yet, little did the old man know that ordinary people would never have noticed the difference, but Hasif was not an ordinary young man.

He scanned the streets again, looking for his target. Upon looking around, he recognized just how different he was. All around were people of all ages, dirty from the Saharan sand and smelling of not having bathed in at least a week. Yet, he, unlike the others, knew the importance of cleanliness.

Hasif sighed, frustrated. It had been a day of searching and having nothing to show for it. Right now he should have been helping his mother with dinner or watching over his younger sister and brother. Instead, he was doing the one thing he’d been trained for and waited on all his life to do. It was this knowledge that allowed him to know which snakes were poisonous and cleanliness meant healthy. This knowledge that made him so different than the rest of them.

He made his way through the crowed and into a nearby alley. Carefully, he checked around for signs of anyone watching or listening. Upon seeing no one around, he rolled up his sleeve. Beneath was another reason he was different. Underneath his sleeve was a watch made of silver. The face contained the normal hours and minutes, but in the middle was also the month, day, and year. April 14, 1517.

Hasif pressed a button and the watch emitted a small beep. He then counted to two before proceeding again. “This is Hasif Hijazi. The date is”¦” Hasif looked down at his watch before continuing. “April 14, 1517. 3:38 in the afternoon. Over.”

He waited for a couple more seconds until a crackle once again came over the other end, then a voice replied. “Hasif, this is Base. We read you. What is your current status?”

Knowing they couldn’t see him, only hear him, Hasif shook his head in exasperation. “I’ve been tracking the target all day, but have yet to see any evidence that he is in this timeline. Are you sure he is here?”

He regretted the words as soon as he thought of them. It was akin to blasphemy to think they could ever be wrong. Still, Hasif waited again for the answer, but was surprised when a couple seconds passed and there was no voice on the other side. Then, suddenly a crackling sound came out of the tiny wristwatch and Hasif almost jumped in surprise.

“We’ve just checked our records and we’re positive the time-hopper is there. The last agent to have seen him checked the window he left and pointed it to this day and year. We think he’s jumped to that year in order to stop Selim I and the Ottoman Empire from taking over the country.” For a split second, Hasif wondered if that would be such a bad thing. Who actually wanted their country to be taken over by invaders? But as if answering his question, the watch spoke again. “In order for the timeline to remain the same, he must be stopped. Now our records show he will be making his move soon somewhere in the market place.”

A quizzical look came over Hasif’s face. “Making his move?” He asked the watch.

“Oh, sorry. Whatever he plans to do will be happening soon. Now, use the picture and description we’ve given and continue looking. He should be easy to find because of his difference in appearance from the rest of the population. Over.”

The watch crackled for the last time and Hasif realized he was on his own again. Covering up the watch, he continued on his way through to the other side of the alley and into an adjacent street. How was he going to do this? Sure, he’d been training for it all his life. Yet, how was he supposed to find one person in an entire city?

Hasif looked up from his walk, surprised to see someone staring back at him from a corner down the street. The pale man watching him had a strange perplexed look on his face and his eyes gleamed suspiciously. All Hasif could do was smile back politely. He then casually turned around, pretending to walk away. As soon as his back was turned, he instead uncovered the watch and pushed a button so the picture he’d been given would show.

He was surprised at what he saw. It was him. It was the same man he’d just seen. There was no mistaking the eyes that had stared back at him from underneath the turban. He quickly turned around, expecting to see the same man still standing there, but the target was gone. Hasif ran down the street and turned right around the corner where the man had been standing. He caught a glimpse of a brown swish of color going around another corner and so he took flight. It was time for the chase.

He took off again, running down streets and around corners. He made sure to always keep the target in his field of vision. They were still running, albeit out of breath, five minutes later as Hasif led his target around a corner to a dead end. A good part of being local was being able to know the layout of the city.

