Dyna-Mike

4.

June 1974

My life went pretty much back to normal after that day. Well, normal for me. As the years passed, I just chalked the weirdness up to a psychotic episode, which I must have imagined. Despite the fact I never heard from my otherworldly friends again, I still wondered about the Gifts of Eden from time to time; whether they existed or not and what they were. But I had no time for such things this particular night, because I had to be at the graduation ceremony in less than an hour.

It was the summer of 1974, and I was graduating from high school at long last. Everybody was talking about their Senior Prom date, but of course I wasn't going to be attending the dance, because no self-respecting girl in her right mind would be seen with me on campus. I was still the AV-Geek, and my glasses were too big, my acne was too prominent, and I had the muscles of a concentration camp survivor. My hair was oilier than normal, and my fashion sense went along the lines of your basic mega-nerd. I arrived on campus forty-five minutes later, and went to the staging area behind the gymnasium. The staff and parent volunteers were frantically passing out pre-ordered caps and gowns to the class of '74, so I got in line to receive mine.

"Next," came the hurried voice of the middle-aged woman behind the table. I stepped forward.

"Name?" she asked.

"Weatherspoon," I replied. She fumbled through her stacks of papers.

"You're not in here," she stated. There was a moment of silence as we both stared at each other.

"So, what do I do?" I asked.

"I don't know. NEXT!" she waved me aside, and the student behind me pushed me away as he stepped forward.

"Move it, loser!" he snarled.

I walked slowly away from the table. I watched as girls and boys walked up, gave their names, were given their graduation garments, and walked away excitedly. In the distance I could hear the band starting to play "Pomp and Circumstance" slightly off-key. I watched as the first graduates began streaming into the gym in their soft blue outfits, flowing in the increasing breeze. I looked long and hard at the scene, and finally realized that my time at Fairmont High School had come to an end much the way it had started: surrounded by shame, humiliation, injustice and embarrassment. I turned and started walking back home. There was no reason to remain. As I left the campus and stepped into the street in front of the school for the very last time, I felt a bit of moisture on my forehead. The sun fell behind a dark cloud, and the drops grew more persistent. Soon it was pouring down rain everywhere. I continued walking away from the school, while sounds of applause rose and fell in the distance. As far as my life went, it was a typical day. I started to cry softly as the sounds of celebration faded in the distance.

I arrived home soaking wet about a half an hour later. I walked into my bedroom, past the archway to the living room where my mother was watching her afternoon television shows.

"Keep it down, Phil Donahue's on!" she exclaimed, never looking up from the TV.

"Happy graduation, Samual," I muttered to myself as I sloshed down the hallway to my bedroom, closing the door quietly behind myself. I removed my sodden clothing, and changed into some sweats. I lay down on my bed, and asked aloud, "Why me?" as I drifted off to sleep.

I dreamt I was with Gabrielae again. She was as beautiful as I remembered, and I was entranced by her magical presence. The bright and colorful mists I had seen before were part of her, and they wove around and throughout her in shimmering translucence. Her glowing hair shed warmth as she drew closer. Her smile froze my heart, and I was a prisoner of my awe.

"Samual, it is time," she whispered.

"Time for what?" I asked in a shaky voice.

"Time to begin your Quest, Samual. You must find the ancient and legendary Garden of Eden, Samual. This is your Quest. Do this, and you will receive the Gifts of Eden.

"The Garden of Eden? That's only a myth! It doesn't really exist!" I exclaimed, louder than I intended.

"Samual, it is not a myth. You are Adam's seed, and you WILL find the lost Garden of Eden. You will go there Samual, and you will be the first human since time began to do so," Gabrielae said solemnly.

"You're not real…" I whispered softly.

"I am real, Samual, and I will give you a remembrance so you will believe again. She came closer, and took my left hand in hers. She bent down, and kissed the back of my hand ever so gently. It tingled, and I shivered with delight. When she rose, there was the imprint of her delicate lips, as if she had been wearing lip-gloss. She smiled, and her image began to fade.

"Read Genesis Chapter Two, Samual. Your first clue is there…" her voice called from the distance as she became harder to see and hear.

"No, don't go," I cried, but she had faded away. I drifted off into my dreams again, and thought no more of it.

***

"Samual, will you PLEASE get up and take the garbage out to the curb? The garbage man is next door and he's going to pass us by…HURRY UP!" My mother's nagging voice was usually the first thing I heard every morning. Who needed alarm clocks with "Old Faithful" keeping me on schedule?

"Coming, Mom!" I coughed, and scrambled to hurry out of bed, losing my balance and falling to the floor. "Crack!" came a loud sound as I , smacked my wrist on a skateboard I had left out. "Ow!" I instinctively began rubbing my injured arm. I looked at it to examine the damage.  To my astonishment there was the pale crimson outline of a kiss on the back of my hand! "No way!" I gasped, and rushed off to the bathroom.

I turned the water up as hot as I could stand it, and scrubbed with soap and a washcloth for all I was worth. The imprint wasn't coming off, no matter what. "My gosh," I thought, "what if it really happened!" My mind raced as I recalled the day two years before when I had first encountered Gabrielae the Fair. What did it all mean? I couldn't begin to guess. But there was the mark of her kiss, still vivid in my mind and clearly visible on my hand.

"Samual, this garbage isn't going to empty itself!"

"Coming, Mom…" I sighed, and went outside to move the all-important cans to the curb. I couldn't wait to get to college. At least I'd be away from this place. Maybe a fresh start was just what I needed.

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