Smiling Souls Under the Sun

They call your complex name which they have stumbled upon their lips and practiced many times in the last four years. They were now familiar with it, for they knew your story. An morally innocent child that was eager to bestow grace and innocence to people that had it sucked out of them. What a wonder it would be to gain such a strong bond then let it rip apart many times when it’s time to fare farewell. Nonetheless, you smile, knowing that this day would be a day that you would remember explicitly.

You make your way onto the stage which has been invaded viciously by enormous and gorgeous lights scalding your eyes; those same eyes that have blessed and fortuitously questioned your mind for the past 18 years. “Layla Lodi,” your principal says proudly to you as you receive your diploma. Something that you have been yearning eagerly for.

You smile, thank her, and slip down to the rest of the paralians that you have been raised with without your say in it. “It all worked out, for these people know your weaknesses and your strengths. You couldn’t have chosen better friends if you wanted to yourself,” you think to yourself, not being able to stop smiling.

As you sit down onto your seat, three other kids lean towards you. Immediately the formal and accomplished mood evaporates as you start to murmur childishly with them. 

“We have to get going now, for there are approximately one hour and thirty-three minutes left for this ceremony. If we want to get back in time to say our final speeches, then we have to leave now. The principal advised us to get back by 5:30. It is now 4:35 if you guys don’t know yourself,” Sharma Comar said.

“Oh please, like we didn’t want to leave already. Not to be rude but this part of the graduation is very boring,” Venetia Danesi, whispered, yawning as if the stars depended on it. And there weren’t any stars today, however, because for the first time, it wasn’t dark and dull like the weather suspected it was going to be.

“Well, I’m up. It’s unfortunate that you all are wasting your time planning. Let’s just go. We have the basic rules down; let’s do it,” Salim Ayim, stated, with a huge grin. He started to stand up and leave the seating arrangement.

You start to follow him knowing that all of them are right. It was a very boring part, and the principal knew this, so this is why she allowed us to go do our “diabolical” scheme. No one other than yourself and your friends knew what it was going to consist of which contributed to its importance. You needed to get going to activate it. Your friends started following Salim to the place where it was all going to occur: the top of the highest tower of the high school which stood above the field where the graduation was taking place.

And, so your journey began.

☼ ☼ ☼

You stumble above the stairs leading to a place where usually only eagles could soar. How precious are they to soar above all unknown and not know of it. How you and other humans have to scavenge and build to reach heights privileged enough to explore- see the unknown. You realize that you are just as privileged. You can scavenge and build intricate things to investigate. You can’t breathe underwater and you can’t fly either, yet human beings and yourself have the capacity and the trust that you will do all that you can to explore the unknown- using your mind.

You look outside the window above the ceremony in which the echoes of the familiar voice that you will probably not remember in a couple of years ring out. “Very intricate and mysterious if I say so myself,” Venetia whispers with her strong deep voice.

You looked out the window once again and thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been. It was always dark and sullen, and it was supposed to stay that way. Today was supposed to be the brightest day out of the week but still very dark for others. But instead, today shone a radiant light. What treasures can be bestowed to you today? Could this day get any more special and exciting?

You look around and find book bags that you and your friends had placed. “I remember when we were in middle school. If feels as if it was only a couple of days ago!”

Salim smiled his huge smile and replied, “Oh, it feels so weird. Knowing that we are graduating at this very moment.”

Sharma sighed and stated, “It’s still a mystery on how we managed to survive taken that we did so many things that are usually frowned upon.”

“I love this. We still have our wits even if it seems as if we don’t. We’re smart and strong enough to not do something utterly ridiculous,” Salim replied, rolling his eyes with a gleeful smirk.

Before the boys started bickering playfully again, Venetia whispered smoothly, “Stop. Besides this will be our last prank together in high school.”

You all start to smile at each other and then, as if that was a sudden motivation, you and the others get on top of the plan. In the array of school bags are layers and layers of confetti. Of course, you and your friends bought biodegradable confetti because our pranks are not only for the well-being of humans but for the Earth as well.

You say, “Okay, remember what and who we are doing this for. This confetti and the other surprises are going to have to be initiated soon.” You wink at them as they smile, understanding all that you think.

After a couple of minutes of tweaking and each of us being a jayus, we retreat back to our seats. The other students stare at us as we come back panting from the long walk through the many corridors, but there is also a sense of excitement imprinted onto their faces. How lovely was it for you and your friends to have them have subtle laugh and smile lines from the multitude of things you were a part of. Making people’s days and doing it for a good reason, too.

The principal just finished one of his long speeches and as he turned to look at the audience, he caught you and your friends’ eyes. He nodded promptly and motioned for us to come onto the stage. Now was the chance to make the last imprint of your group’s statement now. To make them realize that happiness can be eternal and that they can choose whether or not you let minor flaws define you.

