Catch a Falling Dream

A Sandstorm in Minnesota

"Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about."                                                           -Marsha Norman

  After Clara left, thoughts filled my head. I remembered that one time I was having tea with my grandpa and I saw moving pictures in my tea. I remembered waking up in the middle of the night, and my window was open although I had closed it. My brain started to freeze, like a computer processing to much data. Speaking of brain freezes, after this whole ordeal, I decided to deal with the shock like any sane person would have: Eating ice cream.

      Soon my dad pulled into the driveway  "Dad!" I hollered as he came in the door. I ran downstairs as he took of his sweater and tousled his graying hair. 

        "Hi there sweetie!" He smiled and gave me a hug. I hugged him back. It felt comforting after all the crazy events that had happened

        "Could I get some ice cream?" I asked him.

        "Ah, I knew I should have been suspicious about how easily I got that hug! Well, you know how much I want you to eat your dessert before dinner," he winked, "but I think you should wait until tomorrow. It's supposed to be warmer, so you can walk after school."

        "OK," I said slightly disappointed. 

        "Hey dad?" I asked. "Do you by any chance know a person named Clara?"

        "Hm... I don't think so. Why, did someone call?" He asked, his brows scrunching up a bit in confusion.

        "No, never mind. I meant a letter I saw" I laughed nervously. "I think it was junk," I smacked my head. "Never mind, it was actually a show I saw on TV... I'm getting mixed up."

        "Honey, I think you need sleep," My dad said. "You seem disoriented."

Trust me, I thought, the last thing I want is sleep. See how well that went last night.

                                                                        *********

        After a nearly sleepless night and a day of school, I was ready to eat some ice cream. Kate agreed to come with, since this was one of our favorite places to hang out. We headed out the school doors and started walking.

        "Are you sure you're not missing the Musical practice?" I asked. I brushed some dust or sand off of me.

        "No, the list isn't up until tomorrow, besides, I haven't spent time with you for a while." she said. She seemed like she hadn't slept last night either. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was a bit messy.

        "Maybe you should go home and sleep," I said. "You seem exhausted. It must be a lot of work to do skating, the musical, and leading the chess club."

        Kate laughed. "Sleep? At Karen's? That's funny. When I'm not doing a million activities I'm doing chores for the two younger two kids."

     I nodded. Kate lived in a foster home since Junior high, when I first met her. She always came to my house and was very secretive about being a foster kid. I didn't find out for a whole year until she trusted me. I just knew that Karen worked at a coffee shop and made Kate do a lot of chores when she was gone. Kate essentially took care of the younger kids whenever she was home, while juggling homework. 

        "Anyway, let's just try to have a good time," I smiled. After about ten minutes, we reached all the little stores. We walked in to Scooper's, with a colorful door and a giant fake ice cream cone hanging above the door. As we walked into the shop with the tie-die walls, I instantly felt better.