“Its over,” Hasif called to him. A grin came over his face as his target turned around, facing away from the dead end. On his target’s face was a look of fear as he realized it was over for him. Yet, it was all over now for Hasif as well. Soon, he’d be another agent to get commendations after actually accomplishing his mission. Hasif tried again, “Give up the device, it is over.”

Hasif had been sure at that moment that his assailant would give himself up. That he would go back home to his family and everything would be fine. But what happened next surprised him. Instead of seeing the same look of fear on his enemy’s face, the look slowly turned to”¦amusement. A slow grin spread over his target’s face. And before he could wonder why, he felt a sharp and then numbing pain in his back.

He turned around to see the source of his pain, and was surprised to see the man from the market holding a dagger covered with blood. His blood he could only guess, because then he fell to the ground.

“That’s for messing with my business,” he faintly heard a voice from above and then the sound of footsteps running.

As he lay dying, his blood soaking into the starving ground, he wondered about the future. Did the man from the market realize what he’d just done? Would he even care? What would happen to his family now? Had his life been worthwhile? What would-

The target took a couple steps forward until he was standing right above and looking down to the body lying on the ground. Hasif was dead now he realized, not a trace of life left visible in his body. Now he would be able to run away once more, without a worry that someone would be following him. He grabbed a device from his clothes and aimed it into the open air. A small window appeared and soon he was gone within its ripples.

From the ground a lone voice could be heard after a pang of static. “Hasif, we’ve just noticed a window has opened from your location. Could you please tell us the year he’s traveling to next? Over.” A couple seconds passed as the base waited for Hasif to respond. “Hasif, are you there? We need the year before the window closes, otherwise we won’t know what time he’s traveled to. Hasif?”</span></p>

He ran through the dark forest, dodging branches and jumping over fallen trees, with no clear idea of where he was going. There was no path through this forest, so instead he made his own. He hurried across the marshy ground of mud and leaves. His shoes squishing into it and leaving a trail all his own. Occasionally, a wayward branch would snap back at him, succeeding in slicing him through the skin. He had many cuts and scratches now, but they merely served to remind him of his journey. Battle scars. He’d been running for a while now. All his life.

Above him the moon dripped down its silvery light through the branches, and barely lit the way before him. He had seen the forest at its worst. He’d been there when it seemed like the branches reached for him alone. It was a time when the night’s cold made him think there was no help in the world.

Yet, he had also been there when the trees were full from the bounty of spring, the pink, blue, and white flowers grew rampant, and the sun’s warmth made his hair stand on end. It was a time when everything was bright and sunny, and he felt that nothing could ever go wrong.

But this was not one of those times. Right now, he was running along the trail with danger close on his heels. The shadows, caused by the branches looming overhead, appeared to be arms reaching for him. They were a regular reminder of the darkness that was constantly there, not letting him be aware of anything else along his path.

And so, he ran farther and farther. His breathing ragged. His heart constricted. He thought for certain that at any moment the darkness and shadows would finally consume him. Then, for once, he could stop running and finally rest. So enraptured by this idea, he didn’t see the obstacle until it was too late.

In a moment of weakness, he found himself falling toward the ground below, having tripped on an uprooted tree. He fell face first into the thicket of leaves and dirt on the ground. The little light that had been available was extinguished in a matter of seconds, until only darkness remained. He choked and gagged on the darkness and attempted to get up. Still, the weight held him down. The more he tried to pull himself up, the more the darkness persisted and tried to swallow him whole. He was suffocating. There was no escape.

Suddenly, he found an void within himself that he hadn’t known existed. As he lay choking and gagging on the darkness, realizing the end was near, the void began to be filled. It was something that had been with him since the beginning of time, but only now did he become increasingly aware of an unknown sense of fulfillment and wonder. It wad like a match that had been struck, and the world became visible to him in its light. The darkness was still there, but the light succeeded in blotting it out.

With this newfound strength he finally had the strength to push against the weight of the darkness. He tried, pushed, and clumsily fell down. Still, he persisted, and the light showed him the way. At last his head was able to rise above the darkness that had consumed him. The glow of the moon was there once again where he had left it, and for the first time he saw its truth.

