Dream Big

It's a story inspired by a beautiful boy who saved my life, and taught me how to dream.

They say life is like a roller coaster. If so, the one I’m on lifts you higher and higher, and just when you start to enjoy the view, it drops you.

I lay in the back of my truck with a bottle of pills, a pack of Marlboro, and a bottle of vodka. I close my eyes and put a cigarette to my lips and breathe in the toxic sweet smoke. When I open my eyes I breathe out and watch the smoke get lost in the wind, hoping some of my problems get carried away with it. Before the pain comes back I down a gulp from the vodka bottle. The cigarettes numb the pain, but the alcohol helps me forget it. 

I can feel his presence before I can see him; he radiates warmth and happiness. He climbs into the back of my truck, lays down next to me, and puts a cigarette between his lips. Although he doesn’t light it, he doesn’t say a word, we just stare at the silence. “You know I never got the point of these,” he finally says flicking it to the ground. 

"They say everyone you smoke takes 10 seconds off your life," I smirk and inhale another. 

"Don’t say things like that." He gets serious and brings himself closer to me. When he looks into my eyes I wonder if he can see my soul shattering, my heart crumpling. His eyes are trying to rescue me. His fingers run over the bottle of pills, he picks them up ad rattles them. Pulling me in closer until my head is resting on his shoulder, my legs draped across his, he whispers to me, " Why did you come here tonight?"

I don’t say anything, how can I? I only let myself cry, but the silence speaks for itself. Sighing deeply he pulls me tighter, he holds me tight enough to squeeze all my broken pieces back together. I’m just scared that once he lets go I’ll fall apart again.

He lays me down, my head rests on his chest, and I can hear his heart beating steadily. I can feel his chest rising and falling with each breath he takes.He consumes my senses; all I can feel, smell, see, or hear. 

"Go to sleep," he says. "I’ll be here when you wake up, promise." He kisses the tip of my nose. "Dream big," he whispers just loud enough for me and the mosquitos to hear. 

And for the first time in a long time, I do. I dream about how a sunshine boy saved a suicidal girl, with so much love that even the stars envied them.

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Wow! Is this the full story or an excerpt? It's very well-written. It does leave one question, though: Did she die? The imagery of the sky (stars, sunshine) they seem to allude to heaven or moving on. the idea that we'll see loved ones in another life is also alluded to here. Again, well done.

[Hanah]

Thanks! This is just a short story, so I never planned on adding anything to it. It's all up to you what happens to her at the end!

[Elizabeth]

Nicely done.

[spitballing]

"His eyes are trying to rescue me. His fingers run over the bottle of pills, he picks them up ad rattles them." ad is missing an n, it should be an and.

But, we all make typos and that is the only one I could find.

The twist at the end is pretty striking and makes you want to quickly read it over again. It is very well written in the fact that it sets the scene so well with so little. For a short story, it has a lot to it, and that's hard to pull off.

It might be just me, but you could get both a good feeling or a bad feeling out of this depending on how you read it. The bad: What if their relationship doesn't work out? She doesn't seem to be able to support herself on her own. Wont she just take them pills later?

The good: The most little of actions, such as tossing away some pills that just seem like garbage, can help to change someone's life in the most wonderful ways. Be nice to all you meet, you never know who you might save.

I'll go with the happy reading! :)