chasing stars

Time

I head upstairs to my room. Im on auto pilot at this point. I feel so many emotions, its overwhelming. I grab my Duffel bag and start filling it. I try to grab a little bit of everything. I spent a good 3 hours matching outfits. I finally made my choices and placed everything into my bag. My mom came to tell me goodnight and said i needed to be ready by 4am. I laid in my bed the rest of the time until my alarm clock went off. I jumped up and was dressed in record time. I stuck all of my soaps, shampoos/conditioners and tooth brush into my bag after. I wrapped my favorite silk and satin scarves into my bag. Then i turned and gave my childhood room a once over. Something feels so final. I know I'm supposed to come back , but what if i don't. I head downstairs and Marcela and my mom are waiting. Marcela gives me a giant hug "i hope you have fun and meet new friends. Im kinda jealous you know" I smile and reply " thanks sis i love you too." We head outside and i throw my bag in the back. Mom drives to a flying j truck stop. There we see my Uncle Monty in his big truck waiting. Its black and covered with tons of lights. I see 'Sloman Trucking' on the side of it. "Hey Diane and is that my beautiful neice i see" he says as he climbs out. My mom gets out and walks up and gives him a hug " Hey Monty! You better take care of her or I'll hunt you down" He let's out a laugh " Dont worry ill tear anything apart that even thinks about harming her Diane" I give my mom a hug and start crying because this feels scary. Im so use to her being around. Its weird to imagine her not being there. We stay there for a few minutes like that. My uncle got my bag and loaded it up. He walked back to us and said he is ready when we are and climbed back in his truck. My mom finally broke our hug and kissed my forehead. "I love you my baby" i told her i loved her too and decided I'd better go before i changed my mind. We waved at each other until i couldn't see her anymore. My uncle and i talked for a while. He informed me he was able to switch trailers with one of his employees. He said my Aunt Vivian was anxious to see me so he promised to get me there as quick as he could. We were currently 3 hrs out from our destination in Arizona. " I recognize that necklace you're wearing" i look over at him and shake my head "yes,it was my daddies" i place my hand on it and rub my thumb over the stone. "Thats a very special necklace you know. Its been in his family for generations" i look over at him in disbelief "Really? Mom's never told me anything about it , other than it was his." he looks out the window away from me "well, she finds it hard to talk about still i guess. We all miss him honey" "yea i wish i would have known him. It's hard." he looks back at me and sends me a beaming smile " he would be so proud of you Eva Lee Lightbeam" i smile at that. " i hope so Uncle Monty" we ride on in silence for a long time. "uncle monty you think you could tell me more stories about him one day?" He looks over at me and smiles "Sure can , i have plenty! He kept me in trouble " we both laugh at that. " Hey look there's the house up ahead" I look out the window and sure enough. The biggest house Ive ever seen slowly started emerging in front of us. It had to be 5 stories tall! There standing out front was my Aunt Vivian. My uncle stops lets me out and drives around the house to park. As soon as my feet touched the ground my aunt was smothering me in hugs. She may be a petite woman but she's got quite the hug on her. She finally releases me only to grab my hand and practically drag me up the steps into the house. We step through the door and I'm awestruck. There are marble floors and a grand staircase with red carpet in the entrance way. Then i realize we aren't alone. There sitting to my left is a ballroom size room lined with long tables. There are people busy in conversations And most look to be around my age. She takes my hand and says "welcome to Silver Moon uh community Eva." "Aunt Vivian there has to be 200 people in there! I can't go in there! They will all be staring at me!" she rubs my hand "Dont worry Eva. They all know who you are. We are like a very close family. Please Trust me okay" i take a deep breath and shake my head "Okay, i trust you Aunt Vivian" We start making our way over. I notice there's a sign over the threshold that reads Dining Hall. Aunt Vivian explains that each day we are served breakfast, lunch and dinner. She shows me where the buffet is and drinks. We each grab a tray and place plates on them. I follow her down the buffet and select my food. We each grab our drink choices and head to seat ourselves. She shows me the table Im to sit at each time. Once we sit she starts explaining the community to me. "We have around 1000 members here. The main house here is meant only for our senior member families and young male community members. If you are married and have children under the age of 16 or an unmarried female you stay in a house on the property. Uncle Monty and I stay on the 5th floor along with your cousins. The first floor is for activities, meetings and dining hall. We have a gym, pool and game room down here. The 2nd and 3rd floor is for young male pa- uh-community members and the 4th floor is for the be-uh assistant and 2nd assistant families. We have 180 young male community members living here. The pa-manision has 300 rooms available. We have built an entire town on the property here. We even have a movie theater and shopping center. We are self sustaining. We even have our own schools." I listen intently and reply " mom said it was big but, i did not expect a whole town big" "Eva your mom left 17 years ago. Things have changed so much in that time. I nod my head in aggreement " true, i wish she would have been able to see this place." Aunt Vivian puts her hand on mine " I understand why that's not possible though. By the way Lura should be here soon Shes so excited to see you. I hope you're not tired because I'm willing to bet she is going to talk you to death" my face instantly lights up. I LOVE my cousin Lura. She is so bubbly and fun to hang out with. " I can't wait. Did she say when shed- "" OMG! COUSIN EVA! " two arms ingulf me and I'm instantly hoisted out of my chair. "Are you done eating? Hurry up, i want to show you around. There are SO many people i want to show you off to. Your hair is gorgeous. You have to tell me your hair care routine. " Aunt Vivian starts laughing "Lura , let the poor child answer the first question before you ask her 3 more, my goodness. Well you Girls have fun. Ill be in the nursery at the hospital If you should need me." Lura helps me pick my tray up and dispose of the garbage. We start walking towards my room for my stay here. I'm in mid sentence explaining my hair care. When i spot a picture. Its not just any picture though. It's a picture of my Dad at my age. I stop talking and approach it slowly. He was so handsome. He had a sun kissed bronze tone to his skin. The silkiest, shiny black hair and piercing brown/amber eyes. Lura wraps her arm around me and whispers in my ear " he loved you so much. Leland was so special Eva" I notice he's wearing the necklace in the photo and i reach for it holding the stone in my hand i look at Lura "at least i still have you all though right." she smiles brightly "in this life and the next cousin." she starts walking again with her arm still wrapped around me "so, my gorgeous cousin. how do you feel about dancing" I die laughing "i feel like i can't. at .all dance."