It was faith, hope, and any positive thing he could conceive. As he continued on his way through the dark forest, he was now intent on reaching this light, and making it to the other side of the dense trees. He knew he would stumble and trip once again on his path through life, and many times after. Only now he had the moon to guide him. She was leading him to her, and to her light. She lit the path to her, and the path inside him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving at our destination, Hartsfield International Airport, in approximately fifteen minutes. If everyone would take their seats and fasten their seatbelts, we will begin our descent.”

As the Captain’s voice crackled over the intercom I knew this was it. This was the moment I’d been dreading the entire flight. I was about to enter a whole new world. A country that I’d only read or heard about but never visited. At twelve years old, I was about to take my first steps onto the United States of America.

“The local time is 12 o’clock noon,” the Captain continued, “and the local temperature is 55 degrees. Upon our arrival please remain seated until we come to a complete stop.”

Wanting to get my first glimpse of American civilization, I moved towards the window on my right and pressed my nose against the cold plastic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make out anything but the terrain below the clouds. The land was green and the temperature was almost the same, but I still had a feeling that the United States wasn’t going to be anything like Germany.

I was still thinking about all of this when my mother nudged and attempted to pry me away from the window. “Come on, its time to fasten your seatbelt.” She waited a moment and then nudged me again, but I was still lost in my own thoughts. What would this country be like? Would I fit in? “Dianna, come on. Put on your seatbelt.” Reluctantly, I pulled away from the window and fastened my seatbelt. The time had come.

* * * * *

I pulled the straps of the book bag comfortably to rest on my shoulders and stood poised at the airplane exit. Taking in a deep breath of relaxation, I waited a moment compose myself before stepping through the door and onto the stairs. I was met with the glare of the December sun. Despite the actual dimness of the light coming down, I squinted against this new brightness. Readjusting my eyes, I looked out across the horizon and took in a breath of relief. “So far, not a noticeable difference,” I mumbled to myself.

“What was that?” My dad asked.

I shrugged. “Nothing.” I took the last couple of steps down the stairs and paused before the last step. I waited a moment and finally took the plunge. My sneakers touched the hard cement and I realized that was it, the moment.

* * * * *

Upon entering the airport, I was amazed at what I saw. From outside, the airport seemed as if it could have been situated in almost any country in the world. But once I reached the inside of the airport, that all changed. What I saw were dozens of stores, lined with all kinds of merchandise I hadn’t seen before. And the best part was that everything was in English.

As I stared in wonder, my father came up behind me. “Come on, your grandmother is waiting.” And so we continued on our way.

* * * * *

After spending some time picking up luggage, we exited the baggage claim and looked around for any sign of my grandmother. There were many families waiting for their loved ones as I scanned the crowd. My gaze stopped on an old woman who was staring at me expectantly.

I was just about to take a step in her direction, when my father spoke. “There she is.” I looked to see where he was pointing and was surprised to see a different old lady standing there. It was at that moment I realized I didn’t even recognize my own grandmother. This was just one of many things I realized that day.

From there we made our way outside to the parking lot with grandmother in tow. Now, when I said that from the outside you couldn’t tell you were in a different country, well that was partly true. From the arrival side of the airport you couldn’t tell the difference, yet from the departure side this was a completely different matter.

And so I stood at the exit of the airport, or what I like to call the gate between the world I had known and this strange new world. I stood overlooking the parking lot and analyzing the many strange vehicles I had never seen before. They came in all kinds of shapes and colors, very different from Germany.

“This way.” My grandmother headed off to the right and unlocked the car. After placing all of our luggage in the trunk, we got in the car and continued on our way. We drove for a couple minutes and I finally got my first real taste of the United States.

This is the point where I truly realized my life had changed. Along the side of the road stood an oversized billboard with large black letters on a dingy white background. The billboard actually said, “Buy Marlboro Cigarettes,” but to me it said, “Welcome to the United States.”

I sat and waited in the airport chair sitting on what passed for cushioning. Sure, from afar it looked like comfortable cushioning, but for a lady like me, it might as well have been those wooden chairs from back in school. Those chairs were designed purposely to make your back as straight as a pole and later you would feel as if you’d been beaten with it. I still remembered those school days fondly.

I remembered the day I graduated, was married, and had three children, last of which was James. Yet, as I sat there all those memories began to come crashing down around me as I stared at the gray hair peeking out from beneath the fake brown in my reflection in the airport window. Then the greater picture set in as the old woman stared right back at me.

James was the reason I sat there reliving those same memories. The reason I was stuck waiting in these damn chairs watching planes fly off while others landed. Every time I heard the roar of a plane motor or the excitement of the people around me upon seeing their loved ones, I turned to look and see if my boy had come back to me. Then, I had to sadly remind myself that James, his wife, and my two grandchildren weren’t scheduled to arrive for another ten minutes.

And so I sat alone, still thinking about my life. The day my son was born, the day he told me he was entering the military and being shipped to another country on another continent, the day he was engaged, married, and sure enough the birth of my two grandchildren. Most of all I remembered the bad days. I remembered the day I divorced my husband and not before long the day I was visiting his grave. No longer aware of my current surroundings, my eyes grew misty and tears threatened to slide down my face.

“Are you all right, ma’am?” The young man looked at me with an expression of worry. Was he asking because I looked like the fragile old woman that I was or was it because I looked pitiful?

Ignoring his statement I turned away and wiped the tear with the back of my hand. Using my hands on the armrests to pull me up I began to slowly rise from my chair and my bones creaked in ways only I could hear and my hip let out a groan of pain. It mockingly reminded me that yes, life hadn’t turned out the way I’d imagined.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied to him. Without turning back, I slowly walked to the bathroom.

After drying my eyes for a bit and making sure the young man had gone, I exited the restroom and returned once again to the waiting area. Having stayed for so long in the restroom, I was surprised to find that ten minutes had almost passed. Instead of sitting once again, I stood watching the planes and looking for the small military plane in which my son would be arriving.

I stood there for another couple of minutes until suddenly I was watching a small out of place and camouflaged plane coming down the runway. My heart constricted and I was given a breath of fresh air. This could be the one. I continued watching, my heart pounding all the while, as the plane landed and slowly rolled to a stop.

After a couple of minutes that seemed to turn into hours, I watched as the airport personnel placed stairs against the small plane and the doors first opened after the long journey. In my days it was a wonder to visit another country, much less to live there. From what I’d seen on television, my daughter-in-law and her children might as well be come to a different planet than the United States.

A minute later people began exiting the plane and I stepped as close to the window as possible in order to get a better look. I wondered if I’d be able to notice my family out of the crowd. I hadn’t seen them in many years, except for the pictures they would occasionally send. The people continued to file out slowly, usually blinking against the glare of the sun or stretching their limbs in the fresh air after their long fight.

A couple more people filed out and suddenly a girl exited. She stood on the top stair and looked around, probably taking in the sights around her. Then, she slowly made her way down the stairs one at a time, gently and carefully. At the final stair before the ground, she paused for a moment and collected herself, then made the final step. This was my granddaughter. My suspicion was at once confirmed when a young man I recognized as my son, his wife, and his son followed. There they all stood. My family.

I rushed as quickly as I could to wait in the hallway where they’d be entering once they’d gotten their luggage. After a couple of dreadful minutes of waiting and searching down the long hallway, I saw what I’d been missing for so long. My son was walking in my direction, so much older than I remembered. And for a moment I wondered who these three other people were with him. When he’d left he was so young, and now he was much older and with a family of his own. Once again I realized time had certainly passed me by and my eyes grew misty for the second time.

Finally, my family reached me and I held them in my arms. I could feel their warmth and smell their hair. They were really there with me. They’d finally come home.

