Endless

I distinctly remember that time, because of the unique feeling I had. It was a weird blend of guilt, happiness, concern, sadness, and closeness that I have yet to encounter again. I remember walking through the door with a flushed face, sweeping the hair away from my eyes, and trying to keep my voice steady. My mind was a mess, yet I was rational. I wouldn't say it was a sign of maturity, but a sign of my inner strength. As I said, I can't exactly say I was purely happy, but that didn't stop me from smiling until the next day when I recovered a sense of normalcy. It was ordinary but my emotions were far from that.

"Endless"  

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Story Telling

I always wished I was a better story-teller. It's not that I'm awful at it, but my stories aren't the most captivating because they tend to become long-winded. And it's not that I don't have any to tell, either, because I like to think that I do.

Here's a story. Recently, I was at a bus stop alone, which is rare because I don't use public transportation often and I don't usually travel alone. But, there I was, returning to campus. On the bus, I pulled out my notebook from my backpack in an attempt to study. I get distracted often, especially around other people. There was a girl, perhaps a little older than me, sitting in the seat directly behind me. "What are you doing?" she asked, peering over the seat. "Studying," I replied. I smiled to be polite, as I often do. Maybe it looks forced. Nevertheless, she stood up quickly and asked if she could sit in the empty seat beside me. She introduced herself as Sandy. 

We chatted for a few minutes during our slow trudge through traffic. She asked me what I had planned for the evening. "Nothing really. Possibly a continuation of this studying..." I trailed off. I don't make good first impressions. Yet, she was grinning. "Get off on this next stop with me," she instructed. I tried not to look so shocked and agreed. What else did I have to do?

When we got off, I realized I wasn't familiar with the area. We must have been least a mile from campus. "Where are we going?" I finally asked. She looked at me and said, "I need your help. Can I trust you?" I nodded without thought, but then asked her why. "Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, BUT I swear it's true," she talked as she flipped her hair up and made a quick ponytail. "It started with this manuscript. I have a friend who is trying to get published; he's, like, brilliant. But his laptop was stolen." I liked her and her eclectic style, so I wanted to believe her. "Did he report it?" I asked. "No, because he's undocumented. He's not like, 'illegal,' he just kinda chose to extend his student visa without permission. Technically," she explained, smacking her gum. I felt complete sympathy for whatever reason. "Okay. You can trust me. So...um...where are we going?"

A few blocks down, we found ourselves in the alley behind a run-down used book store in Los Angeles. At this point, I wasn't sure what to think or even what I was doing. I looked at my phone; it was 6:15. I assumed I wouldn't be returning until much later. My friend and my roommates were texting me, and I lied, playing it off to my roommates that I stayed in the library to study. I was alone, waiting for Sandy to walk outside again. She opened the door, smiling. "Got it," she said satisfactorily. "What did you get?" I still had NO idea. She held up the little slip of paper; it had numbers on it. A phone number. 

"You see," Sandy explained, "when Rick's bag was stolen, his cell phone was also in the bag. And he had a tracking device on the cell phone." Okay...where was this story going? "Rick's been tracking the location of the cell phone. This ice cream shop was frequently showed up. Rick came here the other day, and asked if the store had an employee with black hair and a tribal tattoo on his forearm. That was all Rick saw when his bag was stolen. Sure enough, they did, and said his name was Paul."

"How did you get his phone number?" I asked incredulously. "I pretended I met him at a bar," she half-laughed. "Come on, we've got some breaking and entering to do."

We showed up at Paul's apartment building. Sandy and Rick had been able to find his exact address with his phone number, and were tracking his address with the cell phone minute by minute. I was impressed. We pretended we were residents, walked into the building, and pushed the elevator button for the fourth floor. "What are you doing? His apartment is 511," I said. "We can't look too suspicious," she said. We got out and she immediately dragged me to the stair way and closed the door. She pulled out a bunch of equipment including pliers, a screwdriver, paper clips, latex gloves, some paper and a pen, and her own cell phone. She called who I assumed was Rick. "We're in the building....mmhmm....update on lovely Paul's location?" she talked quickly and sarcastically. "Brilliant. Will call later. Bye." She hung up abruptly and scribbled something on a piece of paper and folded it in half. She handed me the gloves. "Ready?" she asked staring me in the eyes. "What? Why me? I'm going in?!" I stuttered. "Yes, you," she replied. "I can't get in trouble. You said I could trust you."

As you can probably guess, I agreed. I was told what to look for and instructed what to do. Then, Sandy gave me the cue. I ran up the stairs and opened the door into the fifth floor. I waited until the hallway was deserted and picked the lock. It's amazing how quickly that skill can be acquired. I felt the folded note on the messy bed. It took me awhile to locate the laptop bag, but finally I found it inside. I listened with paranoia and ran quickly out of the apartment, and shot the door behind me. I didn't even know what Paul looked like, so how would I know to avoid him! I met Sandy on the first floor.

"You did it!" she said upon seeing me. "I need to call Rick. Brilliant." She sounded completely sincere. I looked at my phone after disposing of my gloves carefully. It was 8:34. "Yeah, can I ask something?" I said. "Sure," she said. 

"What did the note say?"

Sandy smiled. "It said...'Nice try, Paul. XOXO, Sandy.'"

 

Okay, okay...this really didn't happen. Which you already know. I really wish something like this would happen to me, though. :)

Waking Up

We're swimming, surrounded by the vast ocean.

There's a huge ship protruding from the rock.