You think about all the lessons that you and your friends have tried to explain in thirteen years. Many of which you spent with these beautiful souls. Just because you compliment or say something positive about someone doesn’t mean that they are now that. It signals and means that you have acknowledged that trait, but it was always there. You want to change the world and make people happier, and you do so by composing wholesome pranks that leave people engaged and smiling. If Sharma, Venetia, Salim, and you can urge and inspire people to live just one more day to find out what we are planning and doing next, then that is enough.

The only thing is that this prank isn’t about us. This prank isn’t something that only we are going to initiate. This is a prank that will involve everything as a memorable salute to the school and to our faculty.

Venetia goes up to the front of the podium first and starts speaking in her brilliant clear, precise voice. She talks about how much school has impacted her and everyones’ lives and how she’s amazed with the universe. How the secrets lock themselves far from our twinkling eyes and eager ears. Away from our mind that can’t even begin to comprehend all the information. But how we urge ourselves to try to learn information. About our motivation and how she hopes that we will keep that spark in our blood.

Sharma is next. He speaks about cold nights and how we circumvent them. On how people need protection. On how we all need protection. How we wear big sweaters to try to protect our bodies. Whether we know it or not, it is that we care about ourselves. We care for us, for that is why we deal with flushed cheeks and how we try to protect ourselves. How we care for our friends and how they are a blessed gift and living being on their own.

Salim is the next one. Speeches on wonder of how we will make promises all through their life. How we are going to attempt to explore the world that we didn’t even begin to experience in just our school years but fail to. How we have adventures and journeys all on our own, and how we promise to contribute. Try to save the world, but if not, then at least we can save one person; and that person can always be yourself.

You realize that it is now your turn. Your turn to say some of the last words to your class. You start to say how the world has so much to give. How you and everyone should have faith in humanity, and how you should be the reason someone starts to have faith in humanity themselves. How we need to treasure the soft scents, for you could never smell that ever again. How smiles help the world. How writing and soft treasured parts of your soul are enough to help someone. Enough to make someone smile and therefore inspire someone else. It’s a continuous cycle that can start to make the world a better place. You soon realize you are done before you know it.

You look around and then at your friends. You nod at them and Salim presses a button on a remote. Confetti, ping pong balls, and pieces of paper fly out of nowhere. You smile thinking that only you and your friends know truly where the items fell out of the sky. You also smile knowing that you and your friends had everyone in our class write what they regretted, loved, and hoped for anonymously at the beginning of high school and that they were only being released now. How the pieces of paper had envelopes with each of the many student’s names written on them. We had stayed up for two whole weeks this year and two whole weeks at the end of our freshman year to write an unique letter together to a specific student, and if it all went according to plan, they will reach it now with the help of passing it down to each other.

Shrieks, laughter, and applause started. Luckily they got a hold of what each of the items were meant to be and set out to get them. After a while, it was all good, surprisingly.

You look at your friends, and on the count of three, you start to initiate your final gift. You all yell, “The Class of ____!” and then on cue, one of the curtains on the west building not that far from the field unleashes and falls down, plummeting. Behind the curtains is a poster that has all of the faculty’s faces and names. Their faces beam on the poster and on their bodies right behind you. You were part of the group that made people smile. That’s all that matters.

And, so, without any warning, that was the end of our and your high school career.

☼ ☼ ☼

Ten years later, you step into the high school hall. The reunion has started. You look around to see if your friends are still following you. It was strange. How time can impact all and question our minds. Venetia and Sharma follow you, hand in hand. Salim follows behind smirking hard, but then he sees your smiling face and goes to hold your hand as well.

You and your friends go out into the field where we had some of our last memories. You are glad to see that everyone from high school is there and smiling. Smiling genuinely and beautifully.

Once you walk out with your group, confetti, ping pong balls, and paper strips fly out of nowhere. You gasp happily. For many reasons. Because they took the time to do this, because they remembered us, and that they were smiling. Also because they think only they know where they had placed the items first. They think that it is different from where we first put it, but you, after all, did it. You’ve been there before, and you start realizing how much you missed them. Missed this.

And, so that is where the tale ends. The town had always been dark. Those ten years after that graduation were, oh so, dull but our spirit was bright, but there was nothing that could get the clouds to remove themselves. You have nothing against the clouds. They are trying to do their best, but sometimes, you realize, the sun has to have its time to shine as well. The weather forecast stated that this day would be dark and glum again, but you looked out into the sky which we are all allowed to breathe and live under and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been as the sun shone down beautiful and vibrantly onto the smiling souls of our class. You couldn’t be prouder and happier.