The Dreamer

"Marcus..." his mother called up the stairs.

Marcus just laid in bed. He woke up with a terrible headache. The kind where the pain is directly behind one eye and it feels like someone took a knife and stabbed it right in front of your temple. Maybe it was because of his recent dreams that his head throbbed. He had relived the same dream about his parents over and over again that night. Each time he tried something different from the last to warn his parents somehow, but each time ended the same way and he woke up after with tears in his eyes and frustration across his face. Then he'd lay there and try to come up with a new plan for his next run.

"Marcus, I've been calling you," complained his mother from the doorway.

"I'm sorry mom, I just don't feel well," he replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that honey. What's wrong?" she asked sadly.

"I didn't sleep well and have a terrible headache," he answered.

"Well I can give you some Ibuprofen if you'd like, but you have to get up and come downstairs."

"How come?"

"We have another surprise for you. Just get ready and come down in five minutes."

Marcus rolled over to look at the time. He keeps an alarm clock with big red numbers on an end-table next to his bed. Also on the table is several books that he likes to read, a stick of deodorant, some gum, a box of tissues, and a lamp. 9:43 the clock stated boldly.

Marcus knew his mom was serious about him getting up, but what was more important than trying to figure out how to save her? He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked down at the floor between his knees. Even the beauty of the shiny hardwood couldn't cheer him up any. He slid out of bed and strolled to the bathroom down the hall to brush his teeth and get ready.

Looking in the mirror Marcus can see that his chocolate brown eyes looked tired. He splashed some water on his face to try to wash away the exhaustion a little. His head was still pounding so all of his actions felt like a lot of work. He didn't bother combing his hair or anything. All he did was brush his teeth and rinse his face. He didn't even bother to change out of his pajamas.

As Marcus made his way down the stairs he could hear his parents talking in the kitchen. His ears perked up when he heard his name.

"I think he'll be excited," his dad was saying.

"I know he will," added his mom.

"He was acting really off yesterday. I wonder what is bothering him," Mike said.

"Yea I noticed that too," Natasha replied.

Just then Marcus decided it was his cue to walk on in. He couldn't help but to fight back tears the whole way in. Just the thought of never seeing them again was eating at him. It's that feeling you get inside where there is unbearable pain in your guts and huge lumps in your throat.

"Good morning Marcus," his dad said. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"Hi dad," Marcus replied with a blank look on his face and pain in his eyes.

"What's the matter son?" asked his dad.

"It's probably his terrible headache he's been telling me about," interrupted his mom as she handed him some Advil.

"I see," said his dad as he studied Marcus' face. "I was worried about you yesterday."

"Err, didn't you have a surprise or something," Marcus replied, changing the subject.

"Oh yes we do son!" his dad exclaimed. "We decided that since you've been wanting to go and we could afford it that we will be taking you someplace really special next week." "Care to try to guess?"

Marcus looked at his father with more pain in his eyes. The lump in his throat seemed to be getting larger so he couldn't even reply. Fighting back the tears he decided to just shrug and look as confused as he could.

"Well maybe it is best if you just find out for yourself!" said Mike as he waved his wife over.

Natasha handed Marcus a plain white envelope with no writing on it at all. The envelope was not sealed, but the tab was tucked on the inside to keep it closed. Marcus looked at it with a look of despair. He knew what was inside of course. It was the one thing he has been wanting to do since his last birthday. Something his family did only once before when he was seven, but hasn't been able to afford since.

He pretended not to know of course and opened it with as much excitement as he can pretend to have. With no surprise, inside were four tickets to next Tuesday's Devil's game at 7pm. Unable to control himself, Marcus started to cry. It was the kind of cry where you are trying to stop it, but all you can do is make sobbing noises and gasps for breath.

Stunned by Marcus' reaction his parents stared at him for a moment in silence with puzzled looks on their faces.

After about a minute his mother grabbed him and began to hug him. She let her boy cry on her shoulder as she rubbed his back trying to calm him down. Meanwhile his father sat there stunned and tried to think of what to say.

"Err, umm, uh," his dad started. Then clearing his throat he decided that the best words were, "It's okay son, everything will be okay."

Not that he knew what was wrong and if it were really going to be okay. I guess it was the thought that counted. At least he tried something to calm Marcus down.

