Q: What do you call a story about a broken pencil?
A: Pointless…
Hey y’all! It’s that time again. I hope y’all been anxiously awaiting Chapter 5! If y’all haven’t, then y’all are a bunch of big stick in the muds ok? LOL. By the way, I have no idea why I’m trying to talk like I’m from the south. Maybe it’s because Andrew says y’all sometimes when he talks. He likes to think he has some southern blood in him because he spent a good number of years living in Virginia. But truth be told, he’s a nerdy northerner born and raised. 🙂 Anyways, I’m sure y’all are saying let’s get on with it already, so here’s the next installment of my ongoing exciting adventure and as always, here’s the links to the previous chapters…
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/
Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 5
“Three years?” I said in disbelief. “This is ridiculous! I’ve only been gone since 1pm!!!” I said angrily.
“Please calm down Andy, obviously you’re in a bit of shock right now,” Mrs. Sampson said, trying to comfort me as best as she could.
“The police are on their way Mary,” said Mr. Sampson emerging suddenly from the kitchen.
“Andy why don’t you just sit down here and relax. Maybe you’d like something to drink?” said Mrs. Sampson. I knew she was just trying to help me not feel so scared, but it wasn’t working and it was obvious to me now that this wasn’t some elaborate joke either.
“I’m not thirsty! I just want to go to my room and lay down right now and yet you’re telling me this isn’t my home anymore. I’m so confused! I left here at 1pm to go play in the woods ma’am. My mom told me to be back by 5pm, but I lost track of time because of this cave and these numbers on the floor and a door that locked me in, and well…a bunch of other stuff that’s too hard to explain right now. I know I may be an hour late but come on, three years late???”
I pinched my cheek rather hard hoping somehow I wasn’t going to be able to do it or feel it, given that’s supposed to mean a person is dreaming. But ouch! It really hurt!
“Andy, how about watching some television until the police arrive? And try not to worry, I’m sure they’ve contacted your folks by now…” Mr. Sampson chimed in with hope in his voice seeing his wife feeling somewhat helpless.
I watched as this stranger in my home turned on a TV I had never saw before. And as I sat down on a couch that wasn’t the one there when I had left five hours earlier, Mr. and Mrs. Sampson stared at each other with blank expressions making me feel even more uncomfortable. I decided it might be best to not say anymore until either my parents or the police arrived. Thankfully, twenty minutes later, a loud knock on the door broke the tension.
“Evening ma’am. I’m Officer Wooten and this here is Office Bogart. You called about one of our missing person’s cases, an Andy Dawson?”
I quickly sprinted off the couch and ran to the front door hoping to see my parents standing behind the officers, but sadly they weren’t there.
“Well hey there son, I’m…” Officer Wooten started to introduce himself.
“I don’t care who you are! Where are my parents? This is my home! These strange people are in my house!”
“Calm down, calm down…” Officer Bogart said gently.
“I’m Andy Dawson! I live here! I’ve lived here for 12 years! I went into the woods at 1pm to play and got caught up in a cave with some weird numbers and a door that locked me in and by the time I got out of there, I was late by an hour, but these weird people said it’s been 3 years and that it’s not my home anymore!”
I had to take a deep breath because it felt like I was beginning to hyperventilate. I know it probably sounded like I was crazy to all of them, but in my head I just recapped my entire afternoon, which unfortunately was now turning into a nightmare instead of an adventure.
“Andy, do you know your parents names?” Officer Wooten asked.
“Of course I do! Pam and Lewis! And I have a sister named Laura! She’s three years older than me! My room is upstairs at the end of the hallway and hers is right next to mine! What more do I have to do to prove to you that I’m me and not crazy!”
“Andy please, we’re only trying to help you. But we’re going to have to take you down to the station, which is where your family is going to meet you. How does that sound?” Officer Bogart said calmly.
“Fine!” I said storming out of the house.
I so wanted this to be a dream. But apparently it wasn’t. Mr. and Mrs. Sampson weren’t my parents and this wasn’t my house and because of it, I couldn’t even look back at them. In all honesty, I was downright scared, which is most likely why Officer Bogart let me ride in the front seat all the way to the station. Normally, I would have found this to be a pretty cool experience, but given the situation, it felt like an eternity getting there. Fifteen minutes later we finally pulled into its parking lot and there it was, my parent’s silver Toyota Camry. I only recognized it because of the bumper sticker my mother had put on it long ago that said “DeColores”. I immediately raced out of the patrol car once it was safely parked and into the station, not waiting for the officers to accompany me in.
“Mom! Dad! Laura!” I yelled as I burst through the station’s front door, not even knowing where they were.
“Andy???” A timid sounding voice came from behind me, which sounded a lot like my mother’s. I quickly turned around and there was my family.
“Oh thank God!” my mother said wrapping her arms around me as she began crying. I was crying as well, but I didn’t care. I never really liked hugs before, except this one felt long overdue and much needed. My father and sister soon joined in, embracing the both of us and for a brief moment, I completely forgot about Mr. and Mrs. Sampson, the house that was no longer my home, and the three years I had supposedly lost.
“Are you ok son?” I looked up at my Dad who was asking me the question. I honestly had no idea what to say.
“Not really Dad. I went outside to play in the woods like I usually do on Saturdays at 1pm today. Mom saw me leave. I was hanging out at this rock like always and decided to dig for buried treasure. I found this hatch, which led into a magical cave and there were numbers on the floor in there and…”
I stopped talking because they were giving me that same look like both the Sampson’s and the police did, that look like I was making everything up.
“Fine, if you don’t believe me, look at this crystal I found in the cave!” I pulled it out of my pocket to show them and noticed it was still glowing purple.
I hadn’t really had a chance to inspect it up close because of my abrupt departure from there when the cave door was coming down. Ironically, I was able to see now that there were symbols on each of its smooth sides and recognized a few of them as ones from the zodiac.
“Andy, it’s just some rock…” My father said. “You’re obviously just a little overwhelmed right now.”
“It’s not just some rock! Look, don’t you see these zodiac signs on here? Don’t you see how it’s glowing purple?”
“There’s nothing on the rock Andy…” My mom said beginning to cry again while my sister looked at me worriedly.
“Look it’s right here! This symbol is a scale, and I know that’s LIBRA!” I said quite loudly.
Suddenly I heard a loud “WHOOSH”, like the air was being sucked out of something, and then everything became weirdly silent. The scale symbol immediately disappeared on the crystal I was still holding up for my family to see. Except now they weren’t moving, and neither were any of the officers around us who had been listening in on our reunion. In fact, everyone in the room was looking like mannequins stuck in strange poses, faces frozen in various expressions. My heart began racing again as I noticed a stream of coffee was hanging in mid air between a pot and a mug that Officer Bogart was holding nearby…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson