The 8th

Nothing is worse than being grounded for the entire summer.

Sam scoffs at the unreasonable punishment that’s bothering her way more tonight than it did all summer long. She lies on her pillow-packed bed, plush and comfortable, flipping her pink polished nails through the pages of her new read. Haruki Murakami’s, IQ84. A fiction exploring the theory of a parallel reality seems fitting for her current predicament. An alternate realm where she’d be with her friends tonight, dancing at the end of the summer bonfire. Perhaps staring in the eyes of and cozying up to Jace Shepard. A long sigh follows the thought of Jace, he’s a specimen of ultimate perfection and the highlight of her dreams. Now there’s the reality she wants to live in.

Her eyes land on the 8th page. The bold letters bounce off the leaf. They form words strung into sentences, but her mind refuses to process them. She tosses the book aside, sitting upright on the edge of her bed. Cool air rushes through her nostrils for a deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale. A breathing trick she learned from her mom, it’s supposed to calm her whenever she feels overwhelmed. But as her eyes sting and water blurs her vision, not even the breathing exercise is working tonight.

They care nothing about my social life. At sixteen, this was my summer to remember, but what do they care. Seriously, who grounds their kid for the entire summer?

A distracting flash of light followed by a delicate chime interrupts her thoughts. She looks at the phone screen next to her. Everyone who is anyone is having a blast tonight at the bonfire. Who might think of her right now? Her friends wouldn’t dare rub it in. They all know she’s grounded.

Sam wipes the single tear off her cheek and picks up the phone to read the message…

Hey Sam, it’s Jace. Are you coming tonight?

Her lips curl upwards, turning the stoic expression on her face into a beam of excitement. It’s unreal that Jace Shepard, the hottest guy in class and Sam’s crush since middle school is looking for her at the bonfire. She heaves off the bed, muffling a dramatic scream before settling down again. Sam stares at the phone in both delight and disappointment. Saying no to Jace is the worst reality yet.

She dries the moisture on her palms, steading her shaky hands, and responds.

I can’t I’m grounded 😔

NO… delete, delete, delete.

Yes, I’ll see you there 😉

Send.

…

Can’t wait! 😅

Sam looks down at the phone in her hand. Her glowing smile fades as butterflies attack her stomach.

What did I just do? He’ll think I’m a liar and never speak to me again. I’ll just text him back and let him know I can’t make it…

But that’s so lame. Think, Sam, think.

Deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale.

Mom and Dad are already in bed, they wouldn’t notice if I’m gone. It’ll only be for a couple of hours and I’ll park dad’s car exactly as I found it. And if they find out, then mom knows how I feel about Jace, she won’t blame me. It’s not my fault I need to sneak out, they’re the ones that grounded me. Okay Jace Shepard, here I come!

Sam’s smile returns, eager to get to the bonfire and strong in her convictions. She leaps off the bed and heads towards her oversized closet, picking a flowing, white summer dress that she pairs with brown sandals. She stands before her full-length mirror, brushing her long black hair. A subtle cherry fragrance intrigues her senses as she covers her lips with a glistening gloss. With one full twirl in the mirror to approve her look…

Deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale.

Her plans are in full swing. Sam opens her door lightly, and with caution places one foot before the other. She turns off the lights in her room and gives the door a gentle pull until it closes. On tiptoes, Sam sneaks a peek into her parents’ room.

Great, they’re fast asleep.

She quietly makes it down the stairs where she grabs her dad’s keys. The front door opens and closes without disturbance and the same for the car door. Jace Shepard, here she comes.

Driving along the familiar road with the rush of the summer breeze on her skin, Sam is in a state of ecstasy. This is the freedom she craved all summer long. The night is quiet with gold speckled stars crowding the skies. At 10:08 pm, she’s almost there. Her mind wanders to feelings of doubt in instances, but it’s too late to turn back now.

Then the light chime of her cellphone grabs her attention.

It must be Jace again.

Sam reaches for the phone on the passenger seat, taking her eyes off the road for only a second…

Then, with the phone in her hand, a blinding light overwhelms her view and stillness occupies her body.

Deep inhale. Hold…

A light wave brushes past her feet, and her eyes flutter open. A full moon, bigger than she has ever experienced, now controls the sky, illuminating a singular path along the water. Her eyes follow the light into the distance where a lone ship floats majestically on the horizon. The tide pulls away, creating a walking path that Sam instinctively follows. The more she walks, the further away the ship appears.

Slow exhale…

In a blink, Sam is back onto the shore. Joyous sounds of laughter and music pull her focus to dancing flames from a spirited bonfire. Sam follows the blaze and closes into where her friends are having the time of their lives. She approaches and stops short of an unusual feeling settling in. Their faces are familiar, yet she doesn’t recognize them.

A faint touch taps her shoulders, and she turns her head… Jace!

You made it

I did, but how?

Jace throws his hands around Sam, wrapping her in a warm hug. The moment is a noticeable tale from her dreams. But it’s different, somehow. She isn’t over the moon, lost in his embrace the way she imagined. Instead, nothing seems right, nothing feels rights, as if this is not where she belongs. The only place she wants to be right now is home.

Jace releases his hug, and Sam pulls away gently. A single tear rolled off her cheek, landing in the water at her feet, drifting away slowly with the reversing tide.

Deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale.

In an instant, Sam is again in the middle of a parted ocean, under the glow of a full moon, reaching for the ship in the distance. Her feet move faster, her heart speeds up, yet she remains the same distance away from that ship on the horizon.

Another flashing blink and she’s staring at Jace’s adoring smile. It’s a sight that shocks her with thrill every time, but now it’s making her feel further away from where she should be. Sam covers her eyes, sobbing uncontrollably when the faintest voice, light years away, speaks out to her. She looks up at Jace, confused with his fixed smile, his mouth not moving, but his voice is the one she hears.

Stay with me Sam, help is on the way.

I am with you…

Sam tries to hold on to Jace’s voice. But with another blink, the music and laughter stopped. The last flicker of flame from the bonfire vanishes, and she’s alone. The embers from the recent blaze circle her completely. Sam struggles, swatting the ashes away, but the harder she fights, the more she’s trapped in.

Another voice from afar reaches for her.

You can do it, Sam. BREATHE.

That’s right…

Deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale.

With the breath, Sam floats above the embers, drifting with it high above the water, closer to the ship. Then the ashes float away, leaving her suspended underneath the bright moonlight with the ship on the horizon still out of reach.

Sam finds peace within the radiance of the moon’s glow and closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep. She centers amid a dream with laughing friends and family all extending a hand. She reaches for the one that seems safest, and to no surprise, she grabs onto her mother’s arm. Hand in hand, they lower, reaching towards the ship below. An inch within reach, Sam’s eyes flicker open.

A soft cloud supports her back within a garden of fresh sunflowers. They are her favorite. Her eyes continue to flicker, adjusting to the light. There's a hand gripping her so tightly that it hurts. Her eyes travel to the grasp and focus on the hand on hers.

Mom?

Sam’s mother looks up, dropping a book on the bed and jumping from her seat to look into her daughter’s eyes. Her smiling face captures Sam's attention and she breathes a long sigh.

Don’t move, baby, let me get the doctor.

Sam's mom rushes out of the room, leaving her alone.

Deep inhale. Hold. Slow exhale.

She notices the book her mom dropped sitting on her covered legs. IQ84, another reality to escape to.

The multiverse is real. Where else do we go when we dream. With every inch of her aching body, Sam's dream is to be here where she belongs... grounded for a few more summers.