Somewhere Only We Know

Walking home late at night gets very eerie when you are exhausted. I was walking back through the woods to get back to the house. The woods I trust more than the road. The woods tells me if there are anyone out there, the slightest touch or noise echoes so loudly throguh out the entire forest, comparing to the streets. You can't hear a thing because of the sounds of traffic from affar or even just on the road. I finally, got back safe and sound, climbed back up into the room as quietly as possible and fell straight onto the bed....

"Cat, come on, this way!" The little boy leads her into a small tunnel beside a large rusted; green dumbster in an alley. They wait until the police sirens had left. They giggle in hysterics.

"I can't believe it, you actually stole the candy from Mr. Evergear." he said with amazement.

"I told you, I'm not scared. Besides, you dared me." she smiled as she brought her hand out that was filled with delious treats wrapped in colorful wrappings. They both shared and ate their reward. After, they crawled out of the small space which opens into the alley.

"Ah ha! Got you two!" In between the two kids was the police officer grasping them both by the scuff of their necks. The boy squirmed and put up a fight to get out of the cop's clutches. The officer dragged both of them inot the cruiser, flashing red and blue lights.

They drove up the driveway of a white house with green shutters. The police officer escorted the young girl with dirty clothes to the front door and left the boy in the car. She looked back at him sitting and staring at her throught the window with worry in his eyes. She turned back to the front door that was staring at her.

The police officer rings the doorbell and an older women answered it.

"Caddisy?" an elderly woman questioned.

"Hi, Nana," the little girl replied shyly, not daring to stare up at her.

"I found her Downtown witht the other troublemaker," the officer said. The little girl took a peak over at her friend in the car, and the woman caught that and she looked over too. She squinted her eyes in a dsowned look. She looked back at the officer and smiled politly.

"Thank you so much, Hank."

"Not a problem, Aggie." he said. He grasped the girl's shoulders and lightly turned her around to face him. "Listen here, young lady. I don't want you stealing or causing anymore trouble, you understand? Now, this is a warning; because I know your parents and grandmother raised you better than that. Your friend knows better too, he's been caught before and he knows the consquences." He said that while turning to stare at the boy in the backseat that was witnessing the scene on the front step. The officer leaned his body back up and said, "Good day to the both of you."

"Thank you again." The older woman yelled out. He waved in reply.

Both, the old and young ladies walked into the house and into the living room and sat on the white leather sofa. THe house was very open although it was surrounded by woods. The entire wall that leads to the large balcony was a giant window which brightens the living area.

"What is going on, Caddisy?" the older woman asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You coming home in a police cruiser is certainly not nothing. What did you do?" she asked.

"Me and Ian--"

"Ian and I" The woman corrected.

"Ian and I," she puts more emphasis on the "I", "were just playing around thats all."

"The officer said you stole something? Caddisy! What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing!" she tried to explain.

"It's that boy you hang out with. He's a bad influence on you. I don't want you spending your play time with him anymore. Do you understand me, Caddisy? No more!"

"But, Nana, he's my best friend!" she yelled back.

"I don't care. I won't have my granddaughter become a thief in my home."

"This is Mom and Dad's home!" she yelled at her, with her blood boiling. She stomped her way out of the living room and up the stairs to her bedroom.

The girl's room was prettly bland for a child her age. Most little girls would have had a pink room with a princess castle in every corner. She dispises the color pink, so her's was an average size room with dull lime green colored walls surrounding her. She jumped and lay down flat on her bed thinking about what Nana had said and her mind wandered. She pulled to her head a pillow that she stole from her parents old room. It still smelled of her mothers scent of vanilla, after the two years sense they have died in a car accident on their way to a convention her father was attending.

No one has really been there for her sense the passing of her parents, except for Ian. The only one she would speak to sense the event. At her age she was too young to understand, but shockingly she understood perfectly that her parents were never coming back, and at that she felt her world had crashed. But when he came to visit, he some how always took away her pain.

As she thought about him. She sat up from her bed and wondered what he was doing right now, and if he was okay from what happened early. She looked from her window to the door entrance of her room. She listened to check on the movements of her grandmother. She heard nothing. Quietly, she climbed out of her bedroom window and carefully pounced onto the nearest tree branch and climbed her way down onto the soft spring grass. She looked up from to her window and looked around the house to make sure the coast was clear.

