Thank you for waiting....

I've begun my trek in the right direction. You will find some very standard themes here, but keep in mind I am writing for a young adult audience. This chapter sets the tone for how the first book will start wrapping up. Sammy has lots of adventures ahead!!!! Enjoy and again, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it!


Eleven:

Sammy felt his feet leaving the ground as he held his friend’s hand tightly. He looked below as all of the objects on the ground slowly became smaller and smaller. The snow was still falling all around, but it looked so beautiful to him, and the warmth he felt was contradicting the blustery conditions. He felt like he had sunshine in his stomach. Eddie smiled at him, increasing the feeling of warmth and they ascended further still. Sammy watched with eyes wide open as the lights on the ground became blurred in the cover of the thick snow filled air. He pulled his head back and watched the sky above. They were closing in on the cloud layer. The grey clouds were tinted with the yellow lights of the city. He felt like a helium balloon that was let go after a parade, climbing ever onward towards the clouds, eventually out of eyesight. He always wondered where those balloons went. How high could they climb? He sometimes pictured a great number of balloons floating around in space when he was younger.

They pierced the cloud layer and an impenetrable mist formed all around them. It was sparkling with ice crystals and flickering flashes of light. He thought he saw the faces of angels as they moved upward. There was a vibrant sound coming from the crystals. It was like a thousand beautiful wind chimes playing a song together. The crystals of ice danced and bounced around inside the cloud. The scenery was stunning, and the music was none like anything he had ever heard on earth. Sensing Sammy’s joy, Eddie slowed the ascension and they hovered in the ethereal mist. Sammy let go of his hand and spun slowly in the mist. He was lost in happy feelings. The music made him dance all around the mist slowly. He was tumbling and turning, dancing and playing. Soon Eddie joined in and the two of them were spinning and twirling wildly. They laughed and smiled like small children frolicking in the sand at the beach. The music increased as the crystals became brighter and more lively. The energy was incredible. Sam looked at Eddie and saw a bright white light all around his body that got brighter and brighter as his happiness increased. He looked at his own hands and arms and noticed that they were glowing in a similar tone. It was a dazzling scene, everything glowing and playing and the music swelling in volume and intensity. Sammy buzzed around in the mist smiling brightly. He noticed he was moving very freely and sensing his new found confidence in flight, blasted himself upwards and into the night sky. What he saw next, made him speechless.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Eddie said. Sammy couldn’t reply. He looked into space and saw the whole infinite universe in front of him. The colors fascinated him. There were streaks of purple and magenta. There were beautiful star clusters and galaxies. He could see into the center of the twinkling Milky Way galaxy. It was far better than the poster he had on his wall, far more beautiful and vast than he had ever expected. The twinkling lights of stars flashed all around and told of stories of infinite possibilities. He didn’t feel the emptiness that people sometimes felt when thinking of space. He saw infinite worlds and places that would be beyond his comprehension. Mysterious gases vaporized and reappeared. Comets streaked through, leaving trails behind them. Sammy’s eyes were locked and focused.

“It is more beautiful than you can imagine, and the possibilities are endless my friend. It’s all energy out there! You will see it all someday. I have seen so much already Sam. I have visited places that would make the most amazing places on Earth pale in comparison. But you are still connected there buddy… and you must finish your time there first. We all go there to learn lessons. You are learning yours now. Many times we go back again and again to learn. I am due for a trip back soon.” “What you are saying, is that you are coming back? You have to leave…all of this?” Sammy asked curiously. “Well, yes and no. There are still some things I have to do on Earth, speaking of which… there are a few things I want to show you before you go back.”

Eddie grabbed his hand and plunged the two of them back towards the Earth. Sammy hadn’t noticed how far above the clouds they had drifted. They were so far above the planet that they could see most of the US and Canada. They were diving back towards the Earth at amazing speeds and the small became large again. As they got closer and closer, they passed through the misty cloud layer that they had been playing in and soon were back in the city, then in the neighborhood that they had just left. Eddie landed them in a yard on Bolton St., which was between the community center and St. Stephens. A dog came running straight for them and began barking. Sammy backed away quickly. “I thought we were supposed to be invisible!” he yelled to Eddie. “Ha ha… I forgot to tell you that animals can see you! Especially dogs. They are always connected to the other side. Ever wonder why a dog runs circles in the yard, barking at nothing or how a cat gets spooked out of thin air and runs quickly under a piece of furniture? Well, now you know! Ha ha. Don’t worry. He’ll just run right through you. It is kind of neat actually.” Sammy let the dog run and each time he passed through he could feel the energy of the dog. After a few runs the dog changed his disposition from angry to happy and sat right next to him calmly.

Eddie was looking through the back window of the house. He motioned Sammy over. Inside of the house was a woman who looked very angry and possibly drunk. She was hunched over her kitchen table with a glass of what looked to be whiskey and she was smoking cigarettes one after the other. “Who is she?” Sammy asked. “Watch,” was Eddie’s reply and he pointed Sam’s attention back to the kitchen. The woman took a big swig of the whiskey and slammed the glass back down on the table. She was shaking nervously and had big black circles under her eyes. She was mumbling something to herself when a boy came in from the other room. It was Charlie Grossman. He walked into the kitchen with his head down and didn’t look at the woman. She had her back to him and he was moving like he didn’t want her to know he was there. He slowly opened the refrigerator door and when he did a small glass jar fell from the door and smashed on the floor. The woman started screaming and yelling, and threw her empty whiskey glass at him. It bounced off of Charlie’s shoulder and hit the floor, breaking also. “Clean it up! Clean it up or I’ll kill you!” she screamed at him. He bent down to pick up he pieces and she slapped him across the face. “What are you doing going in the fridge anyway! Tell me!” Her voice was teeming with anger. She kept hitting him. “You forgot to cook dinner Aunt Rita… I was hungry,” he said under his breath. “What! What! You think I don’t feed you! You think you don’t eat enough! You eat every dime that comes in this house! You are disgusting! I don’t know what I was thinking….” On and on the abusive language went.

Charlie kept apologizing and cleaning up the glass. Eventually he left the room and the woman went back to her chair and began smoking again. She was shaking violently and her face had a blue-ish purple color to it. She was very sick. “You see Sammy. Charlie has no family besides his disturbed aunt. He deals with this everyday. All he sees is violence and anger. That is why he acts the way he does when he’s with his friends. He hasn’t ever been loved or cared for properly. He feels like his whole life is a fight, and it is.” Sammy felt Eddie’s words deep inside of him. He felt bad for Charlie. He had such a wonderful and supportive family and despite their struggles, they were nothing like what Charlie had just gone through. They moved to the side of the house to the window leading to Charlie’s bedroom. He was lying on a mattress on the floor, crying and whimpering like a baby. It was quite a contrast from the macho image he carried on the streets. Sam felt like he could cry too.