Song of a Sophomore

CHAPTER 29 - Bright as Yellow

I spied the sleepy mansion through the windshield as we cruised down the bumpy gravel road at the end of the ninth hole of the River View Golf Club. It was the same dirt road that tore into my flesh when I went flying over the handlebars of my bike that day with Ryan as the thunderstorm roared above us. It was the same dusty trail we traveled back down in the cover of darkness to search for Ryan's backpack, not to mention the same road Bernie's red Jeep came bouncing down blasting hip hop songs.

Here I was two months later pressed between the strong, lean arms of Zach Ashburn on my left and the soft, rounded shoulders of Leo Goodwin on my right heading down its twisted path one more time, a destination finally in sight.

"There's my Granddad's old place," Zach pointed to the decaying remains. "No one's lived there for twenty years."

"It looks magnificent." I was clearly still enraptured with its timeless elegance.

"It looks like a haunted house." Leo leaned awkwardly in front of me to get a better look. "Gotta be some ghosts there, man."

"Ghosts are just the half of it," Zach said. "A lot of history in that place. Good and bad."

I think I knew what he meant. The house pre-dated the Civil War. When I first saw the place, I thought the scariest thing about was the graveyard next door, but I had the sudden realization there are worse things than death. I squirmed in the seat at the thought of it. The heaviness of it all made me a little restless. I felt a desperate need to stretch out my arms and legs. It came and went as the mansion disappeared behind us.

The thick patches of trees and brush on either side of the road gave way to rolling farmland. The truck's hazy headlights revealed rusty farm equipment, hale bales and a red wooden barn in the distance. Everything seemed to have a beautiful glow, maybe from the fog. A knot formed at the pit of my stomach.

Why doI feel so nauseous? And cold? Is is nerves?

The strange sensation subsided almost as quickly as it came, and a warm, blissful feeling emerged in its place. It was pure confidence.

I'm ready for this.

Zach turned sharply to the right, hit the brakes and threw the gearshift into park. I spied a field spreading out below and a pyre of wood logs rising like a monument from the earth. Beyond it, rows of unruly grapevines clung onto delicate, wooden trellises as far as the eye could see. The generous light from the truck was so bright and pure, illuminating all the shadows of this mysterious place. Zach flipped off the headlights and it all disappeared into the darkness.

I leaned toward him and inhaled, savoring the scent of his cologne. I smelled it so many times before, but tonight the fragrance morphed into colors and textures I could almost see and feel. The vanilla notes like warm russet deerskin, soft beneath my fingers. The sandalwood luxurious black and gold like a tiger's fur coat. Oak moss rising up like the dense forest floor rustling with brittle leaves and a carpet of emerald moss beneath my bare feet. In fact, everything felt multidimensional and new, like I was experiencing for the first time. This is so strange.

Zach stepped out of the truck and reached his hand out to me. When I touched it, electricity spiked through my veins. His touch was so unbelievably hot, radiating white lightning down into my bones. I never felt anything like it before. I reached out and touched his coat. I felt a million receptors under my skin turn on and flash bright impulses to my brain. It was euphoric. I grabbed Zach's hair. The silkiness nearly melted me into a puddle on the ground.