Words From My Inner Child Andy – Page 13

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 8

Q: What did one pencil say to the other pencil?
A: Hey, you’re looking pretty sharp!!!

Hello everyone! It’s time for another chapter in my greatest adventure. But before I get to the good stuff, just a quick heads up that starting tomorrow, Captain Lazy is going to be taking the next two weeks off from writing his way too serious type of blog entries. 🙂 He says he needs a small break from writing for a few weeks, but I told him that maybe that’s not long enough because I keep falling asleep whenever I read his stuff. LOL. Anyways, you’ll be seeing the “Thought For The Day” each day until then. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter to my story and as always, here’s the links to the previous ones in case you aren’t caught up yet…

https://thetwelfthstep.com/2014/12/10/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-1/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2014/12/18/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-2/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2014/12/27/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-3/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2015/01/04/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-4/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2015/01/16/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-5/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2015/01/29/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-6/
https://thetwelfthstep.com/2015/02/10/andys-woodsy-adventure-chapter-7/

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 8

“C-AN-CER!” I somehow managed to sputter the word out just in time before my parents reached me and probably before I would have passed out from the lack of oxygen.

Suddenly my lungs seemed to work again allowing me to take in a huge long gulp of air.

“ANDY, ARE YOU OK???” My mother asked looking quite distressed.

“Yea, I had some water go down the wrong pipe Mom, no big deal.” I lied of course. I mean how could I explain this in any other way?

“You had us kind of scared there for a moment son…” My Dad said giving me an uneasy smile and a few pats on the back.

They ended up staying at the poolside with me for the rest of the time I swam that day and ended up doing the same each time I had gone swimming during the last few weeks of summer. Soon the pool was closed and my days at camp were behind me. Life now had me back on a bus heading to my first day of the 7^th grade. I thought about my crystal for a moment as I sat there and looked out the window and knew my fear of choking to death had totally kept me from playing around with it since that day. Nothing else worth mentioning had really happened since that incident other than noticing my family had actually started acting a lot more normal around me. Unfortunately it seemed as if the rest of the world wasn’t, because the kids at the bus stop that morning had all been whispering and staring at me, which made me worry whether everyone else at school would be doing the same. I didn’t have much time to ponder the thought though because we had just pulled up to the front of the middle school. With backpack firmly in place, I nervously headed off the bus and through the school’s front doors.

“FREAK!” I had only taken a few steps into the school when I heard the word come from behind me rather loudly. Turning around, I saw a few kids snicker at me before they went off in the opposite direction. I guess that pretty much answered my question…

By the time I found my homeroom, it seemed as if everyone else was already there. The only remaining seat was up front and after sitting down there I could feel everyone’s eyes staring at me from behind. Even the teacher sitting at his desk almost directly facing me seemed to be doing the same. I blame all those reporters for this because my sudden reappearance had become major news headlines for a bunch of days. They had warped everything I told both them and the police and truly believed my story was merely a concoction arising out of shock and fear, which unfortunately is what my family continues to believe as well. And according to the articles I read about me, there was no evidence found in the woods to support any of my claims. I’m guessing this is why everyone has asked me more times than I can count if I was kidnapped and how it’s ok to tell them the truth. Several times I wanted to lie and give them what they desired, but I didn’t. Now everyone just thinks I’m nuts, including my parents, but at least they haven’t forced me to go see some type of children’s psychologist.

Luckily, the morning bell finally rang, breaking the huge chain of stares at me. As the teacher began calling out names for attendance, I secretly wished I had the ability to become invisible.

“Amanda Ashford?”

“HERE!”

“Jonathan Bader?”

“HERE!”

“Mary Crawford?”

“HERE!”

“Brian Davidson?”

“HERE!”

“Andy Dawson?”

“Freak!” Someone from behind me muttered it loud enough for most everyone to hear.

“Here…” I responded slumping down into my seat while listening to their giggles, already beginning to dread the new school year.

As the teacher droned on name after name, I reached into my backpack to pull out a notebook for my first class, which was English. For a second I saw the warm glow coming from the crystal lying at the bottom of my bag and was comforted in knowing I really wasn’t crazy. I was glad I had placed it there that morning but sadly, it looked as if everyone else would never know the truth and would always look at me this way.

