(Click here for Chapter 1)
September, 1977
I sit bolt upright in bed.
I don't know if it's day or night.
I hear the tinny, muffled sound of music drifting upward from my pillow. It's the Beatles, but I can't make out the song.
The curtains billow toward me, the bottom flips upward, a puff of cool breeze, a hint of burning leaves. My lungs expand. I lift the covers and touch my feet to the floor.
I stand and turn to the window across the room by Scott's empty bed. I can hear him outside. Talking to the trees, maybe playing with a truck, or preparing for takeoff in his pedal car. Another burst of autumn hits me from the side. My toes wiggle as I close my eyes and inhale. My feet leave the ground, and I float forward a few inches before they touch down softly onto the worn wooden floor.
Wait.
I turn and walk through the door, down the hall, toward the stairway. I pause at the top, step forward, wiggle my toes, walk downward. It seems natural. It's exhilarating. I r…
September, 1977
I sit bolt upright in bed.
I don't know if it's day or night.
I hear the tinny, muffled sound of music drifting upward from my pillow. It's the Beatles, but I can't make out the song.
The curtains billow toward me, the bottom flips upward, a puff of cool breeze, a hint of burning leaves. My lungs expand. I lift the covers and touch my feet to the floor.
I stand and turn to the window across the room by Scott's empty bed. I can hear him outside. Talking to the trees, maybe playing with a truck, or preparing for takeoff in his pedal car. Another burst of autumn hits me from the side. My toes wiggle as I close my eyes and inhale. My feet leave the ground, and I float forward a few inches before they touch down softly onto the worn wooden floor.
Wait.
I turn and walk through the door, down the hall, toward the stairway. I pause at the top, step forward, wiggle my toes, walk downward. It seems natural. It's exhilarating. I r…