"In the autumn light, you will find comfort, but at the right times."
I always tried to comprehend the meaning of the phrase. It got to me, it really did, but in a way that was so completely confusing that I loved to hear the soft words grace my ears. I was about to find out what the meaning of the words were.
The day came after the past, put behind it just like any other day. I woke to a room full of the newly-oranged sunlight. I slipped out of my bed as to not disturb my roommates and dressed into my usual; a black t-shirt and my dark-wash jeans. I was tying on my white sneakers when Lucas awoke. I smiled and gave a wave. I was the only girl in a room full of boys; so it was pretty akward in the mornings. "You're awake, Fred?" I nodded. "Morning Lucas." Yes, I went by the name of Fred. My real name? Marianne. I hated it to pieces.
"Why are you up so early?" He groaned, tossing over in his bed. "It's the start of a new day," I replied, not showing an ounce of playfulness. "It's your choice to get up or not." I stood up when I finished tying my running sneakers into uneven knots. I could hear Lucas give one last groan as I left the room. 'Probably hungover,' I thought, rolling my eyes. 'Stupid college students.' I walked through the hallways of the dormitory, ignoring whoever said hi to me.
At last, I had arrived. The old maple tree.
The smell of the it's sap wafted through the air, engulfing me in swirly waves of maple-scented goodness. I stood for a minute, smiling at the tree like an old friend. It was autumn now, so the leaves were a nice orange color. I walked towards it, until I heard a voice. A very familiar one at that.
"Hey look, it's Marianne."
I whirled around, my auburnn hair nearly smacking my neck. "What do you want?" In front of me stood Marissa Thompson. In short, the most stuck-up person in the whole State of Michigan college. Marissa and I used to be the best of friends, until her dad struck oil in India, and she automatically assumed she was better then me because I was 'poor'. "Oh nothing, Marianne. I just wanted to see what the tree-hugging emo was up to today." The words stung like venom. Tears filled my emerald eyes, but I blinked them away. "Nice to know you're taking an interest in my movements." I spat the words at her, sarcasm dripping off of my words.
"It's nice to know that there are emos who have come to their senses and cut trees instead of themselves," She gestured to my scarred arms. "Oh wait, did Daddy whip you again? Poor baby. Go in your corner and cry, emo kid. You don't have a reason to live." I felt the pwang of pain rip through my soul. I cursed a few words at her before turning around and running to the tree. Without thinking the blade swiped across my arm, causing a thin trail of blood to form in a pool. Tears ran down my face to mix with the maroon substance on my arm. I heard a voice right before the second swipe. "Fred, please stop." Infront of me stood Lucas, tears pooling at his eyes.
I looked up at him, a look of disgust plastered to my face. "What do you want? Mock me. I know you want to." He looked even more heartbroken at my words. "I didn't come here to mock you!" He shouted, the wet tears dripping from his eyes. "I came here to help you!" I sat there, taken aback. Sure, Lucas was like my brother, we had been in together through middle school. I had no idea that he cared about me in the least. "W-What do you mean?" I stuttered. He lunged at me, took the knife from my grip, and chucked it away with excellent precision.
"I don't want you to hurt yourself, Marianne."
It was the first time he had used my name in ages, and for some reason, it surprised me. He fell to his knees and wrapped me in a delicate hug, as if I were fragile. "L-Lucas, I'm sorry," I whispered. Then suddenly, it hit me.
In the autumn light, you will find comfort, but at the right times.
I was troubled. We were in the autumn light. And Lucas was my comfort, coming at exactly the right time.
Carpet Skating
Joe fastened his helmet on his head. "You are SO going down!" He called to Nick, who had gone helmet-less. It was just carpet skating, no need for such protective headgear. The boys parents and younger brother Frankie were out of town for the weekend, leaving the three eldest boys alone at home. With Kevin's aid, Joe had managed to push all of the furniture out of the way from the hallway all the way to the living room. The two younger boys were at the end of the hallway, in running stances, while Kevin held a towel in front of them. "Ready, set, PAUL BUNYAN'S WHERE THE FOOD IS GOOD! 'BUT NOT TOO GOOD EH!', Go!" Kevin removed the towel and stood back. Joe took the lead, dashing down the hallway in perfect strides. Nick followed close behind, nearly tripping on his feet multiple times.
Joe managed to slip down the cream colored carpet with much ease, however he collided with the wall. "Okay, ouch." He said, with a small hint of laughter coating his voice."Joe wins, sorry Nick J. Want a rematch?" Nick nodded his head eagerly. "This time I'll win!" He declared, jumping up and down childishly. The three brothers returned to the end of the hallway for their rematch. "Ready...set...PAUL---" Kevin was interrupted by an irritated Joe. "Get on with it!" The elder rolled his eyes and pulled the towel away. "GO!" The two took off, they were neck-and-neck racing. That is, until, Nick collapsed to the ground after tripping over his jeans.
The fifteen-year-old crashed to the ground with a painful sounding 'thump'. "Nicky!' Joe turned back and rushed to his younger brother. Kevin followed close behind. "Are you okay?" Nick sniffled slightly, he felt the pained tears come to his eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay." He sniffled again before standing up. Joe watched some blood drip off of Nick's left hand. "Nicky, your hand is bleeding!" "It is?" The younger looked down to see his hand, with a shard of glass jammed into it. "Mom said that there was a shard missing from when Frankie broke her vase!" Kevin exclaimed, examining the wound. Nick began to wince silently, before he knew it they had grown into sobs. The shard didn't hurt that much; it was just so painful to look at. Don't say you wouldn't do the same; how would YOU feel if YOU fell on the ground, expecting a few scratches, but come back up with a shard of glass sticking out of your hand?
I thought as much.
Nick was dragged into the bathroom by Kevin. "Sit," He commanded, pointing to the toilet seat. The younger did as told, Joe holding onto him for brotherly support. "Shhh, Nicky. Now it's going to hurt, so don't look, okay?" Kevin asked quietly. He then proceeded to wiggle the glass out of his younger brother's palm. It was pretty deep in there, so by the time he had removed it completely, half of the glass was coated in blood. "Shh. Nick J, it's out already." Nick looked down at his hand. Kevin was right; it was gone. The youngest continued to cry. "He's frightened, Kev." The two sat by Nick, comforting him carefully. After his wound was all covered up to prevent infection, he looked up with puffy eyes.
"Joey?"
"Yes, Nick J?"
"No more carpet skating."
The older two laughed and pulled their younger brother into a hug.
