Only a Chance

Chapter One

I stood there a minute, taking in my dark green surrounds before fumbling behind my back to unclasp my rucksack, finding the top of my water bottle, popping it open and taking a deep long drink, sighing when I finished, refreshed. I then smiled and trooped to the water, ducking to avoid the sharp holly leaves that were suddenly popping up everywhere. I reached the shore, grabbed a handful of the sparkly sand, and spun with it, allowing it to be whipped into the wind. I laughed then and dived into the water, letting the cold seep into my hair and bones, to become a part of me. I sunk below the water and swam there forever, with small splashes and laughs. I wasn't sure when I finally climbed out, toweled off, lay down on a blanket face up, sighing that this was the life, but the sky was darkening to a black ink, and the stars becoming evident. I eyed them with obvious envy, then picked out a particularly bright one and pointed at it. "I wish I could be you. You would never leave any bodies side. You're always there, shining bright and true the next day. Sometimes...I don't feel like I'm here at all. I just fade in and out, slowly wasting away. I feel I'm meant to do something; like I have some purpose...I just don't know what it is. I know, I know, I'm talking to a star, and you're no shooting star. But- I'm going to wish on you anyway." I took a deep breath of the cold night air, hoping for inspiration. Go ahead, the trees seemed to whisper; say it. "I wish more than one thing though, pardon me, breaking the universal law." I grinned. "First, I just wish I could stop feeling so-so-so- invisible." I finally settled on. "And I wish my mom could stop pushing me to be so perfect to hold the family together." The last one was the hardest. Keep going,the trees pushed. "I just want everything to be different. For somebody to care enough about be to let me breathe."Then I rolled over and fell asleep under the faithful light, so I didn't see the star twinkle.