After a few more minutes of sobbing Marcus began to settle down. He looked at his mom, then at his dad. He sighed deeply and took a few deep breaths before he finally said, "Thank you guys," with a forced smile on his face. "Do you think it would be okay if I went to lay back down?"

Natasha looked at her husband with a look of worry. Mike looked back with a similar expression, but decided to reply, "Sure! How do you like your present?"

"I love it!" Marcus said. He meant it too, but he was crying because he knew that unless he figured out how to save his parents, the magical night will never happen.

"Good I'm glad sweetie," his mother said.

Right after she was done with that statement Marcus slipped away and darted out of the room.

Marcus skipped up the stairs and went back to his room with tears in his eyes the whole way. He flopped onto his bed and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling. He knew that the dream he was having would come true and knew that meant that they would never make it to the hockey game.

As he lay there he visioned himself and his father cheering in the stands, "Let's Go Dev-ils!" clap-clap...clap-clap-clap, repeat. He could almost smell the cold clean scent of the ice mixed with hot dogs and pretzels. The sound of the player's skates carving the ice, as the puck races from stick to stick with a gentle clap. All of this is a much more pleasant dream Marcus thought. As he lay there daydreaming about the Devils game he slowly drifted back to sleep.

​

“Let’s go for a ride on our new motorcycle,” his father said.

​

“I’m looking forward to it!” replied his mother.

It must have been hours since Marcus fell asleep because the mid-afternoon sun shone through his window when he woke up in a cold sweat again. He slowly rolled his feet off of his bed to get up. The good news was that his headache was gone, bad news was the dream didn't change and he just realized that he had homework to do too.

Bummed about his new discovery, Marcus slid out of his bed and went down the hall to his bathroom to wash up. He splashed water on his face and rubbed his tired eyes before he decided he would brush his teeth again to get rid of that after a nap taste in his mouth. He then decided that a shower was in order as well.

Shortly after finishing his shower Marcus strolled back to his room to find his book-bag in the corner of his room where he threw it on Friday afternoon. The boy let out a sigh as he picked up his blue, multi-pocketed Jansport. He searched in the smallest pocket in the front of the bag to find his agenda book first.

Friday, October 28, 2011

1) Math: Read p. 92-94 and do p.95/1-35 odd

2) English: Write an essay about your favorite food

3) Science: None

4) History: None

5) Spelling: Write words 10 times each

6) Extras: None

7) Computers: Type for 20 mins in "TypeFaster Typing Tutor" and print accuracy results

Marcus sighed and frowned when he saw all of the work he had to do. "I hate Math," he stated aloud. "Stupid teacher never gives us a break!"

With this being said Marcus decided that he would do Math last and start with the easy stuff. He began with his typing program first because it was easiest. Twenty minutes later his results read 95% accuracy, wpm 105. Not bad he thought as he took out his spelling. There is a cheating way to write words 10 times each. Well sort of anyway. The trick is to write the words on columns so you can write your repeats underneath the original word. Then just write the first letter as fast as you can nine times under the original word you wrote and then repeat this process for every letter thereafter. It gets the job down quicker and believe it or not it helps you remember the letters in order. Next task was on to English, but first break time for a snack.

Marcus ran down the stairs in an almost carefree manner, almost like the dream didn't exist. When he got to the kitchen he noticed that no one was home. He hadn't heard a noise since he woke up. Shrugging it off he went to the pantry to get a snack. He decided that a sleeve of chocolate chip cookies was a good enough snack with a glass of milk to dunk them in. As he ate his delicious snack combination he began to wonder where everyone went. He decided that it was best to investigate before getting back to his English paper on roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Marcus sat for a few more cookies before giving up after seven cookies and downing the glass of milk. It was time to put the rest of the sleeve away and get to his investigation.

Marcus began by going into the garage and when he got there the blue Honda Accord was still there. His heart skipped a beat when this reality came into light so he ran to the driveway to check on the bike. The bike was still there too. "That's odd," Marcus whispered to himself.

Confused by the outcome of the start of his investigation he decided to go back to the kitchen and begin his search in another direction.