Thankfully English came and went, followed by Math, then Social studies, all without incident, other than the constant staring and occasional snicker. Lunch and recess were next, which normally was one of my least favorite times of the day only because I usually got picked on quite a bit during it in past years. I had just grabbed my tray in the cafeteria line and filled it with some chicken fingers, fries, a vanilla pudding, and some milk. After paying for it with the money my parents had given me, I ventured into the sea of tables looking for a place to sit. And then it happened like it always did every single year. A foot appeared out of nowhere catching my leg as I moved forward. The plate of food on my tray began to fly off of it as thoughts of being laughed at by everyone in the cafeteria quickly crossed my mind.

“Libra!” I muttered in desperation hoping somehow it might still work even though I wasn’t holding onto the crystal in my hand.

WHOOSH…

Time suddenly stood motionless, much to my unexpected delight. My plate of food now hung in mid-air, fingers, fries, pudding, and milk appearing like a suspended piece of artwork. To my right stood the same kid from the morning who had called me a freak, grinning from ear to ear, along with a few of his friends.

I smiled knowing I finally had a way to even the tide for once.

First, I unbuckled the tripper’s pants and pulled them all the way down to the ground. I had to laugh when I saw his pink tighty-whities lying underneath. Next, I did the same with each of his friends, all having pretty ridiculous looking underwear as well. And finally, I placed my food and drink safely back on the plate and on my tray and then moved a few steps away from the still frozen grinning kids.

“Libra!” I said now smiling from ear to ear myself.

WHOOSH…

And it was right then I decided the world was now going to start knowing a new me, Andy 2.0…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 7

Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A: A Gummy Bear!

Hey everyone! Andy here with another entry for my greatest woodsy adventure ever! Oh before I forget, in case you’ve been wondering why there’ve been more “Thought For The Day” entries lately, it’s because Doodyhead is really getting lazy! LOL! Seriously though, I think Andrew’s trying to find more of a balance in life between writing and various other projects and commitments. But to be perfectly honest, I too am finding it exhausting sometimes writing something original and new, which is why I’m going to only be doing two chapters per month now. I guess I’m a slacker too then huh! 🙂 Regardless, hopefully none of this gets your panties in a bunch and thank you for continuing to read both his more serious (boring 🙂 ) articles and my more fun stories. And as always, here’s the links to the previous chapters of my ongoing adventure…

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 7

“Are you really me?” I said to Andy #2 poking him.

“Of course I’m you silly!” Andy #2 said laughing.

“Well if you’re me, then what number am I thinking right now?”

“11!”

“Cool! Ok, so what’s my favorite food then?”

“Peperoni, cheddar, and green olive thin crust pizza well done!”

“NO WAY!!!”

“Andy, what’s going on up there?” My mom suddenly shouted. I could hear her footsteps coming up the stairs. Obviously she had heard me talking to me #2.

“I’ll have to catch up with you later…” I started to say quickly to me #2 knowing I didn’t want her to see my duplicate.

“Gator…” me #2 finished what I would have said.

“Gemini!”

POP…

My bedroom door abruptly opened with a very concerned looking mother now looking in.

“Is everything ok? I heard you talking and laughing in here?”

“Yeah, I’m just trying to get back to my usual weird self Mom. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be ok.” I knew my words weren’t going to reassure her much. After all, she was seeing me for the first time in three years. In my mind though, it had only been a bunch of hours.

“Ok honey, dinner will be in an hour. I’m making your favorite chicken dish, Chicken Marsala. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds great Mom! Thanks!” I said smiling as she closed my door again. I absolutely loved Chicken Marsala and only ever got it on very special occasions.

Hmmm, maybe I should disappear more often I thought with a grin. I looked down at the crystal that was still in my hand and decided it was best to put it in the bottom of my sock drawer for now. I really didn’t want to have anything strange to happen over dinner. I had so many questions and so few answers, but for now, I was happy that a few good things had come out of such a terrifying and overwhelming day. My meal later that night was awesome as always and it didn’t take long after it to fall asleep. I was totally exhausted from all the day’s events and while my bed was not the one I remembered, it was exactly what I needed…

Thankfully, life didn’t throw me any more curve balls the next day or the next week for that matter. I had chosen to keep my magic crystal hidden in the bottom of my sock drawer the entire time, mainly due to the lack of free time. I had spent all of Sunday with my family going to church, having lunch afterwards, swimming in the in-ground pool my new home had, having a barbecue later that night, and then playing cards to end the evening. As for the past five days, I had spent each of them in a YMCA day camp. I think my parents thought that sending me to camp would make it easier for not only me, but for them as well. I usually spent most of my summers in them anyway, so it was fine.

