DISCLAIMER:
This is not a violation of lyric/ word stealing, this is a 'song story' inspired by a song written by a really great artist, some of the lyrics are incorporated straight into the story, but the overall feel was inspired by the music of Angels, by Owl City.
Jeremy slept soundly until a subtle rustle awakened him with a
jolt of fear. Good; the nightlight was lying unplugged on the desk.
Then a wave of restless anticipation tingled through him, and he
sat up, swinging his long, skinny legs off his planet covered blankets. He
strode to his only window’s sill and placed his spindly fingers on it, peering
into the dark below, and curiosity vaguely plaguing his mind. He blinked hard
and then shook his head, maybe tomorrow, he thought, disappointed. Suddenly, an
idea struck him and he hurriedly dashed off a few words on a piece of torn note
book paper. He left it on the empty chair in the corner, nearest the
window. “I’m dreaming of the life I once loved. So wake me if you’re out there…”
It said in a hand that was unsure.
Crawling silently back to his warm blankets, Jeremy let himself fall away into
the peaceful nothingness of dreamless slumber.
The sun woke the boy the next morning, pouring gloriously through
the still parted curtains. Jeremy sat up and checked the chair. The note was on
the floor now and his small kitten, Babby, was looking blithely up at his
master with his slitted yellow eyes.
Jeremy frowned and scooped the little ball of fluff into his arms and
after glancing one last time a the window, he left to go eat breakfast. As he
finished and dumped his dishes into the old, yellowing sink, he ran to the hall
to get his woolen sweatshirt he wore under a coat. He passed the living room and double took
with surprise and the same feeling of fear that had engulfed him the night
before. He peered harder at the fake fireplace (the great chimney had been
sealed up long ago) and then shook his head. There was no flame there anymore,
not even a tell-tale ash was to be had on the ancient stone hearth.
He hurried on and stepped out into the blustering, bright fall
day. The leaves all around the house fluttered and quivered from the sturdy
trunks and limbs of the surrounding Beeches and Oaks. Jeremy wound his scarf
around him and shrugged into his coat, a basket in gloved hand and a trowel in
the other. The gloves on the boy’s
fingers were worn to the point of nonexistent tips and there were several
growing holes on the palms. But Jeremy didn’t mind, in fact he really loved his
old gloves and wouldn’t part with them until they were in-wearable. He trotted
down the leaf strewn path and turned down a skinny, dirt and dust covered foot
path that led straight to the base of the giant Oak he loved to sit in.
He spent
hours a day just sitting in the forks of the great beamed tree, studying the
names carved in the trunk and picking the acorns off of the last harvest. He
listened to the wind patterns and watched the leaves below him rustle and
tumbled in the chilly breeze’s wake. Suddenly, he could’ve sworn he saw two
feet shaped holes in the blanket of russet and gold leaves below him, as if
someone was waiting for him to descend, to pick him up in their arms and carry
him home to a cup of hot chocolate and biscuits. But no, not today, he thought.
He squared his thin shoulders and resolutely decided he’d wait until he was old
and grey for the footsteps of parents to fill the space beneath the tree…
Hope you liked!
DH
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