This time he decided to check for notes or other evidence of their whereabouts. Nothing. Then he decided to check upstairs in their rooms in case somehow he missed everyone. Nothing. He looked out of the bathroom window at the back yard. Nothing. Frustrated he decided to go back outside to the front of the house and look around again. This time when he got there he saw that his neighbor Mr. Steve was in his front yard raking up late fall leaves.

"Hello Mr. Steve," said the boy.

"Well hello Marcus! How are you doing today?" stated Mr. Steve.

Mr. Steve was one of those really friendly older men who was always wise and full of incite. His dressing style was not much to look at though since he always wore his socks really high as well as his pants.

"Well I'm worried about my parents and sister," replied Marcus. "I woke up and everyone is gone."

"I saw them all earlier going for a bike ride. I thought it was odd that you weren't with them since you always go out on Sundays."

Marcus smacked himself in the forehead. How could he forget about the weekly tradition? Every single week on Sundays, rain or shine, the family would go on a bike ride since Marcus could ride a bike.

"Thank you Mr. Steve!" exclaimed Marcus. "How could I forget something so obvious?"

"Well you must have a lot on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?" Mr. Steve asked.

Marcus stood in awe for a few moments contemplating his question and wondering how he knew. Mr. Steve is a wise man, so I guess they know everything, Marcus thought.

"No that's okay Mr. Steve. Thank you for letting me know where they are." Marcus replied as he turned to go back inside.

"Take care now boy," Mr. Steve said.

"I will, you too," Marcus called back.

Marcus darted into the house relieved that they were only on their weekly bike ride. He skipped steps on the way back to his room. When he got there he flopped onto his bed and smiled for the first time since the night before's Life game. Staring at his ceiling he began thinking of all of the fun times he had bike riding with his family. After about 10 minutes of daydreaming he remembered that he still had his English essay and Math work to do. It was almost an hour since he was last doing homework and decided to get the rest done before his family got home. His essay was easy and he spent lots of time describing the way mashed potatoes melt in your mouth and how he would mix them with turkey on his fork for extra flavoring. His Math homework was just the opposite. He struggled with it for a little while before he decided to actually look at the examples and do the reading assignment the teacher assigned. Of course he would have saved time if he would have just read first, but he hated reading math because it was usually boring. After his homework was done he decided that he would go downstairs to watch TV until his family got home.

He sat down on the coach with a flop and grabbed the remote off of the armrest where his parents usually leave it. Right away he went to the Direct TV guide to try to find something he liked. Scrolling through he came across several dozen channels with something boring on them before he finally got to the cartoon stations. He saw his options there were Sponge Bob, Cat Dog, Looney Toons, and Doug. As he scrolled down to select Doug he saw that on the Discovery Channel there was something on called "Dreams: The New Frontier". Interested in that program, Marcus chose that channel instead.

The program was about people who explore the dream world and its many aspects. Many scientists study dreams and their meanings. Others study sleep patterns and sleep disorders. Marcus watched the program for 1 hour before his family got home.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" his mother asked.

"I'm doing much better," replied the boy.

"Are you ready for dinner?" asked his father. "We are having hot dogs and hamburgers."

"I could not have guessed," Alexis chimed in.

Another family tradition was the Sunday barbecue. Every Sunday they would all cook hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, no matter what the weather was like. The grill was located on the deck on the back of their house. The deck was one of those open decks with a roof over it to protect it from the weather. Marcus' job was the cheese and tomatoes. He was in charge of cutting the tomatoes and putting the cheese on the burgers when the time comes. Alexis was in charge of cooking the bacon and toasting the buns. Mom was in charge of the fries and the veggies.

Dad of course was the grill master. Sundays are family days, that is all there is to it. Usually homework is done Saturdays, but Marcus' birthday happened to fall on a Saturday so it was pushed back a day.

Dinner was a memorable experience. As Marcus sat at the table and enjoyed his delicious bacon cheese burger, he decided to take everything in and enjoy every moment. This could be the last family Sunday that they would have. He smiled as he realized how lucky he was to have such a great family.

"Great to see you smile son," his father said. "I was beginning to really worry about you!"

Marcus was at a loss for words and just smiled brighter. Nothing could ever replace this moment. Certainly he wasn't about to let his tragic dream ruin it. Life is a gift and every moment should be treasured. You never know when the gift will be taken away, thought Marcus as he took another bite of his burger.