A Portal to Leya by Elizabeth Brown

Charles M. Pond bequeathed his estate to the city of
Hartford but he requested it be named after his deceased wife, Elizabeth.” (I
knew Leya would appreciate that. No one else would).
    Neat! I like that
story. How do you know?
    “It’s on a plaque at
the entrance. And we studied it in a community unit in fourth grade.”
    Oh, geez. I can’t
remember that far back!
    “You know our school is
named after Charles Pond, right?”
    Yes! I know that much,
brat!
    She throws a handful of
fuchsia petals in my direction; the wind catches them and they float downward,
slowly; she smiles and rides off ahead of me, through the arch. I watch as she
moves further away from me, along the grass, standing as she pedals, her body
moving up and down, her pony tail flipping side to side, framed in an arch of
green and fuchsia. I imagine wrapping my arms around her waist.
    I LOVE the fuchsia !
she shouts one more time, the last time she would say it.
    I wonder what it means to love a color,
or a rose. I want to love like you, I had thought at the time.
    “Are you zoning out or
what?” Trudy asked
    “I was just thinking
about Leya, the last time we were here. It was vivid,” I admitted. It felt good
telling Trudy. I’m not sure why.
    “ Well,
time for reality, Mr. Lance Bryce.”
    I watched Trudy take
another drag. Hang her head back and exhale slow and it was sensual, seductive.
I thought that. I don’t know why. She walked away. I said “Bye”and she
waved without turning back. I am intrigued by Trudy Markus.
    Today, when the sun is
setting and the day has cooled and breath hangs like Trudy’s smoke in the air,
I think of Leya, how she will return to Elizabeth Park against her will. That
was my last thought before I left Elizabeth Park. I loved her. I know now. I
know the electrical jolt, that jarring was my desire for her; but I can’t do
anything about it. Life isn’t fair. As a matter of fact, most times, it sucks.
    Lance
    COMMENTS
    Jabberwocky9 I
know you were expecting something to happen at the park, but I agree with
Trudy; it doesn’t always work that way. Chin up like Leya used to say. Glad you
saw Trudy. But you need to really TALK to her about YKW!!! The perjury issue is
majorly important wouldn’t you say? I think you are digging Trudy. I think
that’s cool too.
    Heather Aw!
Thanks for sharing. And I’m not mad at you, even if you are rude to me. I love
Elizabeth Park. Maybe we can meet there one day? I agree with jabberwock9. You
really should do something about that information. I saw you today at your
locker. You seemed so lost. You looked frozen! You’ve missed so much school
lately. Sorry about calling you that name. I love your hair, btw.
    ROCK:
me
    Trudy
smokes thin brown cigarettes. I don’t think they are cigars. They have a nice
cherry smell. If my window is Leya, I can smell her before I see her. I watch
her every day now walking past. I think I will try to talk to her tomorrow. The
problem is when I think of it, I start to shake. I’m a freak who can’t walk or
talk. I’m a rock. I need Leya to charge me up. I’ve been staying home from
school so much that Dorrie hired a tutor, Don Banks. He’s old and British
sounding. He called me bewildering. I guess because I don’t talk. Why should I
talk? Words are for the living.
    Lance
    COMMENTS
    Anonymous I’ve
tried them. I quit a few years ago.
    Heather I hope you return to school soon! : (
    STALKER:
me
    I think I’m a stalker. Today, I went to the grocery
store with Ben to buy brownie mix and whipped cream—Dorrie's request. I
actually planted the seed because I had been thinking about Trudy’s mom and her
warm brownies. Well, point being, guess who was at the checkout? TRUDY! It must
be fate that or she is sending me signals. She has been stuck in my head. I
don’t know if it’s because of the perjury or the attempted suicide or something
else. I walked past Trudy and she was wearing a gold tee-shirt with the Shopping
Bag logo on the left side