He dreamt about the girl he loved growing up. The girl he’d
always love but would never see again. He dreamt that they were of high school
age; the age when he loved her. But they were in the entrance area of their
junior high school; a smaller, more intimate setting. They were seniors, in
charge of the whole world. And what any adult might say hardly meant a thing to
them. It was the day before Halloween. He was probably cutting his last class
and leaving school early. She was sitting at a small table near the entrance
just inside the main doors and filling out Halloween cards for a few, lucky
individuals selected at random. There was a phone on the table, the Halloween
cards, and two kinds of cookies; sugar and gingersnaps. She also had a list of
the lucky students' names. She was to call them in class over the PA, announce that they
had a card and cookie waiting, and they, in turn, were to come down and get it.
She invited him to stay and help and he accepted since he’d
always loved this girl and was probably on his way to do nothing much anyway.
And so he sat. She’d announce a name to him and he would, in turn, call that
particular student out of class by way of the telephone, “Hello, I’m calling to
announce that blah-blah-blah has a special prize waiting for him near the
office in the front of the school. Blah-blah-blah, please come down to retrieve
you special Halloween prize.” She would even allow him to write in some of the
cards; Dear Blah-blah-blah, have a happy Halloween, you’re a grade A student.
Then she would attach two sugar cookies to the card. They both enjoyed
gingersnaps and began snacking on those. Greedily, they would keep these for
themselves.
They announced a few more cards in this fashion before she
made an announcement of her own. Out in the parking lot; there was some good,
bottled beer that she’d been keeping in her car. And would he like to have
some…with her!? They made a few more phone announcements, quickly, to buy them
some time. And after a few more students came down to collect their card and
cookies; the two stepped right out of the heavy, front doors and into the cool,
night air. Being fall, the sky was perfectly black already which made them feel extra protected under the
cover of nightfall. They retrieved the beer from her car, drank one or two, and
then snuck the rest back in with them. Nobody was going to find out. Who was
going to care anyway? She cared! She said. She was, after all, the class
president which was how she came to be announcing Halloween cards
in the first place. So they’d be extra careful drinking inside as they
announced the further winners over the PA who were due their sugar
cookies.
They drank
until they were buzzed. Until the were intoxicated. God, how he was intoxicated
with her. They giggled and they slurred. They touched each others shoulders and
reminisced. They wondered what was to come. What was to become of this whole,
entire world they knew so well encapsulated right here in this school building.
They felt like adults. And they ate gingersnaps chewing them into nothing and
loving the flavor. He began to slur over the telephone which made her laugh
with that all-knowing smile. And he began to write all squiggly some the
announcements into the greeting cards. This was the girl he loved. This was the
girl he’d always love but would never see again.
And
when he awoke alone on a folded-up futon in a different city, he only felt
blessed at the happiness brought on from this most wonderful of any dream.