Following the Footsteps

Wandering around aimlessly, seeing where these footprints lead is a great way to start the day. No, that was not sarcasm. There is something fun about it. It's like a mini mystery to uncover. I doubt treasure will be at the other end, but you never know. The footprints are wild. They go in all sorts of directions. They start out in in a perfectly straight line. Then they make a U turn. It goes around in circles for a bit. After that they leap, and another leap and another leap. Are we following a small child? Eventually the footprints straighten out. We follow them along a path in to a forest of tall, thin, pine trees. The sandy footprints are now replaced with mud footprints. We travel deeper into the forest. The footprints seemingly stop at a tall pine tree. We look up. Nothing in sight. Should we climb?

Footsteps

I don't remember falling asleep, but we must have at some point. We woke up the next morning to a golden sun. There were only scant remnants of the bonfire from the previous night. The Purple Haired Woman was no where to be seen. I shouldn't be too surprised though. She will pop in and out at just the right time to make you wonder if she is really just a figment of your imagination. At any rate, we decided to pick ourselves up and start the day. Olivia noticed footsteps in the sand. It could have been mine, it could have been hers, it could have been the purple haired woman's. It could have been anyone's for the matter. But we decided to follow them. See where they lead, because why not?

Beached

We lay in the sand motionless and soaking wet, viewing the night sky. It is peaceful and quiet. The only noise we can hear is the crackling of a nearby fire. We turn our heads to see an abandoned bonfire. “ You think we should put it out?” I ask. Olivia shakes her head. “No, we might as well stand by the fire and dry off.” We walk to the bonfire. It is much bigger than I thought it was. The flames almost seem to touch the sky. “Where do you think we are?” I ask. “I don’t know.” “Who do you think left this fire?” “I don’t know.” “Why do you think they would leave such a fire?” “ I don’t know. Could you stop asking questions for one minute?” Olivia snaps. “Sorry.” I say shyly. “It’s fine. Let’s just enjoy this right now.” I put my hands out near the flame. I can almost feel the water evaporating off me. Out of no where a loud cricket chirps. Perhaps the loudest chirp I have ever heard. Olivia smiles big and bright. “Crickets.” “ I think that was just one cricket.” I reply. Out of the darkness, emerges the Purple Haired Woman, riding a giant cricket like a cowboy. Or should I say, cowgirl? The Purple Haired Woman dismounts the giant cricket. “I see you found my bonfire.” She says with a grin. “This is your fire?” I ask. “Indeed.” She says. “Don’t you know it’s a bad idea to leave a fire unattended?” “Relax, I was just getting these.” She reaches in her sleeve and pulls out three sticks with marshmallows. She hands us each a stick. Olivia is excited and begins to roast her marshmallow. I , however, am more confused. “Go on.” She says to me. This is not the weirdest thing I have seen by far. So I shake it off and begin to roast my marshmallow. The Purple Haired Woman joins in. “So, did you complete the mission?” She asks us. We both nod. “So what happened?” Olivia chimes in. “Well right after it happened, we were in an old dream Scott had.” The Purple Haired Woman looks directly at me. “Interesting.” “Yeah, it was. Apparently we talked to his guardian angel.” Olivia continues. The Purple Haired woman leans in. “Did you learn anything new?” I bite my lip. “No, not really. I kinda just said exactly what I said in the dream.” I say, sheepishly. The Purple Haired Woman gasps. “That’s a waste, you could have learned so much.” “I know, what’s done is done. But what do we do now?” I ask, impatiently. The Purple Haired Woman snorts. “What?” “Don’t ask me.” She says, trying not to laugh. “ Don’t you have answers?” Olivia asks. “Sure, I’ve got answers, but you guys are on your own.” My mouth hangs open slightly. “Hey, you two. Don’t be so glum. Marshmallows are almost done, and I have gram crackers and chocolate.”

