Skeeter Creek

A short story of a young boys trip through life.

Skeeter Creek
By Joseph Breeden


1986
    The blazing summer sun burns into my naked back. I pump the pedals fiercely but cannot catch her, the long blonde haired demon by the name of Jenny. She turns, sticks out her tongue, and mocks me, “eat my dust, Cory.” My chubby preteen legs just can’t keep up with these guys. I stop, panting for breath. Brush my sweaty red hair out of my eyes and look down the old dirt road and see Tommy crossing the finish line, Jenny not far behind. “Forget you guys." I lay my bike in the ditch and head down into the woods. A few seconds latter I arrive at Skeeter Creek. We spend more time here than in school. I throw some cool water on my face and give my shirt a dip. A crayfish scuttles off backwards away from me. I slide the dull blue shirt over my head and draw a deep breath as the crisp water cools my sweating body. Something out of place catches my eye. I cross the creek, water filling my shoes. “What are you?”, I whisper. I crouch down and pick up a shimmering, clear, crystal about three inches long and as thick as my finger. “Wow.” I raise the crystal to the sky and look through it. A bright light flashes. I fall backwards in slow motion, landing in the creek. Cold water takes my breath. I quickly realize I cannot move. Thankfully, my head is still above water. Above me a redbud tree’s heart shaped leaves tremble in the light afternoon breeze. Everything seems to be moving slowly. A few minutes pass. I hear rustling and twigs snapping behind me. Fear quickens my heart. With much effort I lift my head slightly and slowly rise to a sitting position. Tommy and Jenny come crashing out of the brush behind me. Laughter fills the little wood. Tommy chimes in, “taking your bath a little early this week, are we.” Then Jenny throws her two cents in, “Cory I was just kidding, you can’t wash freckles off.” I turn and face the pair of laughing hyena. “Seriously! I found something you guys, a big crystal. When I looked in it, it knocked me down. It’s huge, It’s here somewhere. I must have dropped it.” I start searching frantically for the jewel. After twenty minutes of searching. The others grow tired, mostly from mocking me. “Well Cory we are going home, you feel free to stay here searching for imaginary crystals,” speaks Jenny with a snicker. Before she leaves my sight, she turns and smiles. “I’ll help you look some more tomorrow, Freckle Face.” Tommy’s voice echos from ahead of Jenny, “me too dude.” A smile slowly grows on my face. They tease me a lot sometimes but when it comes down to it, they’re true friends.
1994
    “The church is packed, it must be three hundred people here,” I whisper to Tommy. “Stop reminding me, dude, I’m nervous enough.” Tommy looks like he is about to pass out. I dip my red hair behind my ear and elbow him. I ask with a smile, “you sure you want to marry Demon Jenny or is it Skinny Jenny, Jenny Crookleg, Stink-foot Jenny?” Tommy’s tension washes away, he smiles and whispers, “she is going to beat you down, dude.” The piano kicks in, playing Here Comes The Bride. Jenny steps into the room and every eye scans her. Her slim nineteen year old body hugged tightly by white lace and cloth. Her bright blonde hair hangs and dances about her waist. I stand mouth open and whisper to Tommy, “she’s beautiful.”

 

2018
    Two guys in white help me down off the little bus,one on each side of me. “You have ten minutes,” the goofy one on the right states. I step out into the graveyard as memories begin to pour over me, sending chills up and down my spine. In the distance ahead of me, I see the full moon shimmering through the naked tree branches. About twenty yards in I find the ones I am looking for. I turn back and see my two guardians leaning against the van, smoke whisking from there heads. The street lights and the rising moon illuminate the two stones. “Tommy Norton Born: 1974 Died: 1994.” “Jenny Norton Born: 1975 Died: 1994.” I tenderly remove some fallen leaves from the stones. “Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been by. They only let me out once in a blue moon. Hard to believe that I have been in that place, for over twenty years. They say I’m still a danger to society. That day, leaving for your honeymoon still breaks me down. I can’t stop seeing your plane explode, even after all these years.” I fall on my knees and place a hand on each stone. “I miss you guys.... I wish we could explore the woods and streams again. Go splashing around in Skeeter Creek.” Moonlight sparkles off my tears as they splash onto the leaves between my two friends. “I wish we were together again. I wish we could start over. I need you guys.... Why did you leave me?” I slam my head into the stones. Blood pours down over my face. I hear my wardens running and shouting, “Stop!” I ram my face into the stones again opening new wounds. They grab my arms and that is when I see it. Where my tears fell, lay a water clear crystal about three inches long. My heart drops. I shout out loud, “I looked for you for years.” A thousand scenarios begin running through my mind. “Why show yourself now, after all this time.” I kick with all my might, knocking Goofy to the ground and dive for the crystal. My hand wraps around it and I pull it from the ground. I put it to my eye and spot the moon through the trees. A flash of light ignites every pore of my body. Slowly, I fall....

    In the darkness, the sound of running water reaches out and touches my ears. Images slowly come into focus. Above me a redbud tree’s heart shaped leaves tremble in the breeze. “Impossible”, I shout. I slowly sit up, as the feeling returns to my limbs. Little chubby hands brush red hair out of my eyes. I take a deep breath and with all that is in me I scream, “Wahoo!!!” Two familiar voices echo from the woods behind me. My heart jumps. I have never felt so alive. Tears stream down my face, not sad but joyous. I jump up and run toward the two laughing kids. I wrap my arms around Jenny and start kissing her face, even her mouth. “Get off me perv,” she pushes me away. I turn and wrap my arms around Tommy. I kiss his face several times before he pushes me away. “I love you guys,” I whisper, as more tears run down my face. Both stare at me and in unison speak, “what happened to you?” A big smile stretches my chubby cheeks. “Oh my, you are not going to believe it, when I tell you” We sit and stick our feet in the cool water of Skeeter Creek. Tommy on my left and Jenny on my right. I wrap a arm around each and pull them close. “Did I ever tell you guys, I love you?” “Only about a dozen times in the last five minutes,” speaks Tommy, sarcastically.  Jenny elbows me in the side. “Cory, tell us some more about this journey you went on.” The cool water bubbles by. A dragonfly darts across the creek, just missing us. A smile covers my face and I take a deep breath...

Author's Note

What do you guys think.
All comments welcome.
Thanks.

Reviews

[Rye]

This is wonderful, enjoyed your imagery in this. Very well written

[Joseph]

Thank you, very much.

[Samuel Dickens]

I love this wonderful, magical story! The time and place, the young characters and finally, the undoing of tragedy. You don't know me, but this kind of tale is right down my alley. As a boy, I spent much time on other Skeeter Creeks, finding arrow heads and sometimes... a crystal. An error here --" I shout out load"