July 25, 2000

I am obligated to tell this dream because it Is a reoccurring process and it has been carved in my head like a knife on soft pine.

The day was July 25, 2000. My fifth birthday had passed four days prior and I was jubilant. I had visited my mother in the hospital a few days ago and she was feeling good.

She was staying in room 320. She had been hospitalized for a while. She had been living in a solo room. There were no other beds in the room so we stood by her side.

I had just been inducted into a summer Day-Camp. It was fun and my camp counselor was a very nice man. I had been traveling home in a bus to drop us off at the corner of our street. I had ridden in the exact middle left seat. My sister Ashley sat directly behind me and my bigger sister Lindsey sat with her, taking the isle side of the seat. We were talking to our friend Mark who had showed us his fingers, where two of his nails had been gone and all that was left was the soft skin beneath.

We got off the bus as it stopped at our corner. I went out first followed by Lindsey then Ashley.

We walked down the street together in slight joy. I walked closest to the curb because there was a tree that hung especially far into the street and I enjoyed the momentary shade.

We walked by two rose bushes. They had just began to bloom in welcome to the warm weather. They were late in the season to start blooming then but they were young plants and they had just reached their pinnacle.

My sister Lindsey stood between me and Ashley, just three feet away from me. She was the only one of us who did not have blue eyes. Her's were a light brown color. My little brother was at a junior school because he was still too young to go to camp. My sister Ashley walked closest to the middle of the street. She was wearing the camp T-Shirt that day and she had forgotten to brush her hair.

We walked by our closest neighbor Barry's house and looked over to his motorcycle. We passed by it almost every day but it symbolized almost a sense of adventure in each of our eyes. It was a sleek red, it was a Harley Davidson motorcycle and it was an object we marveled at each day. We almost sought to give credit to the creator of such handiwork once.

As we reached the driveway I looked at the sky. There were very few clouds up there and I remarked on how blue it was. The driveway was long and covered in gravel that used to always get in my shoes. There were two cars in the driveway. One was a navy blue Chrysler Convertible and the other was a purple Plymouth MiniVan. There was also a lamppost on the side of the driveway. Not one that the public controls but an old fashioned one that was turned on and off through the house.

I walked up the path to my front door first and brushed my hands against the bushes that led the way in front of my house. I approached the front screen door. The main door behind it was open. I assumed it was to let the air flow in and out through the screen door that I now went up to. The screen door had a metal spring on it that closed the door behind you of you didn't press a button first.

I opened the door and went inside. The first thing I saw was my dad on one of the couches in the living room. He had his hands covering his face. There were two couches and a large chair in the living room. All were covered in horrid designs. I looked at him, my interest peaked and braced myself as I heard nine words that made my heart skip a couple of beats.

"Sit down I have something important to tell you."

That was all it took and I was instantly scared. I head over to the chair. It had a hideous array of a flower design on it. I nearly had to jump on top to reach it. I used to be a short kid before I grew. My sisters both sat on opposite sides of the disgusting navy blue and white plaid couch. My sisters had never gotten along well.

I waited in the chair for what seemed like forever but was really just around four minutes. I leaned slightly forward as my father finally started to uncover his face and wipe away the years that had formed. Then he said in a quivery voice five words that changed my life forever.

"Your mother died this morning"

That's all I heard. After that I was told that he said more but I was too shocked to listen to that part. I was told that the rest went."The last time I saw her the last words she told me were 'I love you' And I should be the happiest man in the world." but I had not heard that myself and I cannot personally verify that that had happened.

After hearing those words I looked up toward god and tried to talk to him. My first thought was.
"This is what you give me for my birthday?"

And that is when I wake up.