I noticed it was another hot Saturday in August as I set my arts and crafts projects down from camp and opened my bedroom window. Summer was just about over and in just about two weeks, I’d be starting school again. While it was hard to think about all the kids I once knew now being in their second year of high school instead of the 7^th grade with me, I was somewhat relieved to realize my former bullies wouldn’t be there anymore either.

The numbers on the clock in my bedroom read 10:15am. I had slept in much longer than I normally did. The faint murmur of my parents taking to each other outside drifted up through my opened window. They had definitely been overly protective of me since coming home, allowing me to only play in the front or back yard where they could see me. I didn’t blame them for being that way though given how long they said I’d been missing. Fortunately, they weren’t asking me anymore what happened out in the woods because they could see how upset I got each time I told them, mostly because they didn’t believe me. I had also learned in passing from my sister that they had moved two years after I disappeared, solely for it having been too painful for them to remain there. And although I had been gone for as long as I was, she told me none of them ever gave up hope that I’d eventually be found.

It was kind of hard for me to understand what they all went through given my perception of time being quite different from theirs. Regardless, I was doing my best to get used to life at my new home, and I was more than glad to have a huge in-ground pool to play in on a hot day like today. Interestingly enough though, the pool pretty much took up the whole backyard and there were no woods to be seen beyond it, just another house instead.

As I put my bathing suit on, I decided to take my crystal out of the drawer for the first time since placing it there. It was still glowing purple, even though it appeared I was the only one who could see that. I was truly looking forward to trying something with it today that had come to me when swimming with my family last weekend. Sprinting down the stairs with it now in hand, I waved at my parents as I ran past them sitting on the back porch. I was told to be careful and slow down while heading down the deck stairs and into the pool area. My sister was nowhere to be found, so it looked like as if I had the whole pool to myself, of which I was glad for. The water was somewhat cool to the touch, but I knew it would be a welcomed relief from the blistering sun. After placing my towel and the crystal on a chair, I took a running jump and did a huge cannonball into the pool.

When I re-emerged to the surface, I noticed my mother and father were now peering down at me obviously making sure I was ok. It took about 15 minutes of me swimming and playing safely in the water for them to stop checking on me, which finally gave me the chance I needed. I silently got out of the pool trying not to draw my parent’s attention and dried myself completely off with the towel just to make sure I hadn’t. After picking up the crystal and making sure all the Zodiac signs were still present and accounted for, I looked for the one I was most curious about today, the “crab”, mostly because I knew the sea creature to be aquatic-based.

“Cancer!” I said just loud enough for only me to hear.

Suddenly I found myself gasping for breath while the symbol abruptly disappeared on the crystal. I couldn’t breathe at all. It was as if the passageways through my mouth and nose were completely blocked. It also felt as if something were now moving on either side of my neck. My gasping grew louder and louder, until it drew the attention and horror of my parents. I never knew what it felt like to not be able to breathe, but now I did, and the only thought crossing my mind at the moment was whether I was about to die of asphyxiation…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 6

Q: What did Geronimo say when he jumped out of the airplane?

A: ME!!!!!!

Hello everyone! Can you believe it’s already been over a month since Christmas? Pretty soon it’s going to be spring again, which is when my friends Jimmy and Donald will be coming back home to Toledo! Yeah! Let’s just hope their mansion on wheels doesn’t have any more toilet issues between now and then. Ewww! Gross! Anyways, here’s the next chapter in my ongoing adventure, as well as the links to the previous installments. Enjoy!

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 6

I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t imagining what I was seeing. It really did look as if everyone were a mannequin posing in odd ways. For a moment, I began to consider whether I might actually be going crazy. But given everything I had gone through in that cave, finding out three years had passed since leaving it, and learning that my home was no longer my home, I quickly pushed aside any of those thoughts seeing how crazy my whole day had been already.

“Mom?” I said somewhat timidly, hoping somehow she might respond. She didn’t and neither did she when I lightly touched her arm either, which honestly felt no different than what any person’s arm feels like when touched.

I repeated the same process with my father, my sister, and even with Officer Wooten and Bogart, but nothing happened with any of them either. Even weirder were those people in the police station who had been talking just a second earlier. Now their mouths were wide open as if they still were, yet nothing was coming out of them.