She dashed across her backyard and ran through the woods to find herself near Ian and his Uncle's cottage. No lights were on, to show sign of any life in the house. She figured they must be asleep. She went around to find the boy' s bedroom window and whispered loud, "Ian!". Nothing happened. "Ian, it's me!" She tried again, but no movement or sound to show he heard her. She went back around to the front door and tried knocking lightly to not try to wake up his Uncle. She knew something was not right, he should have heard her, he's always hears her. He can always hear the lightest sound that sometimes she can't hear, in which she could never understand. She peaked inside the bowe window that connects to the livingroom near the door. The darkened place was lightly lit by the light of the moon, and from what she can see...the place was empty!

"No!" she whispered loudly. She was in shock. She was scared, angry, sad, every emotion that she could not explain to herself. She was not aware that they were moving. Everything in the cottage was gone; the large burnt red sofa that they both always rested on and watched TV. Even the television was gone as well as his Uncle's worn down recliner that always remains as his chair only.

She walked away, horrified, she lost her family and now her best friend. She felt alone, completely alone. Her grandmother wouldn't understand her problems like her friend would.

She was now walking into the beginning of the end...

I woke up with tears running down my face. Why am I thinking of all these memories now? This is not what I want to remember. This is something I never wanted to feel again. I shook my head from the thought and got ready for work.

Today, I was opening and then go home around dinner time. I walked in through the backway again, I was the first one there besides Uncle Buck and Paul. The only one I saw was, of course, was Buck. He was again chopping away at the veggies and different kinds of cheeses. The smell o fthe dairy entices me and what came in my line of view was the perfectly amount of shredded mozzarella. I snuck quietly behind Buck and stretched out my hand to grab some, as soon as my hand hovered over the pile of cheese, I felt a quick sting the the back of my hand and retracted it back.

"Ow," I said. It didn't really hurt but I was just shocked he did that. I couldn't help but be amused by his action, "What was that for?"

"You didn't wash your hands. That is fresh cheese and I don't want you poisioning my customers." he smiled over his shoulder at me.

I walked around him and grabbed an extra stool over to the counter, sitting next to him. "How did you even know it was me?" I asked curiously.

"Sweetheart, I've been here for a long time. You have to do much better to sneak up on me." He smiled without looking up at me. He kept his focus on his chopping. Suddenly, his sile disappeared from his face. "What's the matter, doll?" He still never seize to amaze me on knowing how I feel without actually reading any type of facial expression.

"Nothing is wrong." I lied, and I knew he could tell.

"Okay, fine, I'm not going to pressure you into something you don't want to do. You know you can tell me anything, if you need to talk. Besides, it's not good for you to bottle it up," he looked over at me and lifted his hands; as if in defeat. "Just saying."

"Well..." I gave in, " okay, there is this old childhood friend that I haven't seen in over ten years and he just moved back in town and--"

"A boy, huh?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes a boy," after all of what I said, that's the only thing he gets out of it? "Anyway, ever sense he came back I've been starting to have these dreams, although they are more like memories or flashbacks; about us and all the stuff we used to do." I continued on to explaining on my dreams and how that he had moved away at a horrible time in my life--without giving too much details. " And now I can't stop thinking about him and it makes me so mad becasue he left me alone all those years ago without telling. I mean it hurt me, he hurt me really bad. He just left without any explaination, no note, no nothing and--" I could feel my anger rising and I knew I needed to calm down, I didn't want to hurt Buck, he's innocent.

"Sweetheart, I understand perfectly what you are feeling. I've been around that block a few times," he smiled lightly. "If you want this old man's advise...don't fight your feelings against him. This anger that you have against him, it only shows how much care about him, trust me I can tell. Just let it go, and try to see his side of the story first before you start accusing him first. Who knows, maybe he didn't have a say in leaving you. FInd out, then decide if you want to be truly angery with him."

I understood what he was saying and he was right. I was getting ahead of myself and started to blame him for my pain no matter how he was part of it, if he only knew what had happened after he left how my life turned around.

I looked over at Buck, "Thanks Uncle Buck. I appreciate your advise, I definetly will try it." I grinned slightly to show some affection.

I told him I had to get ready for my shift, when he yelled out, "Hey, you should bring that boy around here, I would like to meet. Make sure he is worthy of you." he smiled at that. I couldn't help but give him a side grin, I knew he would probably give Ian a hard time.

I walked away, thinking when will the next time I see Ian again.