Sunday Scribblings: Free

The Sunday Scribblings prompt this week is free/freedom.


When Harvey and I were thirteen we rode our bikes out to that lake. He spent that summer with his grandfather, his house three blocks away from mine. I would see Harvey everyday. Our days on the lake, he would pack a picnic for us. A peanut butter and banana sandwich for each of us, spicy sticks of reddish gum, a Pepsi to share, and two Marlboro reds each, which his grandfather never seemed to notice missing. We would sit in the sandy dirt, our sneakers kicked off, our hair sticky and damp from a late August California sun, for several hours, sometimes silently. I would always bring a book and sketch paper so that I could draw him. He invited me every time but never seemed to need the company.

Harvey would wonder off on his own sometimes. Once, I hiked around the lake looking for him for nearly one hour. I found him, nestled uncomfortably between a brush of blackberry branches, his palms hiding his face. When he noticed me, I realized that he had been crying, his face flush from warm tears. He buried his head against his chest and started weeping again. I ran away, not knowing what to say. I rode my bike home alone that day.

Those summer days were the warmest that I had ever known. We would walk together barefoot following the shoreline. I would skip along without him, a cloth bag draped around my shoulder, searching the sand for treasures. Stones and shells and occasionally, feathers. One distant afternoon, Harvey had wondered away again. I sat against a leaning rock, collecting small stones, one after another, skipping into the water. Stoked by silence, knowing that Harvey could wonder for hours, I fished my fingers through my treasure bag looking for the smokes that Harvey had tucked away for me. I pulled out a little sandwich bag, as always, it held a couple of cigarettes. A neatly folded piece of construction paper sat amongst them, today. I held the cigarette to my lips, lighting it with one hand and carefully opening the paper with my other. I recognized Harvey's letters, sleek s's, sharp m's, barely a curve in his c's. I could feel his rigid air as I read. Alli, You are so close to me. My mother sent me here. She doesn't want me to come back home. I don't want to go away, but... A rush of thick musty air filtered through my nostrils and nicotine tickled my temples. she phoned last night, not asking to speak to me. I heard grandpa say that he wouldn't let me stay. That old bastard wants to send me away too. Alli, you are so close to me and I want to stay but I can't no more. I felt my breath stuck in my chest. At the peek of sunlight, the sand glistened at the edge of the lake. My palms suddenly wet, moistening the edges of the message. I guess they will all have the freedom they need without me. Goodbye Alli. There were two hearts sketched at the bottom of his note, colored in with red crayon.

I sat, starring into the water, my cigarette falling from my lips, scorching a cluster of sand. My eyelids filled with weight, the sound of hallow space filled my eardrums. I found my feet underneath me, following the edge of the water, I ran. Letting his note fall into the lake I shouted out his name. I ran in that endless moment, until the sun set and the water drifted from cool to cold.

At the edge of the lake I rescued my bike while Harvey's rested in the sand. I peddled home slowly, my head dizzied and flooded in tears. Leaving my heart laying in the lake, I never returned to find it.

Harvey was missing and no one found him and no one looked for him.

The summer passed and the sky turned gray again. An early rain dampened our evenings and my memories of late summer had started to fade.

Early one morning, sitting on our front porch, I watched Harvey's grandfather walk up our driveway. With a grim and hopeless glare, he approached me. Without shedding a wink of sorrow he handed a box of books and cards and clothes to me. Some of Harvey's things. They found him in the water. He didn't wait for my replay. I took a seat on the steps again, holding onto the box, I knew that Harvey was the one that was now free.

Happy Ireland Day

It's a ritual day. Saint Patrick's. Not such a Happy way.

"Driving the snakes out of Ireland", would he know that they

would not stay away?

It's a Druid deal. Heathen, some would say.

Ancestral traditions, indigenous religions;

pour out offerings, speak Their names, tell Their stories.

Morrigan, Lugh, Eiru, Manannan mac Lir.

Worship restored; let Them know that you have not forgotten.

And do celebrate in this glorious restoration.

Pour a little whiskey in your tea!

Barley, coffee, or cream. Uisce beatha, "water for life".

Irish moonshine, Irish mist, little magic monsters, and an old Leprechaun's kiss.

Celtic's Brew, Ireland's Ale, or a classic Extra Stout, whatever your style may be, celebrate for the struggle of spirits.

A pint and a pinch.

Wear your knotwork today and rejoice in an old Irish way.

Happy Saint Paddy's Day!

Sunday Scribblings: Big

The Sunday Scribblings prompt this week is big.

The recent 8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan spawned a massive tsunami, destroying towns, swallowing cities, and leaving hundreds of people to find a way to say goodbye to loved ones.

A shallow sense of reality,

in a life so fragile.


Within our safe havens, upon this planet, we drift though days, we dance in celebration, we tuck our babies to bed. We make New Year's resolutions, we save up for rainy days, we make financial investments. We upgrade our vehicles. We throw away dreams, we wash our hands of messes, we pray for better days, we follow a path, we make our own destinies. How often do we slow down to recognize a bigger plot? Our consumption, our chaos, our necessary chores.
As we continue our endless cycle, Earth itself cycles through her days leaving us, at times, empty and idle. Leaving us to accept our fates, asking us to allow her her own determined course.

Lazy Reading Day

Happy Birthday, Eldest One!

Nine years ago, you are the one that made me a mama.

My oldest boy, you were first for a reason. Patient and clever.

An old old soul, you've shared so much.

Those ancient eyes speak of so many stories. Tales and tall-tales

all the way to the tips of your locks. A bookworm baby.

Art, unforgettable and the poems, all too much. A Gautama was on his way, and we knew this long before you came. Siddhartha, it shall be. And my my my, you have truly lived up to all of that name.

The best big brother to so many little people.

Siddhartha, my dear, I'd love to sail around the sun with you, so long as it burns.

So blessed we are to be able to celebrate another year with you, eldest one!

It was a Gift

Ten years ago we made vows before the moon and wrote eternity in the sand...in a world of impermanence and constant change, of growth and destined decay, we found immortality in US... Knowing that silver and gold can be melted away, taken off and abandoned ,we instead committed ourselves to Jatta...the blessed knots that adorn our heads and forever hold the Ganges close by. Ten revolutions of the sun and ten revelations of the moon have brought me to your answer my love. "What was life like before the endless 3"......just you and me...You and Me.

Ten years are just the beginning.

From: Aaron

Siddie's Dreamcatcher