The low humming of the engine died as I removed my keys from the ignition.
looking through the dusty wind shield I wonder to myself "why am I here?"
I was facing a weathered home. It was a large white faded with dirt home, with green trim. A long stone semi wrapped porch stretched around the front. It seemed so familiar and yet fuzzy for some reason.
I opened my door and stepped into the gravel driveway. It was covered with weeds shooting up through the old grey stones. It wrapped around a large area of grass that had a long unused trampoline in the middle of it, along with An old net less basketball hoop set against an equally withered garage.
As I turned and looked to the field beside the garage memories began to flood back to me. Echos of all of us playing as kids, often shoddy ramps made of old broken bricks and dry rotted sheets of plywood.
A short laugh escaped my mouth, remembering the time O' Brian ramped our grandmas bike off of one of those said ramps. She had been so mad at him for it.
*a feeling of sadness follows the thought*
I turned and began to walk up the old, cracked stairs out front. Before heading into the porch room I turned to look at the fields across the road.
*A feeling of nervousness was keeping me glued to the concrete outside*
A cool breeze swept into my face as i day dreamed about the fall wagon rides we used to load up on in this very place.
I took one final deep breath of the cool air before turning and heading inside.
As I pushed the front door open, it was like I had just stepped back in time. Nothing had changed.
The first thing to catch my eye was the old staircase that we had all spent so much time sliding down via the sleeping bag express.
*A small wave of happiness*
Shifting to my right the living room untouched, the same old lamps with amber glass panels and covered with old cream colored lamp shades. The brownish red carpet sprawling across the room. I could even smell the fresh air coming in from outside having the windows cracked open.
Losing myself in that moment, a shout broke the silence.
"Brendan is that you down there?"
*my throat tightened hearing the familiar voice*
I slowly stammered out a short reply
"Yes, where are you?"
The voice replied "I'm up here in the boys' room!"
*an urgency spreads through my body*
Immediately I rushed to the stair case, as I grabbed the wooden rails they began to wither. Wall paper began to peel away from the walls, the roof cracked and started to crumble.
I broke into a full sprint, as our old home began to break down around me.
At the top of the stairs I sprinted passed O' Brians room. As I arrived at the door way to Trey, and Ryan's room everything froze. It was silent.
In front of me stood, Uncle Ren. He was just standing there smiling, holding a picture frame. The frame was lightly withered, made of a light brown wood and in the middle a picture of all of us together.
He said, " I'll always have you kids here with me, and you'll always have me."
*a veil of sadness falls over me*
*it feels heavy*
*I feel a familiar hand on my back, and everything fades to white*
I come back standing in the middle yard of grass, the stone drive way is the only thing that remains. Everything else is gone.
*I wake up*
In the end, I'm not sure what this dream was meant to tell me. What I received from it was the fact that although things, and people are gone, doesn't mean the memory of them are. It lives in us, echos in us. The people that love them.
