When Lightning Strikes [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7: Island Paradise

When she felt the first bump, Julie pulled her drooling cheek off her arm. She looked up and out the car window. They were crossing the mile-long bridge to the island. They were here.

The gaps between the bridge’s concrete slabs bumped the SUV slightly as they drove. She couldn’t remember much of the ride. All the fighting must have worn her out since she fell asleep shortly after they left the house. The sun was setting, so she must have slept all day.

The island was in a bay, and the water was never choppy. If this were a vacation, she would have liked the effect of the colors as they played across the still waters of the bay. The orange, red, pink, and purple stretched across the water like long fingers reaching out to the bridge from the mainland.

She glanced around the car and saw her brother and mom were asleep too. Lir was driving the car and didn’t know she was awake. Julie looked back outside. She hadn’t spoken a single word to anyone in the car today. She didn’t intend to now.

Her foot bumped the suitcase stuffed under her seat. She’d packed the one bag this morning. She didn’t bother with any of her dancing stuff. It made her sad. What was the point? That part of her life was over now anyway. She closed her eyes. Her life might as well be over now.

Her mother had insisted that she leave most of her jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts behind. The movers would take care of it all, and they would get everything in a few days. It was weird to think that strangers would be boxing up her old room. Her old memories.

The bridge crested where large boats could pass underneath it, and below them the island stretched as far as she could see to either side. The island was big. She didn’t remember it being this large.

Julie tried to place it on a map in her head and realized that she didn’t even know what state they were in. How far had they driven? It took most of the day since they left early this morning. She glanced at her father and decided she didn’t care enough to ask him exactly where they were. Did it matter?

Ahead from the crest in the long bridge, she could make out the one small town. Up ahead, its neat little streets crisscrossed the road they were on. From the top of the bridge, it looked like someone had drawn neat grid lines across the entire island.

Everything was clean and orderly. The street they drove down was double-sided, with flowers and trees planted down the median. Each storefront was freshly painted and had a planter with differing seasonal flower arrangements. Julie didn’t spot a single weed. The effect was a rigid beauty where everything was planned to the detail. As if every blade of grass was measured to match its fellows.

They turned right when the road split at a large public park. She kept her head pressed to the cold glass. She couldn’t see far into the park with the sun getting lower, but every bush she could see was a perfect conical shape, like someone had drawn them in place.

A few people were scattered about the park and the town. All were dressed nicely. No one was wearing beach clothes or flip-flops, though the weather was nice enough. It was clear that the women didn’t leave their homes without styling their hair and putting makeup on. After growing up here she could understand better why her parents never left the house looking anything but perfectly put together.