Childhood Dreams

Charlie and I were BEST friends. We'd run around in the park, dance in the rain and cuddle up near the firewood when we got cold. Life was like a dream. A rollercoaster that never went upside down.

"Time for dinner!" Charlie's mom would exclaim. We'd scamper downstairs like racoons and gobble down anything his mom gave us. "Slow down! You ate an hour ago Sally!" she'd say to me. I wouldn't. Because Charlie wouldn't either. And whatever Charlie does, goes and wears is the same as me. We were like peanut butter and jelly. Until one day. Everything changed.

"Sally! Sally!" Charlie was screaming at me. Tears trickled down his cheeks. I was SO confused. He never cries. This meant that something REALLY bad had happened. "What is it?" I ran out onto the front porch. "My dad got fired and my mom is sick. We have to move to another city!" it was as if my heart stopped beating. "I...I don't understand!" Charlie ran towards me and gave me a tight hug. "You don't have to." Charlie and I sat down on the steps. "We don't have to lose each other. We both have each of our phone numbers right?" I nodded. "See? You don't have to feel that sad!" he held my hand slowly and softly. My heart raced. I thought I had heart disease for a second. But it wasn't that. It was a feeling. A feeling where butterflies live in your belly. I didn't know what it meant at the time. So I excused myself and said that I felt sick. But I wasn't. Everyone has that feeling. I just didn't know how to react to it.

"Oh-OK. I'll see you...soon." I felt like I'd stabbed him in the back. I'd just slammed my front door on him when he was at his worst.

The next thing I knew, Charlie's house was empty. And a few years later, a nice couple moved in. At the time, I was in high school. "Wow. Starting a whole new third of my life. What a wild turn." I said while I packed my bags for school. My mom had given birth to a little boy five months ago, so every time I got back from school, I'd have to babysit him. He was a HUGE pain but also a blessing. At least I had a friend to play with! I was a BIG introvert at school, so thank GOD he's alive.

The school bell rang. Time to go inside. "Welcome back! I'm SO glad to have you all here! As you see, your homeroom will be class 10B. You have the choice to select your other classes but choose wisely. What you choose is what you'll be doing for the rest of the YEAR." I selected Drama, Choir and Fine Arts. I love painting and most of all, painting my past. But sometimes, my vision of the past isn't so clear. Probably because...

1. It was a REALLY sad moment and I REALLY didn't want to remember it.
2. Or that it was a VERY, VERY, VERY long time ago.

I came back home from school pretty early. I didn't want to be in contact with anyone, especially bad influencers. "How was school baby?" mom asked on the phone. "Normal. It's not like anything fun happened today." I immediately hung up and collapsed onto my bed. I felt like something was missing in my life. But I didn't know what it was.

The next day was the same. I'd go to school and come back home without saying a word. My baby brother would always giggle when I came back, but when I ignore him he'd cry my ears out.

In November, one of my teachers said that there was going to be an art contest and the winner would not only get $700 but would also get a trip to NYC! I was practically flying! In my brain. If you saw me on the outside, you'd think my dog died or something.

The next few weeks leading into December, I worked my butt off making multiple pieces and asking my parents and my baby brother to choose one. "OK, the last 2 pieces. Pick wisely because if you don't, I might lose a trip to my DREAM city!" I yelled. My parents looked back and forth between the pieces. One was a painting of a lonely boat on a vast ocean and the other was a little bird in the middle of a storm. Both pictures felt like...well...you might be confused by this but they felt like me. Like the situation, I'm in. But the only problem is that the sea is bottomless and the storm had no beginning as if...the pain would never stop. In the end, my mom and my baby brother chose the boat in the ocean and my father still couldn't decide. So we agreed on the lost boat.

The next day was a rush. I had no time to think. It was the dress rehearsal for our Christmas play, it was also the last day to practice the song we were learning in the choir (Noel), and it ALSO doubled as my math test and also the day to turn in our art pieces. I was never this busy in my ENTIRE life. And for some unknown reason, it felt good!

Judgement day. Everyone was shivering. Including me. Not from the cold, but from the suspense...

"Honorable awards go to Ethan Gray who made the art piece 'Lost in my own loss' Maria Stephens who made the art piece 'Happy and you don't know it, clap your hands' and Clara Tanner who made 'Everyone is their own superhero'. OK. Now it's time for the 3 people who'll be winning some cash. Serina Stocks who made 'Puppy guarding' Rolanda Sauddie for 2nd place made 'Fragile rocks' and first place goes to... " Please be me, I thought "...Sally Franks who made 'lost in a bottomless sea'. " the smile that was placed on my face could stretch from America to China! "Come and grab your cash prize!" I walked slowly onto the stage and grabbed the money. The $700. What on Earth am I going to do with this money? "We'll pay for the taxi, EVERYTHING, that you'll need to go to New York. There are some attractions that I'd really want you to see. Like for example, the Statue of Liberty and so on, so forth." one of the teachers say. I was jumping like crazy!

Once we got there, I decided to stroll down the streets to look for anyone who would like to buy some of the little paintings I made. I walked for hours and hours...I was SURE about to give up. Until I noticed a very familiar face. The face that I last saw many years ago. The one that I held hands with and butterflies swarmed around in my belly. "Sally! Sally!" those words. That voice. Charlie. I ran towards him as fast as I had ever run in a long while. "I missed you so much!" we both teared up. "How is it? How was it? When you lived without me." Charlie asked. "I can't really explain it. All I can say is that with you, I feel like the BEST person on earth." I responded. "Same." He held my hands. My heart raced. But I didn't feel sick. I felt happy. I felt the feeling that I was missing this entire time.