Shelter in the Jungle (COMPLETED)

Chapter 19: The Last Wish

Amy took the city bus back to the house; the last one running this time of night. Mike was staying at the hospital with Laura. And the new baby. And the little girl named Yoon. 
     As soon as she got home she crashed on the couch. She was just about asleep when she heard someone knocking on the door. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Jeff there.
    He looked like he wanted to tell her something; something important. His shock of blond hair was a mess and she could see his kneecap through a ragged hole in his jeans.
    "What you said the other night, that kiss, did you mean it?" he asked.
    Amy's mind raced; she didn't know what to say. Her emotions didn't feel right. The answer, though the right one, was painful to say. One painful yet joyous word.
"Yes."
Jeff smiled at her, the first genuine smile she had seen him have in a while. "That's all I needed to know."
Amy opened the door and let him in. They walked upstairs and to her room. Jeff look her books spread across the room; Poe, Agatha Christie, Nosaka, Gibran, books of folklore, comic books, and composition books filled with private musings. A picture of Randy Mantooth was pinned to her wall. There was a stack of records of Pete Seeger, The Beatles, and Janis Joplin.  Amy opened the window and sat outside on the roof, and he followed her. He kissed her on the cheek, and they saw a shooting star. They both wished that they could stay as happy as they were that night. That would be the last time they wished on a star; childhood's end.
"I have to go, but I'll see you soon." He said.
"I know."
Amy kept looking at the sky, long after she heard his motorcycle rev away.

The next day, Amy put her dolls in her box in the attic. Maybe, when she got a place of her own, she'd take them out. But until then, they were put away.