I’d never think that time would run away from me this quickly. Now it seems that summer is slipping out of my hand, like sand in a sieve. I graduated high school a while back, and it was such a wild dream. Honestly, the experiences I’ve had felt far too surreal to actually be a part of reality.
There was the time we dived through the sprinklers to stay cool in the heat.
And another when we pulled the battered, blue table away from the warm rain to celebrate my birthday.
I think there was a half-eaten baguette on the floor somewhere in that timeline.
My childhood is reaching the final stop. Once steaming ahead with a sugar-fueled fervor, it’s slowing down now. Final destination: college. Here’s what I’ll miss the most.
The Freeway
The scene from that movie still flickered dimly in my mind’s eye. Vampires bared their fangs, and I had trouble distinguishing realities.
It is a warm summer’s night. I kick the blankets off to feel some relief from the heat hanging in the room. Nothing. The warmth clings to my skin, closer than ever now. My eyes struggle to stay closed.
Finally, I quietly sit up. 12:23 A.M. I would have to wake up in a few hours, and it seems more impossible as the short hand of the clock kept inching around its circumference.
I lied back down, hoping that this would be the point at which dreams came. Behind your eyelids, though, is just more of the dark. Only this time, imagination illuminates the space. Being half-asleep and very afraid, only gives it permission to draw out all your horrors.
Scenarios of me dying rushed through my mind. I clutched my pillow. There is another sound somewhere. More tension in my arms. My breathing hastens. It is a buzzing.
I realize then that I’d had been listening to the freeway all this time. I live within walking distance of it. The cars had been buzzing through it. Desperate from my own mind, I let my mind draw it out.
There was the picture of an orange, etched into the side and illuminated by the dim lamp.
And there were In-and-Out bags skirting the ground.
I think I fell asleep then.
I would listen to the freeway whenever I turned in my sleep. It was like a dampener on my thoughts, and it helped me drift away.
So farewell to that. I’ll miss you, but I’ll remember your sounds and the images that have stuck to my mind.
No Game Is Over 