Flowers from 1970

A Plane Ticket

Dream could have taken advantage of George's calls. He could ask for the winners of future sports games and bet on them to become rich.

He could ask for the secrets of the future and use them for personal gain. But what did Dream want? All he wanted was to talk to George.

Given the opportunity to speak to someone fifty years ahead of him, all he wanted to do was to talk to a lonely boy who'd never had someone care about him the way he did.

Dream never had intentions that helped him. Maybe in the beginning his curiosity led to a longing for more answers but after getting to know George all of that disappeared and was replaced by what he saw as a beautiful friendship. These phone calls were their little secrets.

They're few hours in the dark, gloomy nights to relax and be themselves to someone who would comfort and laugh with them. It was something the both of them had gotten used to.

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George had woken up groggy having slept in an uncomfortable position all night. He made to check the time on his phone but realized it had died due to the song playing on his phone during the night.

He groaned and got up, almost falling over but catching himself in time. He decided to get breakfast and go for a walk since it was such a nice day outside, and it'd be perfect since his phone would be charged by that time.

After eating a couple of leftovers and brushing his teeth, he ran back to his room to his phone, unplugging it before going back downstairs.

The sun had newly risen and illuminated the neighborhood in such a way that everyone who took the time to step outside would consider it the perfect day. George continued to his usual routine of checking the planted flowers.

He patted the soil, "Nothing yet, I guess." He told himself, sighing before getting up and walking across the newly sprinkled grass, water slightly seeping through the material of his shoes but not enough to throw him off the course of his good day.

No plans had been made, and George was going nowhere in particular. He decided it was better to walk than drive because his cardio had been awful and something he needed to work on.

Town Square was a close enough walk that it was bearable, but also far enough to get some good exercise in. It housed various shops and restaurants, including Karl's Flower Store. George had not been back to the town square since he had gone to Karl's store. It was a fifteen-minute walk, and he took his time because he liked listening to songs during walks, so he'd walk to the beat of the music, which in this case was slower.

Once he arrived, he had not been hungry so he skipped over the small cafes and fast food places, and explored the stores he had never seen before. There was an old, sort of run-down arcade that still attracted lots of kids and adults who longed for a hint of nostalgia, a shop for teas that had free taste testing (which George had a blast in), and other hidden gems George had never known about.

While he was walking, he had stepped on a piece of gum on the floor. He made a disgusted face as he lifted his shoe up and the gum stretched up off the concrete with it. He kicked his shoe on the pavement, attempting to peel it off. After he had successfully cleaned his shoe, he looked up and saw a small door to his left.

He never would have seen it if he hadn't stopped in front of the door. It was a bookstore, with the paint on its windows missing some letters due to peeling. George was immediately drawn to it, walking mindlessly inside as a cowbell rang when the door opened.

It was much bigger than what he had expected after seeing it from the outside. Some aisles housed not only books but music as well. Including records, cassettes, and CDs. The thing that caught his eye, though, was who was behind the counter. It was Techno.