One early morning Daniel ran out to gather up that day’s newspaper. As he jumped off the porch and cleared the shallow two steps he got tangled up in the coiled garden hose. He tripped and fell forward and sideways onto the brick walkway that led to the rear of the house. He received a nasty scratch on his right arm. He got himself up right, looked at his arm and acknowledged that indeed there was a slightly seeping and red scratch.
“Oh, man! My mom is gonna not like this. After my dive into the side walk just a couple of days ago this ain’t good.” Then he caught himself and realized that he had spoken out loud. He took a quick look around and found no one that could have seen him fall or have heard him speak. Then – luckily he was wearing a long sleeve shirt – he unrolled both sleeves so his parents would not see his scratch.
He went and picked up the newspaper and headed back into the house. “Man! I hope mom or dad did not look out the window and saw me fall,” he quietly told himself.
Dan got his newspaper and mom gat a hug and a cheek kiss.
“I’m not hungry right now. I will get a hamburger later with the guys. We made plans yesterday to go to the Dairy Queen today. They got killer burgers there… um, I guess that does not sound right, huh?”
He rushed out of the dining room and headed for his room. In his room Daniel peeled off his shirt – left arm out first then freed his torso with freeing his right arm last. That sleeve had some body fluid on it and it would wash out easily. Now that his right arm was bare Daniel astonishingly acknowledged that there was not a mark on it. He couldn’t take his unbelieving eyes away. He had seen the scratch – he had – and he had felt it, too. Now nothing! No pain. No mark’s at all – like it had never happened.
Daniel could not help doing it – he swiveled his head in every direction. Looking for what? “Who, what did it? Where is my nasty scratch?” His fevered mind asked.
“No everybody was astonished that my head was healed, “he said out loud to himself. “Maybe it is some change in myself. So I heal up quickly? Like right now – immediately? Now! Something else is happening. But what? It seems that it started with my kissing the sidewalk”
He looked a long look at his right arm again. He could not find even the smallest indication that it had been scraped raw and only a short while ago.
“Weird! I guess I gotta live with it. But I wonder if my hazy visions are tied in. Don’t think I wanna thank my gourd on a side walk again – or anywhere else, man!”
Daniel change his shirt and washed off the right sleeve that had been hiding his scratch. He hung it on a chair in his room. On the way out through the kitchen he said goodbye to his folks.
“See you for lunch. Are you guys going to Costco today? If you do, I’ll have a hot dog if you bring me one.”
Half a block away from home met with Joey.
“Yo!” Where you going?” asked Joey.
“I was going to the park to see if you and some of the other guys were there,” Daniel told him.
“I was headed too your house to see if you wanted to go to the park,” Joey said. “I guess it is true, huh?”
“What is, dude?” Daniel asked.
“What is what man?” Joey said.
“Aw, man, Joey! You said I guess it is true. What the heck do you mean? What do you guess is true?”
“Oh, that. The saying, Daniel. The saying!”
“Whoa!” exclaimed Joey. “Guess you never heard it, huh. The saying says’ Great minds think alike.”
Daniel glanced at his friend and shot him a full face grin.
“So, Joey, were you at the park all ready?” ask Dan.
“Yeah I told the guys I was going to get you dude.”
“Who all is there? Dan asked.
During all the talk they had kept walking and now they were within a block from the park. Joey said, “Race you there, man!”
“I was just about to say that!” Daniel threw Joey said and took in a flash. Daniel was on his heels in seconds. When they got to the park in a dead heat they got to laughing hard.
The other friends gathered around them. “Who or what chased you?” One guy asked. Made Daniel and Joey laugh harder and longer.
Daniel invited Joey home to have lunch. “It will be cool with my folks, Joey.
Joey pulled out a cell phone and called his home and spoke with his mom and got an okay from her. He told Dan. Daniel said to him, “Let me use your phone and I will call my mom.” Joey handed it over to him.
Daniel pumped in the number and spoke with her for just a short while. You are the best. Love you! He handed back to Joey his cellphone.
“Mom said that you are welcome to come with me for lunch. My folks, being that it is Saturday, are together at Costco. We are having big hot dogs for lunch, dude!”
That night, when he was comfortably tucked into bed, Daniel lay wide awake. His thoughts tightly wrapped his fall and the resultant scratch to his right arm. He was becoming kinda used to speaking his thoughts. He caught himself doing it now and he said, “I guess that I am alone and talk softly so no one can hear me then it’s cool.”
He stopped talking and dwelled his thoughts on what had happened to him this morning. Silently he went on.
“I tripped and fell and hit the brick walkway. There is no doubt about that. My arm was definitely scraped. I felt it. I saw it. So why is there no sign of it now? What is going on here. This is strange for sure, huh?
“Now,” he said out loud but softly. “What if everyone that says that they saw my head cut and bleeding after my crash was telling the truth. What the Hey, man!!
His head swirling with unanswered questions, Daniel finely drifted off to sleep. He dreamed that he was in a far off place but he could not tell where. There were people there but he could not tell who. He only saw images – ghost like – shadows, misty.
“Something happened to me after my skateboard crash. I know that I went to the hospital. But where else? Something weird went on while I was knocked out. But what? I now know that my head was cut and bleeding. So where are the stitches? I crashed only a few days ago but there is no trace of injury.
“Every one that knows I was hurt now seem to have just swept it away. What are they covering up. Maybe tomorrow I will come up on something that will lead me to some answers.”
Daniel yawned big, turned onto his left side, hugged his pillow and his last thoughts before dropping off were of his left arm, which he now lay his head on, was free and clear of any injury. “Weird stuff.”
A couple of days later Joey came to Daniel’s house to talk him into going with him to a nearby lake to check out the girls there.
“Why go there?” asked Dan. “There’s girls at the park and it is nearer.
“Yeah, dude, but at the lake they are in swim suits,” Joey said, “Some are even in two piece, man!”
“Hey! What is up with you lately anyway, man? There are girls everywhere.” Daniel said.
“Yeah! But in two piece bathing suits – that’s what I’m talking about, Dan! They be looking good, double good, dude. Hey! have you seen anything lately – in your gourd Dan. If so, then talk to me.”
Daniel just gave Joey a slinky eye look.
“Alright, alright! Let’s go when we get to the lake maybe you will loosen up. What’s with you anyway, man? All of us, your friends can tell something is bugging you. Can I help, Daniel??”
“No, Joey. It’s just that I am having weird dreams. Dreams of people – maybe people. Since what I see are like shadows I can’t tell who they are. Same with where they are. It is all hazy and in shadowy. Not scary, Joey. Just weird, “Said Daniel.
“I know what you mean, Dan. I even know a word for it – Fantasmic.
“Yeah, that fits, Joey”
They got to the park and in no time chose up teams to play baseball.
Joey and Daniel were in opposite teams. Daniel’s team won the coin toss so they were up at bat first. Daniel while waiting for his turn at bat suddenly found himself watching a different ball game. Who and where he could not visualize. Soon that all went away just as he was told that he was up to bat.
Later he thought about telling Joey but he realized that he did not have anything to tell but more about shadows. He had nothing solid – only fantastic stuff. “No, I won’t say anymore to Joey. Even if I keep seeing stuff. Who would believe any of it. Like my healing almost right after I hurt myself. I have a feeling that, for whatever reason, I will continue to heal - probably for the rest of my life.
“Thank God for that.”