The Lightwalker in Maple Hills (Boyxboy)

Chapter 4

The soft tapping of the rain echoes through the room along with the sigh of Allison, and the breaths of William. I stare out to the blurry image of my front yard, seeing little puddles of water on the street grow. I stare in awe at the patterns of droplets, and the little ripples that they make. Ever since I can remember, I have always loved the rain. As a child, I would run out, wearing anything I had on, and jump in the puddles. My mother would always get annoyed, because I would come back into the house, tracking mud and water all of the clean floor, causing her to call the maid over again. Granted my mother would pay the maid a little extra for her troubles, causing the maid to thank her a few times before leaving the house. I get lost in the ripples and the sound of rain when Allison suddenly brings me back to reality.

"I can't believe it started raining right before the movie." She exclaims. "I was looking forward to seeing it and going out. Maybe after we could have gone to a park."

I turn around just in time to watch Allison fall on the couch, then turns towards me.

"What is there to do here?" she asks looking around my living room. I think for a second, remembering all the fun things I have done in this house when I was a child. The house is big, but not as big as Allison's. She lives in a large three story mansion with a large front porch and an indoor swimming pool. I have the third largest house in the group, and William has the first, equipped with tennis courts and large rose bush gardens.

I glance around the room, looking at the expensive paintings my mother bought with her friend at an auction. Below one of them is a large Burgundy table with a few photos of our family, most of them missing my father. I sigh and turn back to Allison, and finally get an idea. "We can smoke."

Allison lights up with joy, and William sits up immediately.

"About time Josh, I thought you were never going to ask." He says. I roll my eyes, and start towards the stairs up to my bedroom. Once inside my bedroom, I walk across and open the window. My room is on the opposite side of the house, so I don't have to worry about water getting in. Allison sits on my bed, while William sits down on the rug. I walk over to my bookshelf and pull out Moby Dick and The Full Collection of Edgar Allan Poe, revealing a small metal Altoids box. I hear Allison shriek as I put it in the desk, and place the books back on the shelf.

"God, I haven't smoked in such a long time." She pauses for a second, "The last time I did was when my Uncle Jerry died. You remember that Josh?"

Everyone remembered the day Alison's uncle died. William and I drove together to the funeral where Allison was destought. She could not stop crying, even when the reception ended, and Allison's mother asked us to stay over to help her. The three of us snuck out onto the roof while everyone was asleep and smoked until she stopped crying, and started laughing. Then she got deep with life, and wondered what it was like to die and where everyone goes. William and I tried desperately to keep up with everything she was saying, but she would rush into another idea before finishing the one prior.

I open the Altoids box and pull out the little bag of weed, along with a cheap gas station lighter, and my small glass pipe. I pack the bowl before handing it to Allison. "Ladies first," I say in a British accent.

"Oh my, what a true gentleman," she says, imitating me. She grabs the pipe, and takes a hit. She holds it in for a second, before letting a cloud of smoke roll out of her mouth and into the air, where it dances and inevitably disappearing. She smiles and hands the pipe to William, who does the same, then I.

After a few hits, we all lay in a triangle on the floor. My head lies in Allisons stomach while her hands run through my hair. The feeling vibrates through me, and gives me a sensation, like a thousand hands are playing with my hair. It's quiet for a second before William speaks up.