River of Dreams

River of Dreams: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“You were always hard to hold so letting go ain’t easy. I’m hanging on but growing cold while my mind is leaving.”—Lifehouse, “Halfway Gone”

I stared out the window. It was pouring outside. Deep pools of water covered the ground, people in dark clothes trudged by with dark umbrellas, and everything was gloomy and calm . . . It was sad yet strangely comforting. 

The chair next to me scraped against the floor and my attention was whipped from the dreary scene outside to the boy beside me holding onto two steaming plastic cups in his hands. He held out one to me and I took it from him, taking a sip.

"Thanks," I said. The hot coco was like a tango on my tongue, burning it slightly with its warmth. That's the good thing about getting drinks from a coffee shop: no matter how hot it is, it'll always taste good.

I took this time to scan my surroundings. It was kind of somber inside the cute little coffee shop. People shoved passed the door and lined up to order hot beverages from the shop owners. The counters were red, the tables were orange, and the walls were yellow but the whole atmosphere was dark. Some old re-runs were playing on the muted TV and unrecognizable music was playing on the radio. The shop was packed but the only sound was from the squeaking of shoes on the floor, muttered orders, and the tunes from the radio.

I guess not everyone is drawn to the magic of the rain like I am.

"No problem," he said, absent-mindedly stirring his drink. I glanced at him, remembering a time in the not-too-distant-past when I had once compared his eyes to the color of the sky after a storm. But now I see that I was wrong.

His eyes are the color of the sky during a storm. 

"Jason," I said, taking another sip from my cup, "what do you think about the rain?"

Dark blue eyes flicked to me as he shoved a tuft of his dark blond hair out of his face. "It's cool."

"What about it?"

"Everything," he said, smirking when I rolled my eyes.

Way to be vague, Jason. Way to be vague.

"I think so too," I said. "My friend, Sarah Wei, hated the rain. She said it's a sign that something bad has happened in the world. 'It only rains when God is upset with someone,' she said. So I guess, someone did something totally unforgivable or something."

"That's a depressing outlook on weather." 

I laughed. I knew he probably meant Sarah had a depressing outlook on life, but he couldn't be further from the truth. Sarah is one of the most lively people I know, kind of like Matt, but less hyper and melodramatic. She was the glue of our friendship: she kept all of us together. Whenever one of us felt pugnacious, she would always calm her down. Sarah's always smiling and always happy. Smiling, scholarly Sarah, as our parents called her.

"Sarah Wei is a brilliant person. She's just a little religious and listens to the Christian radio a lot, that's all. They talk about a bunch of old beliefs and she tends to believe them," I said, still laughing.

He smiled wider. It was good to see a different emotion from him besides his usual worried protective one. I grinned; this was the closest to normal I've felt since summer.

"Amy, you almost sound happy when you talk about your friend." 

I flinched. Short and blunt. Like a hammer.

Where did Jason get off at, dissing on his friends?

Well there goes my chipper mood, I thought, moodily twirling a lock of my hair around my pointer finger. We both returned our stares to the transparent glass before us as the rain fell from the sky like brown autumn leaves in the middle of Fall.