Dreamers

Prologue: Part 1

“Hah… Hah… Hah…” 

The feeling of the wind against my skin, the sound of my bike’s wheels turning accompanied by my heavy breathing. My leg muscles were almost at their limit, as I pushed on higher and higher, pedaling like my life depended on it. 

“Made it!” A female voice cried from in front of me, just seconds before I reached the top of the steep cliff we were trying to ascend so readily. 

“Ahh… damn it!” I exclaim in a mix of exhaustion and frustration as I reach our imaginative finish line mere seconds after my friend does. 

“Ha, you’ve been getting better at this!” The girl in front of me turns around with a smile, her long blonde hair swaying slightly due to the wind, with her blue ribbon always intact. “One day I’m sure you’ll be able to cycle faster than me!” She continues in a consoling manner in between some hasty breaths, as she looks at me with her clear sky blue eyes. This is my childhood friend, Claire Willow 

“You’re mocking me, aren’t you?” I say in an irritated tone as I get down from my bike. 

“No! I’m serious!” She giggles lightly as she follows my lead. 

We push our bikes along the side of the road before we stop following the beaten track and cut through the thick forest next to us. Soon we find a small paved path that leads to a small swamp. This is our secret place. We’ve been cycling for some time now, for 4 years to be exact, so we had enough time to explore almost every nook and cranny of this peaceful little town we live in, called Thorn Valley. Now that we’re both 13, and have almost mastered the art of cycling for kids our age, we are able to cycle eve  further than the last couple years, and I’m sure that as the years go by we’ll be even more well-versed with it all. 

“Hey, earth to Desmond! Are you listening?” Claire nudged me as we walked side by side, with our rides in tow.  

Yes, that’s my name Desmond Gray. My parents had a thing for unusual names, in case you were wondering...
“No, what was it again?” I ask while ruffling my sweaty and black messy hair to get rid of those little drops still stuck there. 

“As I was saying, boys are physically stronger than girls, so it’s almost set in stone you’ll one day surpass me during our little cycling excursions.” She explained, reminding of my 100th or so defeat. 

“I highly doubt it… I mean, I’ve never beaten you before!” I say with an exasperated sigh, reminding myself of why exactly I was so frustrated to begin with. 

Shortly, we reach our destination, as we reach the end of the paved dirt path and come to a clearing with a swamp. Although we call it a swamp, the water is so clear, even fish don’t live in it. 

“Ah… This place never disappoints!” Claire exclaims with a hearty grin. 

“True… It’s like our own secret place, isn’t it?” I reply in the same fashion to which the girl besides me giggles. 

“Here.” She hands me a rock which I take while she clasps her own. “Who goes first?” She asks while I shrug. “Here… goes!” She pulls back her arm and tosses the small rock sideways towards the water, which immediately sinks as it comes into contact with the surface. 

“Mmm!” She hums in frustration while puffing out her cheeks. 

“Ha! It appears you have a long way to go, Claire!” I mock her as I toss my own rock to the swamp’s direction. The rock jumps three times along the surface before sinking to its depth.

“Unfair!” She crosses her arms playfully before we both start laughing and a chilly breeze caresses our skin. 

“Where’s your windbreaker?” I ask while she rubs her hands along her arms.