Far From Reality: a collection of short stories

Stoned

*January*

Hadley Devore carried a stone. It stayed in her pocket, but somehow always found a way to be touched by her hand. She walked back to her apartment side by side with Jaeden. His long strides made it hard for Hadley to stay next to him. So she had to pick up her pace, sliding her fingers over the smooth area of the stone. Her boots clacked on the concrete, while his Adidas silently hit the ground. Hadley clutched her backpack on her shoulder and focused on staying close to him. The frigid breeze that made its way through the tall building beside them , and being next to someone helped. Even as she tried as hard as she could to focus on him, she found her mind drifting back to the time when she found the worry stone.

*November*

She opened her eyes that crisp morning last October, and there it was. Perched right in front of her eyes, the stone leaned against her large economics college textbook she had been annotating the night before. The stone seemed almost beautiful, it's colors clashing in the best way, the deep purple blending in to the darker green. Puzzlement crossed her mind at first, but knowing herself she could have picked up the stone and forgotten about it on her long walk back to her apartment. So she didn't fret.

For the first few weeks the rock stayed in almost the same place. Hadley might bring it over to her desk when she studied, for it was almost a comfort for her. Running her fingers over the cool surface calmed her. Almost like the presence of her thoughts could disappear into the divot in the stone. When she held it or kept it near her, Hadley felt better. Better about the many tests and papers she had to write. Better about how she felt walking around the campus. She felt better about talking with people, and she even made a few friends during the time. Friends were hard to make for Hadley, because she always felt like she was never good enough for them. That would cause her to slowly drift away from them, and leave her back where she started. So she thought it would be better if she didn't make connections at all. Yet the stone made her feel safe, and confident she could secure a relationship with someone. It gave this presence of content, which eased Hadley's mind.

*January*

Hadley shook her head at how wrong she was. Her hand slipped back into her pocket of her jacket. Her fingers reached for the stone. She kept walking, sliding her thumb back and forth across the smooth top. Little had she known that if she left it at home, the stone would leave a circular hole in the pocket of Hadley's jeans and jackets. It's almost like it always called to her and though she did not want it to be there, it felt like it could never go away. So her hand always ended back in her pocket to fill that hole it made. Hadley glanced to the side. Jaeden noticed her look up, and he glanced over at her as well.

Jaeden Helmik was the only true friend she had the courage to make. He is the opposite of Hadley, always trying to fill the empty spaces with his voice, body, and mind. People could sense his confidence from across the street, and he proudly bore every part of his personality. Hadley wasn't sure how they became friends, as they had nothing in common. She usually hated loud personalities, but Jaeden's was perfect for her.

*October*

Whenever she went to a college gathering, which wasn't often, Hadley usually ended up in the corner reading. She only went after her mother called, saying how she never went out with people her age. Hadley hated to disappoint her mother, so she always went to the next one available. It always ended the same way. That night however, as she made her way over to her usual spot, her hand drifting to her stone, Jaeden appeared. Jaeden smiled at her, his hair messy and covered in glitter. Hadley had almost made it to her chair when he seized her arm and dragged her over to the heart of the party. Her heart started racing, and she fumbled her stone, almost dropping it onto the fully littered floor.