We scramble onto the cliff and enter the ship.

Everything's different but the water is calm.

It's soothing there with you above the water.

Eventually, we know we must return.

Then they're angry. She's really mad. 

I'm telling the truth but lying by omission.

That only frustrates her.

I feel trapped and it's a sinking feeling.

Then, I wake up with my eyes still shut.

I hear someone in my room, and without looking, I know who it is.

It's her.

Spider Hell

There are bumpy ridges,

That must be climbed;

Uninviting spaces.

Dark traps don't stay warm,

In tiny little spider hell.

All sounds vibrate,

Pulsating through the peace.

Nothing is calm.

It's a huge, living spider hell.

Tricky little cracks,

Crevices that hold more than secrets,

Escape routes and tunnels,

Necessary for survival.

You could call it their hell.

And they could call it home.

"The Madrone Tree"

            The last tree standing in the forest is majestic and tall. But it is hidden by the freeway overpass, monorail, and the new multilane roads built all around it. People in their shuttles and carbrids zoom past it at more than 100 miles per hour, so they never take notice of the tree.

Traffic conditions are conditions are excellent in the year 2167, due to the automated vehicle regulations and safety features. However, driving is not what it used to be. “Taking the scenic route” is all but impossible. Open land has been entirely paved over, and due to the invention of carbon converters, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced so there is no need for “wasted” space or extra plant life. Everything a human could need is grown inside confined greenhouses and life-form homes. Scientists sustain Biodiversity in small quantities, but you wouldn’t know it by looking out the window of your carbrid. All space is occupied.

The only plants I had ever seen in person before the “last” tree were the genetically modified and engineered trees and flowering plants that are permitted in city limits for aesthetic purposes. But this tree does not fall into this category. It looks wild and old and too natural. It has thin, red, peeling bark and wide, radiating branches. It seems to be invisible to the people of the city of Greenslade.

I am different. I am different merely because I noticed the tree. I saw the last tree in the forest and remarked on it, but I only got strange looks. I apologize; I am getting too far ahead in the story. You may be wondering why I call it the “last” tree. Well, I first noticed it about a year ago. I went on the library and skyped with a historian who told me that Greenslade got its name from a large forest that used to be here, until 150 years ago. That was 2012, and there were many fires that year. I was surprised to learn that a fire could get so uncontrolled, but never mind. The forest was comprised mainly of madrone trees, a beautiful and rare type of tree. And this madrone tree survived. And with the once-famous forest gone, I guess the city planners had no choice. It was considered wasted space.

I needed to go see the tree- each time I passed it on the 230-G freeway; I felt it calling to me. I went on a mission to take a picture of it. One day after school, I walked by the furthest freeway entrance by myself, and approached it cautiously.

Time stood still in the immediate vicinity of the tree. As I approached it, that alluring quality of its branches and its leaves seems to draw me even closer. Then, suddenly, a door appeared, from within the tree! It blended in with the wood of the trunk, but was clearly a small door, its shape defined as though it were part of an old building or an ordinary wall. It had a brass doorknob- the only feature that contrasted with the reddish bark. Faced with the gateway, I had no choice but to open the door. I grabbed the handle. An abrupt, overwhelming dizzying sensation overcame me as I pushed the door ajar.

One moment, I was peering into what was on the other side; the next, I was being pulled into a thick fog and tumbling through the door. I couldn’t see much, but I could her the door close and click shut, its hinges blending into the tree once more, and I watched it dissolve. The door was gone. I sat up and turned around quickly. I was in a place unlike I had ever witnessed before. My madrone tree was no longer alone- it had a hundred companions just like it, and other life forms too! I could hear water running, which was very strange.

“Where am I? What have I done now?” I thought. It was cooler here, but the air smelled fresh and crisp. The fog was like a mist on the ground, making it feel damp. I felt peaceful, but it was a fleeting emotion. I began to panic. I touched my tree, I hit it, and I looked for the edges of the doorway. Nothing happened. I tried to talk to it.

“Please open!” I pleaded uselessly. The curious tree had now led me to an even weirder disaster. I was lost. I stood up and walked all around the tree’s trunk in a last-ditch effort, but then I realized something. The portal had not gotten me completely lost- in fact; I was in the very same place! The tree was the same, the mountains to the east looked familiar, and I could tell we were near seawater because of the fog. But there were no roads. I could not hear any people. This must be the Greenslade Forest! I had traveled back in time!

            Although this was perhaps the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me, I could not enjoy the excitement too much. I did not know what year it was. Although I knew this place in 2167, it was totally foreign to me in the past. How big was this forest exactly? Were there any people around?  Suddenly, I heard voices a short distance away. I couldn’t think of anything to do, I stood there stupidly. But when I looked back at my tree, the door appeared again. I took it as a sign to go back. I stepped through the door again, whooshed through the fog, and was back in 2167 before I could have any second thoughts.

            When I stood up again, completely dazed, I realized I could control the portal with my thoughts. All I had to do was stand near it and think about the destination on the other side. I thought about the Greenslade forest and the beauty of the madrone forests, or about the comfort of home. I learned that I traveled back to 2005 every single time. I met people, even a girl of my own age! I never divulged my secret, and I always returned within a few hours. However, as I made frequent trips to the past, I began to realize how corrupted my present was. I wrote this, my story and the secret of the madrone tree, so that the people of 2005 could maybe prevent the catastrophes of the future. I cannot tell you everything. I do not why I am different, but I know what my message is. Do with this information as you will.