blinded by the light
Take a right at the light, keep going straight until night, and then boy, you’re on your own.
I jumped out of June’s car and ran across the train station parking lot. I looked behind me, and saw her slowly skipping through the darkness. I slowed down, but I couldn’t wait, and I ran to the tree. I touched the damp bark with my palms. By putting my foot on a low knot, I was easily able to swing myself up to the first branch. I sat there and looked around for June. She was lying in the parking lot like an oil stain, waving her limbs into invisible snow angels.
“Junebug!” I whispered. “JUNE!” She peeled herself off the pavement and ran, stumbling and swerving along the way. I shouldn’t have let her drive. She hugged the tree, smothering her body into its trunk. She bit off a piece of bark, and then jumped up to sit beside me.
I looked at the moon as June chewed on her bark. I had to make a conscious effort to release my facial muscles from a wide smile. My head started spinning and I forgot I was only five feet off the ground. I felt like I could reach up through the leaves and collect the stars with both hands. I told June, and she spit out her bark and we talked about life and the universe and how small we are.
Someone was playing “Layla” in the distance. June nudged me and pointed to my pocket. I snapped back to reality and remembered that “Layla” was my cell phone ring. I looked at the phone.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“I’m sorry, I- “
“Do you have any idea how it feels for me to wake up at 3:30 AM and find your bed empty?”
“I just forgot to call you. I’m sleeping over at June’s. I’m really sorry for worrying you, Mom. Go back to bed, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
There was silence. I looked at my phone. She had hung up.
“I guess we should go back to your place,” I said to June.
“Mmm,” she responded, and jumped off the branch. “All I want to do is dance in the moonlight,” and she began to sway. Then we were cartwheeling around the parking lot, celebrating and dancing, until I fell mid-cartwheel on the pavement. My elbow was stinging, and when I touched it, it was wet with blood. After the injury, we decided to just lay on the grass and recover.
When we woke up, it was hazy, but very bright. I had to squint to get my bearings. There were two more cars next to June’s, and a man in a business suit was walking across the lot. Our clothes were drizzled with dew. June pulled a leaf out of my hair and we giggled. We walked back to her car and I thought about calling my mom and apologizing again for worrying her. But she really had nothing to worry about. I was having fun, and I was safe, and next time I would remember to call her before 3:30 AM. What more could she ask for?
We sat in the car with broad smiles on our faces, still energized from the night. My elbow only stung a little. “Want coffee?” June asked.
“Sure,” I said, and we drove to Starbucks.
