Dreams

Before him lay a dream come true. This was the year he had been waiting for all his life, the big senior year. Graduation was right around the corner, tomorrow afternoon to be exact and now was the time to celebrate. The time Isaac had to spend with his friends was finite, after graduation they would all diffuse into separate parts of the country, perhaps world. His life long friends would be leaving him and he knew that he would lose contact with most of them.
Tonight was perfect for the barbeque and every one of his comrades had made plans to go, he wouldn’t dream of missing out. The black sky was speckled with thousands of shimmering stars and the moon sat in the sky like an immense pearl, beaming silver rays of dazzling beauty. The air was filled with the crisp smells of a summer night and a light breeze gently kissed his cheeks. The ecstasy Isaac was feeling was steadily growing as he pulled into the driveway of his companion’s house and saw the flames licking the racks of savory ribs and hear the sizzle of the savory juices as they dripped into the fire. The aroma of the cooking meat coursed through his nose as he inhaled. He could hear the crackling of the wood as the fire seared through it, dispersing orange-glowing ash that waltzed away and disappeared as the wind carried it.
Isaac was welcomed by the horde of people that had already arrived and was greeted by the guys with congenial slaps on the back, the warm embraces by the young ladies, and a man-hug by one of his best pals, Jeremy. Eventually Isaac merged with the multitude and added to the vociferous chatter and laughter. The feeling of euphoria throughout the group never subsided as the night of jubilee drew nearer to its close. Finally as the group dispersed and each person returned to his or her home, Isaac drove back by himself smiling and reflecting on the fact that his dream was so near he could almost grab it. Being so imbibed in his thoughts, he failed to realize he was, slowly but surely, drifting into the other lane at an in opportune time. A semi-truck was barreling down the road as Isaac completed the transition into the other lane. Isaac was torn away from his thoughts by the bellowing horn of the semi, but it was too late. Slowly the stars began to blink out one by one and the moon faded away like sand in the cool summer zephyr. The last thing he heard before being engulfed by the blanket of unconsciousness was the screeching of tires, the crunching of metal, and the shattering of glass.
Isaac awoke to the resonant beeping of the heart monitor. He couldn’t move, speak, or even hear anything besides that continual beeping. He saw the doctor clad in white and the nurses in blue, and then in a corner of the hospital room he saw his mother. Her were eyes red and puffy and filled with terror. She made eye contact with him and he smiled, at least he thought he did. He watched as a tear rolled down her cheek. He felt as though his life were connected to that single tear and felt his life pulling away from his body with each inch the tear took on its journey down his mothers face. Slowly the tear pulled away from her face and fell through the air. The small prism of water sparkled in the air, as did all of his life long dreams. It was then when he thought dreams are just what they are called. A dream, and like fairy tales, dreams don’t come true. With that final thought he watched as the small prism of water hit the floor and broke with a splash that was seemingly audible. The heart monitor flat lined, emitted a continuous note and all went black.