I giggled heartily at the absurd nickname he had made up for himself, and tried feeble to release the basketball from his firm, determined grasp. Feigning defeat, I sunk down to the ground, bowing to the graveled driveway as if it were a God of some sort. I needn't even say anything; Taylor could read my thoughts practically as well (and sometimes even better) than me. Though we didn't express it in any physical or emotional way, Taylor and I both knew that we were dreading the day when I would be moving to Kentucky for the benefit of my mom's job. She worked for social security and the firm was moving to a new location, much to the strong dislikes of all the employees.
Taylor's red, sweaty face soon lost all signs of happiness, and soaked up misery and sadness. Though he and I were only twelve, we were very good at expression our emotions, for we'd had a good amount of experience at it. Seeing Taylor in such depression made my heart sink in unison with his. At a brief loss of words, I slowly trudged over to where Taylor stood, stiffly upright, staring up at the blue, cloudless sky that promised only happiness and optimism. I put a comforting hand on his trembling shoulder, trying to cease his troubled thoughts. He turned to face me and the creases on his forehead deepened. "Alana, why do we have to be separated again?" He looked searchingly into my eyes, as if to find a satisfying answer right then and there.
I shook my head gravely, not wanting to upset the poor boy any further. "I don't know, Taylor." We both stood there for a few intoxicating moments, waiting for a courageous soul to speak the comforting words that were needed so badly right then. I finally stepped away from Taylor and, brushing a few loose strands of my hair from my expressionless face, stared up at the sky as Tay had done before, hoping for a silent answer. I saw a few blackbirds fly aimlessly across the sky, making their desired route as they went along. I sighed, wishing I could be like that. 'Free as a bird', I chanted in my mind, wondering if my life could ever be like that. When I finally found the courage to look back at Tay, he was blinking rapidly. It then dawned on me that he was trying to fight back the salty, unshed tears that were soon to come. To me, the worst situation ever is when your best friend and soulmate is about to cry right in front of your very eyes. Finding no words to soothe his troubled mind, I just stood there, occasionally giving Taylor a much-needed pat on the back, as he stood in the middle of his driveway, tears now flowing freely down his tanned, unusually sullen face.
When his little emotional outburst had concluded, Taylor turned to face me, his skin tear-stained and raw. "Alana, why is this so hard for me? Last time it was me who was leaving, and you seemed to cope just fine with that. But this time, you're leaving me, possibly for good, and I can't handle it." He once again stared up at the shining sky, mumbling a quiet prayer under his breath.
"Actually, I didn't cope with it fine, Taylor," I finally admitted, each word making its way out of my mouth like a needle, striking my throat and heart with all its might. I took a deep breath to steady my racing pulse. I could feel the blood pulsating through my veins at an unusually high speed. "I never did make very many friends at school, because you guys were always here for me to hang out with. When you guys left for South America, I had nobody. With my parents away all the time, I was bored out of my mind, not to mention unbelievably lonely," I finished, letting the last of my breath flow out of my mouth in a raspy whoosh.
Taylor looked at me once again, his hair covering the greater portion of his face. "I guess that's just the way it has to be. Life's just not fair," he stated, pulling me into a friendly embrace in the midst of the Hanson's driveway. For any pedestrian passing by, the scene in the driveway would just seem like two normal children enjoying a delightful, heartwarming hug on a warm summer day. Little did they know the real reason why we were clinging to each other like there was no tomorrow in the middle of Taylor's driveway.
I woke up the next morning, only to find my parents standing over my canopy bed, looks of utter surprise and concern on their pale and tiresome faces. I sat up with an unwanted start, smacking my head on the headboard of my bed in the process. "What's wrong?" I inquired in a raspy voice, trying to hide my impatient and anxious emotions.
"Honey, it's you," my mother replied. "You were tossing and turning and causing all sorts of ruckus to occur. You must have had quite a nightmare."
Then it dawned on me. The whole incident about moving to Kentucky and hugging Taylor in the middle of his driveway had been a dream. It had all been one, horrid dream. I glanced down at my pillow, which was soaked with my salty tears. I heaved a needed sigh of relief, and resumed my original position on the bed.
"Sorry, Mom. Dad. I'm okay," I answered, trying my best to sound confident and in control of the surprise situation.
"Are you sure, Al?" My father asked me, the creases in his furrowed brow not leaving his weary face.
"Yeah," I finally replied, regaining my optimistic attitude that had disappeared for a few short, alarming moments. "I'm sure." When I was positive that my parents had retreated back to their beds that were patiently awaiting their return, I picked up my pale blue phone that rested on my bedside table, and delicately punched in Taylor's beeper number. I needed to talk to him desperately…and soon.
Taylor picked up his phone identical to mine in a time span of about thirty seconds. "Alana?" he questioned groggily.
"Hey. How'd you guess?" I inquired in mock hurt and confusion.
"Let's think about this for a moment," was Taylor's reply. "What other girl that I know would call me at such an indecent hour of the morning?"
I stifled an inappropriate chuckle. Leave it to Taylor to think of a clever remark at three in the morning. "Sorry. I just had the strangest dream," I admitted, turning solemn once again.
"Oh?" was Taylor's inquiry, showing no signs of misconception.
"Yeah. I dreamt that we were playing basketball in your driveway. Then I brought up something about moving away to Kentucky for Mom's business. We both got all emotional, and you started crying. Then we hugged, right in the middle of your driveway, and the dream faded. When I woke up, both of my parents were hovered over me, because I had apparently been making a lot of noise in my sleep. I was like the narrator of my own dream or something. It was really wild," I whispered, trying hard not to awaken my parental units yet again.
"It sure sounds it," Tay agreed. "Well, thank you very much for waking me up from my much-needed rest to tell me about what goes on in that demented little mind of yours, but now I think—,"
I cut him off sharply. "Taylor, save your breath. I told you about my dream because, usually, when I have nightmares like that, they come true sometime in the near future." That fact was, believe it or not, proven to be true many a time.
"You know, I'd love to stay and chat about your wonderful psychic and telepathic powers or whatever, but I—,"
"Taylor!" I whispered harshly, putting in as much expression as I could into that word.
His weary sigh was load and clear, even on the other end of the phone line. "What?"
"This might be a warning or something. Like an omen, almost," I stated quietly, pronouncing every syllable carefully as it left my dry, chapped mouth. I realized how cuckoo it sounded, but I firmly held my ground on my strong beliefs.
Taylor didn't try to hide the yawn that escaped his tired mouth. "That's great. I'll see you tomorrow, Al," he concluded, clearly fed up with my behavior.
"Tay! Wait!" My exclamation was no longer a whisper, but a raspy tone that threatened rising. Click. Then endless buzzing of the annoying dial tone filled the phone line, and poured into my awaiting ears. Frustrated, I slammed the phone down and fell back onto the bed, heaving a discouraged sigh. In the pit of my stomach, my thoughts of what my future held for me lay. Giving up my ever so feeble attempt to sort out my dislodged thoughts, I gently shut my eyes and was once again enthralled in the deep ocean that my thoughts had made for me.