I waved my hands, jumped up and down and then screamed at the top of my lungs hoping one of them would make some sort of a difference, except none of it did. Ironically, I wasn’t panicking though and neither was my heart racing. After what I had already gone through so far today, this seemed much less frightening. Somehow this magic crystal was responsible for what was happening, but how? As it continued to glow that purple color in my hand, I saw the spot was still blank where the Libra symbol had been.

“What does Libra have to do with any of this?” I said aloud hoping to get an answer out of one of the creepy police officer mannequins I had just walked up to.

WHOOSH…

“Son, you know you’re not supposed to be back here…” The creepy mannequin suddenly had come to life causing me to let out of blood-curdling scream.

“AHHH!”

Officer Wooten immediately came running over and asked what was wrong and how I had gotten back there. I didn’t say anything. I mean how could I, as it didn’t make any sense to me either. He promptly escorted me back over to my family who were all looking at me now as if I truly was crazy. I looked at the crystal in my hand and noticed the Libra symbol had now re-appeared back in its original spot.

“How did you get over there?” my sister said pointing to where I had just been. “I mean weren’t you just in front of us?”

“Don’t you see the symbols on this crystal?” I said holding it in front of her while my parents and the officers just shook their heads.

“Andy, I don’t see anything other than a gray rock…” Laura said sadly.

“There is! Look closer! This is definitely a Libra!”

WHOOSH…

Everyone abruptly became a mannequin again as the Libra symbol disappeared.

“LIBRA!” I said the Zodiac word again seeing if my hunch was correct.

“Andy, it’s ok, I’m sure you’ve been through…” Office Wooten started speaking. The symbol re-appeared.

“LIBRA!”

WHOOSH…

Mannequins, no Libra symbol.

“LIBRA!”

“a lot…” Officer Wooten finished.

I smiled as I saw the symbol re-appeared once more on the crystal. While I was far from understanding anything that was going on, I was excited about this new ability. For the next few minutes, I continued to mutter the word “Libra” repetitively watching everyone become mannequins and then return back to life. It appeared as if saying the word ‘Libra’ really did freeze time and was somehow tied to the crystal, as the symbol would come and go each instance I said it aloud. I ultimately decided to put it away though when my mother asked me to stop saying the word Libra because from her perception, I’m sure it must have looked like I was just going nuts saying it over and over again.

After what seemed like an eternity, my family was finally allowed to take me home, or at least to my new home that is. I was totally exhausted. After having repeated my story countless times to everyone in exactly the same way, which recounted my entering the woods and then re-emerging a bunch of hours later, it was decided that I was in shock and didn’t know what I was saying. It was obvious to me now that I was the only one who could see the true nature of the crystal, which made me wonder what other secrets I might find contained within it.

As I hopped into the backseat of the Camry, I thought about what Officer Bogart has told me during what felt like an interrogation. He said that the woods had been fully searched for many months after I had disappeared three years ago and that the only thing they had found was the huge rock I was speaking of and nothing else. The thought briefly crossed my mind that maybe they hadn’t been able to see the secret hatch just like they hadn’t been able to see my crystal.

The car ride to my new home was rather uneventful other than my sister continuing to stare at me like I was an alien. I managed to chuckle once though after making a creepy face at her, which had totally startled her. She looked so much older to me now, and I could tell that three years had done her well. I’d probably never admit it to her, but she did look a whole heck of a lot prettier now. My parents on the other hand both seemed to have aged, more than what three years should have brought them. Each had a ton of gray hair and wrinkles all over their face. By the time we pulled in to the driveway of my new home, everyone had stared at me and smiled in silence dozens of times, all of it having felt so very uncomfortable.

After the car was parked in the garage, I asked if I could go lay down given how tired I felt. I had been so tired I hadn’t even paid much attention to the details of my new home when we had pulled in the driveway. Thankfully my parents agreed to my simple request without any further questioning and led me to the guest room where they told me it would now be my own room. I plopped down on the bed after they closed the door and pulled out my mysterious crystal that only I could see. Its purple glow soothed me and I was thankful that it was proof on some level that I truly wasn’t going crazy, even if I was the only one who could see it.

“I wonder…” I said noticing my Zodiac symbol, the Gemini.

“Gemini!” I said aloud.

Suddenly I heard a “POP” that sounded a lot like a cork coming out of a bottle of wine.

“Hi Andy! How’s it going?” An exact duplicate of me was now sitting on the bed directly next to me smiling.

As I looked down at the crystal and noticed the Gemini symbol was now the one disappeared, I grinned in excitement knowing the upcoming school year couldn’t come soon enough…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: