Dreamland Dimensions

Chapter Twenty-Three [Final]: Detox

"Goodmorning America! You're weather forecast on this fine Spring Saturday is sunny and clear skies. Enjoy and be safe".

The sun was high in the sky, the cool Spring breeze sipping in through the window and carrying a sweet scent of honeydew. The green pastures flashed by in blurs, my eyes fixed on the clear blue sky as the breeze gently slapped my face and filled my nostrils. "Look at the ponies!" Chirped Anastasia, pointing in excitement. I turned my attention to the pasture of four or five horses grazing on the grass. Anastasia's excitement made me smile more than the sight of the horses, I remember a time when it was just my Grandmother and I living together. She bred a few horses, teaching me how to care for them and feed them.

But when she got sick, we sold the horses to pay for her medical care and medicine. I remember the night she died holding my hand.

She promised we would get more horses when she got better, she never got better of course because shortly after that, her eyes closed and never opened again. Just like that my everything had come crashing down. "Quin, your Granny had ponies too right?" Asked Anastasia, smiling innocently. I nodded, looking at her in the rear-view mirror and smiled back, "But we had to sell them to pay for things". She sat back, looking back out the window and stared out at the scenery. The whining of the tires filled the car below the music playing on the radio, Anastasia's Aunt Jen hummed along as she focused on the road. I listened to the rhythmic clatter of seams in the pavement, feeling the gentle hydraulic bounce and sway. "We're almost there guys" stated Jen. I sat up straight, looking over the dashboard as we turned onto a familiar street and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. "Are you excited, Quinton?" She asked, smiling as she turned onto another street. It was almost impossible to contain myself, I knew exactly where we were going and I couldn't wait until we got there.

The house stilled looked the way I remembered it, the gravel crunched under the weight of the vehicle as we approached the house and I unbuckled my seatbelt.

It looked as if time didn't touch it, or maybe it was just remodeled to look the same. "Let go inside, huh?" Asked Jen, looking back and forth at us. I nodded, opening the door and their giggles followed me. I walked around the car, walking through the white little fence door and stood at the end of the porch steps. Anastasia stood beside me, grabbing my hand and locking our fingers, "You sure?". "We can always go back into town and get a bite to eat" suggested Jen, walking up behind us and placing her hand on my shoulder, "If you not ready, sweetie". I shook my head, feeling Anastasia squeeze my hand reassuringly and nodded, "I'm ready". We walked up the steps, Jen stepped in front of us and unlocked the door. It swung open, revealing the entrance hallway and kitchen at the end of the hall. I slowly walked in, looking all around at the empty and dusty hall. Walking over to the livingroom, I touched the doorway gently as I started to walked in and looked at the furniture covered in plastic.

The house smell stale, it was hot and sticky. Uncomfortable in this state but I remember a time when it was the only home I knew.

I looked at the hallway on the far east side of the livingroom, leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom. My heart sank into my stomach, afraid that if I walked down that hall I'd hear the cries of my mother again. But my feet moved on their own, carrying me down the hall and stopped at a closed door. I placed my hand against there door, pushing it as it swung open loosely and I walked into. The bedroom was empty, the sun shined in through the bare windows and illuminated the room. I could see the faint carpet mark of where the bed use to be but even without the carpet marks, I knew by memory the way my Grandmother room looked. I stood just a few inches from the shadow of the bed, kneeling beside it and placed my hand on it. The room no longer smelled of her, it was as if time erased every fragrance my Grandmother ever had in this house. "Come on Quinton, you want to hear a story?". In the darkness of my eyelids I could see little Quinton, running through the livingroom and racing to my Grandmother's room. From the door I'd pause, running full speed and leaping into the bed.

I did it because of the joy but I started to do it because I loved to hear the way she laughed when I jumped into her bed and cuddled against her.

"You're so energetic" laughed Granny, pinching my cheek gently. I placed my hand on my cheek as I recalled the feeling of her warm soft hands with the scent of hibiscus and aloe vera swimming into my nostrils as she pinched me. I opened my eyes, my Grandmother disappeared and I could no longer feel her hand on my face. My hand dropped down as I stood up and sighed. "Quinton, you okay?" Asked Anastasia, peeking in the door. I smiled up at her and nodded, "I'm starving". She giggled, nodding and waved for me to come on, "Let's go eat". I followed her out of the room, closing the door behind me and walked down the hallway to the livingroom. The smell of fresh pizza filled the area, Jen stepped into the doorway carrying two large boxes with two smaller boxes on top. A liter of 7UP sat on the plastic covered coffee table, Jen sat the food down and sighed, "Hope you don't mind we sleep in the livingroom until the bedroom furniture gets here". I shook my head, pulling the plastic off the couches and smiled, "On Saturdays my Granny and I would camp out in the livingroom. We watched movies and make smores". They're laughter caught my attention, the two young women were giggling in unison and I could feel my face heat up. "What?" I asked, frowning. "You look so happy, Quinton" answered Jen, shrugging as she opened the box of pizza, "It's cute". Anastasia sighed, holding her sides and nodded, "I like this look on you".

We sat down and ate together, watching basic cable as we talked amongst each other. Time flew by and the afternoon creeped up.

Anastasia and Jen had fallen asleep on the couch. I tip-toed to the kitchen, opening the backdoor and slipped outside. The sun was just going down, the sky wasn't completely dark yet and the stars were still hidden. The backyard was as big as I remembered, I could see the tree lining and it brought back memories of the nights I ran out of the door into the woods. I started to walk towards the tree lining, looking through the trees and could see the small trail I created. Laughing to myself as I slowly walked down the path, my body acted on its on as I started to jog and slowly pick up sped until I was full sprinting. The air started to feel cooler, piercing my skin and slapping me. I tripped over an uprooted tree, falling through bushes and toppling into a familiar clearing. Rolling over, I laid on my back and stared up at the sky as it began to get darker. Like magic the stars began to appear and became visible. It was an overwhelming feeling, a lump in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I spread my arms out the way I use to when I thought I could fly, the tears fell from my eyes and trailing down my cheeks, sneaking behind my ear. My body shook as the cries tore through me, I was falling apart but not in the worse way.

This falling apart felt good, I closed my eyes as I felt a smile spread across my face.