The Crash

There was virtually no time to think or react. We hit the water with full force. I was thrown against the wall. Olivia, however was able to kick the window open when the water was only ankle deep. Good thing too because as soon as we hopped out the window, the space ship began to sink. The water was like ice and it was night time. Neither one of us is the best swimmer, but when you are in such a situation, you could easily become a Michael Phelps. We swam like there was no tomorrow. Luckily, it did not take long at all to find a beach. As soon as we got there, we plopped down. Every muscle in our bodies was aching. I sat up and viewed the sinking spaceship. At this moment, there was only a small piece of it still above water. "Are they still in there?" Olivia asks. "I don't know." Just as there is only a tiny, tiny piece of the space ship still above water, it turns into a bright white light. The white light shoots itself into the sky and becomes a star. Olivia stares at the star in awe and says "Maybe they found their way back home."

High School Dance

Turns out blending in wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Yes, the students and the band stared at us,but after a moment, a very brief moment everything went back to normal. The band continued to play, the students danced, and the gym was filled with music and chit chat of "Who will be crowned King and Queen?" No one was phased. It was almost as if they were expecting us.Our entrance and attire didn't even raise any eyebrows. It was almost as if they were thinking "These guys are crazy. They always have some sort of costume and they show up when they want to." The band starts to play the song "Unchained Melody." You know the song that goes "And time goes by so slowly are you still mine?" Granted, the singer is able to hold the note a little bit longer, but you get the idea. We decide to enjoy this moment and have nice, slow dance because, dare I say it? Knock on wood. Whoever or whatever was following us was gone. So we dance to a classic oldies song. At that moment all the problems of the world melted away. Nothing else mattered. I wish I could live in this moment forever, but my vision cuts out. Everything I see is bouncing up and down. "What's going on?" Olivia shouts. "You see that too?" I ask. "Yes, and it hurts my head." Suddenly, we're out of the gym and back on the spaceship in our regular outfits. The space ship takes a noise dive, and we are thrown against the window. I glance out the window to see a large body of water quickly approaching us. "Looks like it's about to get more interesting."

The Vent

Here we are in a cramped air vent. In the spy movies they always show ample space to crawl around in. In reality it is a narrow passage. There is barely enough room to scoot on your belly. Olivia sneezes loudly. "God bless you." I shout up to her. "Thanks, it's really dusty up here." "Indeed it is." "This is not at all like in the movies." "No, its not. I thought it would be more fun." "Where are we going anyways?" Suddenly I hear a loud thud behind us. "Right now, I think we should get away from whoever is following us." I shout up to her. Olivia scoots as fast as she can. I follow close behind her. The clanging continues. We have to pick up the speed somehow. We crawl on our bellies as fast as we can go, but the clanging behind us continues. Olivia stops. "Why did you stop?" I ask. "The air vent separated. Which way should we go. Right or Left?" "Um go left." We take a sharp left. It makes as much sense as any direction and it seems to work out in our favor. Until the vent can no longer support us. We crash land into a gymnasium decorated with streamers and balloons. It is filled with teenage couples dressed in formal attire. The crowd of fancy teenagers look on at is in bewilderment as we pick ourselves up and dust or selves off. "Prom?" I ask Olivia. "Or some sort of dance. Let's just try and blend in."

Spies in Disguise

When I heard about my assignment to build a road, I assumed I would get to use a purple crayon. The truth is building a road for my extra terrestrial friends is much more bizare. I should not be surprised though. We were told to look deep into their eyes. By doing so we would be able to help them find a way home. I don't get it. We've been looking deep into their almond shaped eyes for what feels like the longest minuet of my life. I don't know if they are trying to seduce us or what. I don't feel anything for them so far. Hey, what the hell? I don't think I'm in the space ship anymore. Olivia, are you there? "Right behind you, baby." I turn around to see Olivia wearing jeans, a black turtle neck, and dark sunglasses. "Are you a beat now?" I ask. Olivia shrugs. "You're wearing the same thing as me." I glance at my new attire. "Son of a gun." A loud siren blasts. I can hear the stamping of a nearby enemy. "What do we do?" Olivia shouts out. I pier up at an air vent. "My natural inclination is to to go through that air vent." I give Olivia a boost. She struggles at first to unhinge the vent, but she makes it. I watch her little feet kick as she crawls into the air vent. " Ok, now pull me in." I shout as soon as she is all the way in. I jump into her arms . The enemy footsteps are closer. I make it all the way into the air duct and we seal up the entrance just in the nick of time.