Soon, we were on our way to the vehicles so we could leave this place and make our way home. We exited to the parking lot that contained row after row of Fords, Hondas, Toyotas, and other cars you saw everyday on the roads. My granddaughter stood in awe and I smiled.

After finding my car halfway down the lot and placing the luggage in the trunk, we were then on our way. We exited the airport and as we drove down the street, I looked at them sitting dopey eyed in the rearview mirror. A lone tear of happiness slid down my face. I smiled and quickly wiped it away before anyone could notice. Everything was going to be fine now.

He ran in the darkness of the night with no clear idea of where he was going. The only light to guide him was the pale light of the full moon, but he ignored it.

His breathing was ragged and his heart constricted. He tripped on a fallen tree and fell face first into the darkness of the leaves and dirt on the ground. The light was extinguished and only darkness could be seen.

He choked and gagged on the darkness. The weight held him down. The more he tried to see the light, the more the darkness persisted, until it swallowed him whole. He was suffocating. There was no escape.

Suddenly, a void he didn’t know he had was filled with something that had been with him since the beginning of time, but only just found. A sense of fulfillment and wonder filled the darkness.

Like a match that was struck on the box, the world became visible in its light. The darkness was still there, but the light blocked it out.

He finally had the strength to push against the weight of the darkness. He tried, pushed, and fell down. Still he persisted and the light showed him the way.

At last his head rose above the darkness that had consumed him. The glow of the moon was there once again, and for the first time he saw what it really was. He continued on his way through the dark forest.

He knew he would stumble and trip once again, and many times after. Only now he had the moon to guide him. She was leading him to her, and to her light. She lit the path to her, and the path inside him.

I ran dodging fallen trees, and bushes. What was I running from? I did not know, but I knew I was too scared to stop running. Finally, exasperated from loss of breath, I turned around. There was nothing there… Another thought occurred to me, where was I? I looked around; I was in a jungle, with birds, and many trees.

I slowly walked back the way I came, this time hopping over fallen trees instead of jumping over them. I was tired from all the running, and trying to remember. I walked for at least an hour until I got to the shore. Does this mean I am on an island? My mind was still not clear as to what I was doing here. I searched my mind while walking around the land I did not know; I went all along the shore until I came back to the same spot I had started on before. I was on an island! To make matters worse, something was chasing me, and I did not know what. I did not know what I was doing here. In addition, I had not seen any signs of civilization at all.

I heard a growling sound. I looked up at the sky and I saw a flying leopard… Was I delusional? I looked down at the ground and blinked, but when I looked up it was still there. It started to land on the shore, but I ran away before it got the chance to land. I ran back through the woods again-I had now gone through that same spot three times-and hid behind a tree. I watched the leopard land and seven little plastic army men jumped out of the leopard. Okay, now I know I am delusional. The little army started to run into the forest, one of them saw me, so I ran away. Apparently, not fast enough, because one of them jumped on me.

I thought it was all over. I was done for. Instead of attacking me, the army man called his friends and they all came. Three of them held me down, while the rest looked at me. Slowly the army men began to change into real people. What was going on? The leopard began to change into a helicopter. I felt myself float above the ground, and slowly, but surely, I began to hear voices. They assured me that I would be all right. All right from what? I did not know.

Ten days later, I was well on the way to recovery. They had found me unconscious on an uncharted island. I was the only survivor of a plane crash, the doctors had said that before the plane hit the ground I had found a parachute and jumped out of the plane. The heat and blast of the plane hitting the ground had catapulted me to the opposite side of the island, than where the plane crashed. The weird thing is that after I hit the ground, I was unconscious the whole time until they found me, so they say. They all assumed it was brain trauma, and nothing else, everything I had seen had never happened according to them. I still remember all the memories of being on the island, and walking around on the island. After I was out of the hospital, I found out that they were making plans to chart the island. Yours truly asked if I could help. It took me about a week to chart the island, and I never even went on the island again to do it. I used my memories, and when some scientists went to the island, my map was 100% accurate.