Post by Dom on Mar 2, 2014 18:21:51 GMT -5
f i s h i n g
f o r
S c a r l e t t
People are always telling me that I was crazy. I wasn't. Believe me; if I was crazy then, I wouldn't be alive to tell my story now. Sure, maybe there was a sprinkle of chaos in me, but every teenager has that in them. So my argument is valid: I was not crazy during the summer of 2011.
My heart still aches for her to this day, but back then, it beated for her all the time. She dominated my life, and I loved it. Every passing moment was rapture. Sunshine flowed through the trees, ruffled by a slight wind every day. We went down by the waters of the Dock to fish. That was her favorite thing to do with me - go down and fish at the pond until our arms got tired of holding our rods. We collected buckets and buckets full of various fish. During that summer, I think we'd collectively caught seventeen devil rays! After our seaside day, we'd run over to the Brrrgh for a hot chocolate and unwind. I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and see her again. She was everything. I swore to myself I couldn't live without her.
I used to hate when she said, "Good things don't last, Charlie." I knew she was right, of course, but I still didn't like it. I'm over it now - when you hear those words, you realize that you have to tell people you love them while you still can, because they won't be in your life forever.
I remember this one June day when we were on our way to the Dock. We'd spotted a baby bird on the side of the street, where it was chirping wildly. "Looks like it's broken its wing," I had commented, shielding my eyes from the summer sun.
Her face was resolute as she turned to me. "We have to help it, Charlie. We can't just leave it here!" She picked up the bird with her cupped hands and looked around. "This street's really busy," she pointed out.
"I know, I know," I said, fishing my phone out of my pocket and calling Dinah. "Hey, Dinah. Scarlett and I found an injured bird on Barnacle Boulevard. Are you nearby?" I noticed Scarlett's eyes pierce into mine. "What?" I mouthed to her, getting a confusing response. "Oh, so you're near here? Great!" Scarlett wildly shook her head, so I backpedaled. "Uh, no, nevermind. We... don't need you to come by?" Now she nodded and smiled, so I said, "Uh, yeah. We don't need you to come. Wait, what? No, that's not necessary. No. Please don't--"
"Is she coming?" Scarlett asked, annoyed. She placed the bird down gently onto the grass.
"Uh... yeah. She told me she knew you were telling me to say no, so she's picking the bird up now," I answered, sympathetically shrugging my shoulders. "Besides, what did you want me to do? I can't understand your weird gestures."
"I don't make weird gestures!" she objected, circling her arms around. I grinned at her and she pouted. "Okay, fine. I make abnormal gestures..."
"Weird gestures," I interrupted, taking a sip of my coffee.
"...so what?" She took my coffee mid-sip and dumped it on the ground. "It's not like they bother you or anything." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Do they?"
I knew that she was testing me. "Course not," I replied, smiling for good measure. "But I don't think that was necessary." I pointed to my coffee, now watering the grass on the side of Barnacle Boulevard.
"I'll buy you another," she grumbled, picking the bird up from the ground again. Scarlett sighed. "I'm naming him Sniffy. He looks snotty."
I laughed, then pulled her to my side. "What do you mean, snotty?"
"I mean, he looks like he knows that he's freakin' amazing and he's proud of it." Scarlett smiled up at me. "Y'know, Sniffy's my new best friend. Now you're just a third wheel."
"Good to know," I said. I leaned in, but a car honked behind me. "Yep, there's Dinah. Right on time." Scarlett laughed and left my side to talk to her friend. I stood there for a while, feeling the warm sun on my face, and then turned. "You know, we're gonna miss prime fishing time, Scar."
"Yeah, you're right," she replied, scrunching up her nose. "Fine. Take care of Sniffy, Dinah, okay? Bye!"
The car screeched away and Scarlett rejoined me. We continued down Barnacle Boulevard, hand in hand. "You know, Charlie," she said, looking around her, "I'm glad we found Sniffy. He might not've made it if we didn't." She ran ahead to the playground tunnel, leaving me behind.
Puzzled, I began to speak. But there's moments to talk and moments to just let things go. Then was one of those times. I closed my mouth and began to run, smirking. That smirk soon turned into a grin. And soon, I was left out of breath, letting in the fresh aroma of the sea.
And I felt... alive.
