Sweet Dreams

Chapter 1

Sweet Dreams

Today, August third, 1969, my sixteenth birthday. Sixteen, the age of consent. Also the day of my older  brother's funeral. I place my hand on the doorknob of his bedroom door. Tears fills my baby blue eyes as my fingertips touch the cold, rusty metal. The memories we had run through my head. I close my eyes and watch them play like a movie  inside of my mind. It felt as if he was only here for a few minutes. "Twenty one years isn't long enough." I say to myself under my breath. I shuffle down the hallway of my family's old, white country home. I sit at the top of our staircase and tie little bows on the tips of my shoes. My younger brothers, that are twins, run down the staircase screaming for my mother.  

"Minnie!" she calls for me. I run down swiftly down the steps and holding the younger twin, Ivy, while the older twin, Terrance, has his arms locked around her legs. "Yes?" I ask. "Get Ivy a band aid and Terrance a frozen steak." she demands. I nod. The freezer door creaks when I open it. I grab the first solid hunk of meat I see and slam the door shut. I skip across the cool  tile floors to the front closet and pick up the first aid box. The band aids are scattered everywhere inside of the box. I snatch one and skip back to my mother and the crying toddlers. Terrance is holding his hands out for the cold steak and Ivy is sticking his leg out for the band aid. I slap the meat in Terrance's hand and I place the band aid across the deep, bloody gash on Ivy's knee. They both stop crying immediately. I can see the relief in my mother's dark dreen eyes the second they stop.She puts Ivy down and slowly makes her way to her and my father's bedroom. "Wear something nice, Minnie." she says before shutting their door.

I look down at the outfit I have on now. Faded Levi's, a silky black shirt, and black, flat dress shoes. I set my hand on the smooth guard rail and drag my hand up as I walk to my bedroom. My door glides across the old,  wooden floor. What do I wear to a funeral I don't want to attend, I think. I look through my closet to find a new or old dress to wear. Nothing. I reach underneath my bed. I pull out a small box. There's a hole on the lid and it's a faded yellow color. There's a letter inside of the box and a few old pictures of my brother and I. I take out the letter and look at it. It's from a girl my brother went steady with a few yeas ago. My heart breaks as I read it. I look at it again and remember why I hid it. It read;

Dear Kevin,

Another summer has come while you're away. The sunflowers on my father's land remind me of you. Strong and tall. It's hard to tell you this but, I must. I've met someone else. We have arranged our marriage in the month of August on the twenty third day. Now that I am eighteen, I can make my own decisions.This was one of them. You will forever be in my memories. I will never forget that Sunday you showed me the way to our secret place. Where the creek flows and the crickets chirp, and where the sunlight dances on the grass at dusk. I walk that path every day. After I am married, I will not be able to, but I will never forget the way. I pray every night for your safe return. Don't forget, I loved you first.

With Love, Valerie

I haven't spoken to her since she asked me to send this to him. I hate her. I never sent the letter to him because, I thought he'd be so heartbroken that he'd walk right in front of a bullet. He'd kill himself, I know it. I drop the letter into the little box and pick  up the pictures. The first one, was him holding me at the hospital, sixteen years ago. The second, was us smashing cake into each other's faces on my fourth birthday. The third, was him reading to me inside of a tent made of bed sheets. The fourth, he was trying to braid my hair at the cabin on the lake, six years ago. The fifth, us each holding our newborn twin brothers, four years ago. The last picture, me kissing his cheek the day he left for the war. His nose, crinkled. His shining green eyes, laughing.

I begin to cry again. Light taps from my door echo in the four walls of my bedroom. I toss the photos into the box,put the lid on, and slide it back underneath my bed. "Come in." I say as I stand up. My mother opens the door and steps in. She's trying to smile, but it only shows how sad she really is. She crosss her black lace covered arms. "Are you ready?" she asks. Her voice, soft and sorrowful. I try to fight my sadness when I answer,"Yes." She just stands there. Her arms fall to her sides. I give in. I run into her laced arms and weep hopelessly. She hugs me tightly. "I miss him too." she whispers. She kisses my forehead and strokes my long, curly, brown hair. "It's just so unreal." I manage to say in-between sobs. I cry for a few more minutes, then I stop and she wipes my face. I take a deep breath and stand up straight. It's time to let him go. It's time for the funeral.