Reality?

The sun shone on his face, warm and colorful. It was nice, beautiful.

"Josh! Get up!" Rose giggled.

Josh sat up and looked at his beautiful girlfriend as she knelt in front of him, looking into his warm hazel eyes. Her smile was beautiful and angelic, and almost as warm as the sun.

"I love you," she said as she wrapped her arms around him.
He held her closely, "I love you, too."

Josh stood up. He was considerably taller than his girlfriend. She stood at five feet and six inches, while he was six feet and five inches tall. She had to jump to kiss him, but normally he knelt down for her.

The ocean breeze blew her warm black hair across her face. She really was beautiful. She had a sharp appearance. A passer-by couldn't help but look twice. Her bright blue eyes complimented her narrow, small nose. She didn't have very red lips, instead they were pale. Also, she didn't like make-up, so she hardly wore any. Most of the time, it was just eyeliner.

Josh was tall and lanky. He was underweight for his height, and was very bony. He, too, had a sharp appearance; Piercing eyes that could tame a lion or that could start a riot. A deep, soothing voice. His lips were skinny and long, giving him a more serious appearance. He could scare a murderer with his stare.

Hand-in-hand, they walked along the beach.

"Rose..." Josh spoke softly.
"Yes?" She was entranced by his voice.
"Uh..." He hesitated.
She smiled, "What, tell me..."
"Rose...I...I want to spend my life with you."
"Josh..." Her heart skipped a few beats.
"Rose, I'm very happy with you. I... Will...When we're old enough... Will you marry me?"

He stopped walking and held her hands and looked at her in the eyes.

"J--... I...," she hesitated, "Y..Yes!"

They kissed tenderly.

"I love you..." They both whispered at the same time.


* * *


"So, what'd you do today, honey?" Elizabeth, Josh's mother, looked at Josh across the table.
"Nothing, really. Rose and I hung out at the beach."
Elizabeth look at her husband.
"Rose?" Tom inquired.
"Yea, you know her, remember? I've been going out with her for about two years now, dad."
"Oh. That Rose." Tom questioningly looked at Elizabeth.

The rest of supper was quiet.


* * *


Josh went downstairs.

"Mom!" He called. "Mom!"
There was no answer.
"Ugh!"

When Josh got outside, it was raining. He got on his bike and rode to the night club his parents normally attended. They were both there, and so was Rose.

"Hey!" Josh smiled.
Rose returned the smile, "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was looking for my mother, but I found something much better." He grinned.

Someone walked by, staring at him. Josh shivered.

"Hey? Want a ride home? I have to go to the store by your house."
"Sure." She smiled.

Josh walked to his mom. "Mom, can you give me a ride to Walmart?"
"Uh.. Sure, Josh, why?"
"I need to get something for school. It won't be long."

All three of them got into the car. Josh held the door open for Rose, and flashed her a smile. He got into the front passenger seat.

Elizabeth and Josh were chatting back and forth, but every once in a while Rose would comment. She really didn't like to talk much around anyone else other than Josh.

The car pulled up to a red light, and perpendicular to the street they were on was the street Rose lived on.

"You can just let me off here," Rose said shyly as she flashed Josh a smile and ran through the rain to her street.

Just then, lightning struck and the lights on her street went out. All of them.

"Oh s**t!" Elizabeth jumped as the light turned green and she drove off.
"Oh God!" Josh looked horrified. "No! Mom! You have to go back! Mom! Go back! I'm worried about her! Go back, now! Go back!"
"You're being irrational, Josh!"

She kept driving until they were at Walmart. He didn't want to go in, he was too scared and angry at his mother for being so heartless, so they just went home.

"I hate you." Josh mumbled under his breath as he went upstairs to his room.


* * *


"Josh! Wake up!" A voice boomed him awake. His father's.
"Ungh..." Josh sluggishly got up and got dressed.

Only after he got into the car, did he remember about last night. But before he could get out of the car, his mother started driving.

"Where are we going?" Josh inquired.
"To get a physical for your Baseball team."
"Oh."

The drive was long, but they finally made it. They entered the large building that was excessively cold on the inside. After making a few turns and up some stairs they entered an office.

Another long wait made Josh bored and he roamed around the room. He found a magazine that interested him, but that only lasted a bit.

"Mom, can I call Rose on the payphone?"
"No."
"Wh-- Why not?"
"Just sit down, Josh. It won't be much longer."
"Unngh."

Finally, he was called into the doctor's office. He wasn't allowed in, which is strange for a physical, so he waited out in the hallway. After some time, his parents came out, followed by the doctor.

His parents knelt in front of him.

"Josh, we love you. Do you know that?" His mother was in tears.
"Yea... Mom? What's wrong? Is this about last night? I didn't mean to say I hated you. Mom, I love you, it's okay."

She walked off with Tom.

"Josh, you can enter, now."

Josh walked into the doctor's room. He sat down on a chair and waited for the doctor to begin speaking.

"So, Josh. What happened last night?"
"Uhh. Well, my mom took my girlfriend, Rose, home, and while she was walking down her street, lightning struck very close, and all of the power went out. I wanted my mom to turn around and let me out so I can see that she got home safely."

A long silence kept Josh on the edge of his seat. The doctor just looked into his eyes and then spoke softly.

"Josh... Rose died two years ago... Don't you remember?"

Reviews

[The Horned One]

niiiceee... very, very nice!

[Lynx]

Ooh, this is an awesome idea. Though I feel as if you should have written more, convince the reader that Rose was real, alive, everything. Like, I mean more moments Josh and Rose spent together, like, memories. Because this, this doesn't really make sense because it just seems like they're a pair of teenagers in some teen love (which is fleeting), but then suddenly he loves her so much he hallucinates about her. Also, why do the parents only know that he has been hallucinating about her, after 2 years have gone by?

Now if you had explained more moments (like, really short, brief things like when Josh went over to her house to bring her to a movie, or when they went to prom), that happened like, a few months or even a year after one another, it would have been more interesting and when the ending is shown, it would leave the readers wondering which parts were real and which parts were hallucinated, where did reality end and fantasy start.

Anyway, yeah. Cheers. xD

Lingga

[Alexander]

lovely. It surprised me, at any rate. I definately didn't see it coming. Very nice. I like the way it's split up. It confused me lol which was nice because I actually had to think and therefore didn't get bored with it. Good job. Can't satisfy everyone, you know.

[SJ. Wheeler]

Honestly I saw that ending coming, it may have been the ""Oh. That Rose." Tom questioningly looked at Elizabeth." while I'm sure that's supposed to be foreshadowing, the twist was almost given away by that sentence and that paragraph. I liked the story, but I did find it to obvious, maybe try to mask the ending a little more, the parents some how reacting to Rose with out their knowledge, but it seems like she's still alive, until the end

[Grady McShane]

Good twist ending. I enjoyed the whole story. I'd like to read more. Keep me posted please. I have no criticisms of the piece except that it left me wanting more. ;)
GM