Where I'd Gone ⌲ River Phoenix ((COMPLETED))

Imagine

Danny stared at me with confusion and that's when I knew I screwed my whole life up. I needed River to get me out of here. Pronto.

I sprinted upstairs, still a little woozy from the ecstasy. "River!" I shouted, hoping someone would actually acknowledge me. "River..." I opened up the bedroom door- only to find River putting his shirt on. He smirked at me.

"Let's plow," he said. It reminded me of when he said it right before we went on our little escapade to Corey's hotel.

We went out to River's Honda Civic and drove out of there, leaving the new memories that just might leave a scar on me forever.

"So, what happened in there?" I asked him, hoping he wouldn't ask me the same question.

"Those girls... They were so mischievous," he looked over at a willow tree and it sparked a smile in him. "One girl was crawling all over me... I didn't know what to do." I laughed. "After they gave me slobbery kisses, one girl decided to go back into serious mode and asked me about my career."

"What'd you say?"

"I don't want to get into the habit of thinking about my career, because when it comes down to it, it's not that important. I could die tomorrow and the world would go on. I don't want to separate myself from the rest of the world... If the world is not going too good, then I'm part of that," he looked over at me, "I'll be happy to take the blame... I'm along for the ride."

I loved when he got deep into situations like this. It just shows how dedicated and intellectual he is about the world.

"What happened with you?" He asked me, and I felt flushed. So yeah, I took some ecstasy while dancing around to Jimmy Page's guitar solo in Stairway to Heaven, and I embarrassed myself in front of my crush. Couldn't get any better than that. Suddenly Imagine came onto the radio, and I found myself singing along. "Did you find him?" He asked- breaking my train of thought. I scrunched my eyebrows together. "You know... The guy that you wanted to find. What was his name? Dave-"

"Danny," I interrupted.

"Ah. So did you?" He asked. I couldn't lie. I hated lying to him. He was so fragile, sensitive.

"I did... Things didn't go well though... I dreamt of this beautiful world... A world with him in it, lying next to me, underneath the shining stars... You have a dream right?" I asked. I didn't care at this point. It was almost 2 in the morning and I felt more open to sharing secrets.

"I have a dream yeah. I dream that I would play at Madison Square Garden with a band... Or win the affections of a hot model!" We both laughed.

"Keep dreaming buddy," I joked

John Lennon sang "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" and River turned to me, lip-synching the words. It couldn't have been a coincidence that those lyrics came at just the right time.

"Wow, quoting John Lennon for the second time today?" We laughed, but the car came to a sudden jolt. There was something on the road, I could only see the slightest notion of a human figure.

River threw open the door and I followed behind him. It was a boy. A very young one. Maybe 5 years old? It tore my heart apart to see him limp and sprawled out on the floor.

River started touching the boy's cheek to see if he'd wake up, but he didn't. He even pressed on his chest multiple times. It only got shallow breathing. Tears were coating my eyes... What if this young boy who has his whole life ahead of him, is dead?

Imagine started jumbling around in my head and I found myself calming down.

Imagine all the people... Sharing all the world...

The next minute I found myself sitting next to this lifeless boy. River was squinting as he drove, trying to keep the tears in. We got to the hospital in about 5 minutes.

They took him into the room as tears rolled down my cheeks. River embraced me gently and patted my back. He always knew how to make me feel better.

"Everything's okay. I promise he's just fine." He breathed into my neck.

"He's just too young to die!" I wiped a few tears away.

November 1, 1986

The next morning we got woken up by the nurse. "Hello, I'm nurse Whitney and Tom is okay. I called his mom and she said she'd be here very soon." River's eyes were wide open. It was 11:00 am. I didn't realize that I'd still been wearing my Audrey Hepburn costume and River had taken his dreadlocks off. Surprisingly, the hospital wasn't packed. There were a few people here and there, but I guess people were too busy partying to worry about getting hurt.

"Can we see him?" I asked.

"Since his mom isn't here yet, you will be allowed to see him. Follow me." She said. The white imposing hospital walls seemed to transport me back to February when I found out the worst news I've ever heard. Then, we saw the boy. He looked so colorless and dried out that it made me want to crawl into a ball and cry.

"Tommy, these two very nice people saved your life." He opened his eyes and stared at us with such fragility.

"Thank you very nice people," his smile reminded me of River's; how much it shined. Under the bright lights in the room, I could finally tell Tom's real features. His hair was blond and dull, while his eyes were peacock blue and vivid. But man, his smile may just be the most promising smiles I've ever seen.

"No problem buddy," River smiled, patting his head. At that brief moment, it almost looked as if Tom were River's son, but he was only 5 years old.

"If you mind Tom, I need to speak with River and Christine." I liked hearing our names together. He shook his head. We walked out the door and sat down on the bench adjacent to the room as she closed the door.

"So, Tom is actually suffering from Narcolepsy... which is a chronic neurological disorder involving the loss of the brain's ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. He has been showing all the signs and he was diagnosed with it as of this morning." She looked at us with such confidence and self-assurance.

"Will he be okay?" I asked, glancing briefly over at the slightly dejected River. Nurse Whitney looked down at her white shoes.

"Where is he?" We all turned sharply to the entrance and saw an immensely skinny woman with blonde hair that was tied into a messy bun. It's probably Tom's mom.

After a few minutes of her inside of Tom's room, she came out and gave us both big hugs. "B-but just imagine! He could've died without you guys..." I distracted myself from her weeping and thought about Imagine again. That song had not left my mind all day.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

"Look, Chris, my mom is probably scared to death because I never came back home. I'm sure Iris is feeling the same way. We have to go." He said coldly.

"Wh-what about Tom?" I choked up just thinking about him.

"He's fine. H-he's just fine. I'm sure we'll keep in touch somehow," he wrapped his arm around me and brought me into a hug.

"You're right. Iris might take my piano sheets away."

"I love how you think that's the worst thing that would happen." We both laughed. It was a long night, and I think we're both grateful to know our work here is done.

I hope someday you'll join us... and the world will live as one.