Welcome to Gaia! ::

I was overly ambitious thinking I could do this challenge right now. I still do tend to use the prompts to work on my story so its not a waste of time. I really like my story thus far and don't want to give up on it. so enjoy.


Day One:
New Beginnings

"I've never seen anything like it!," I exclaimed. "I know dude," replied Lauri in her usual sluggish tone. If her tone didn't tell you she was a stoner, I don't know what would. Due to this,sometimes she lacks a sense of urgency and it always agitates me. Almost, as much as my impatience frustrates her.
We are just off of the path of our favorite trail, trying to grab a shiny box we spotted while smoking a bowl on the bench along the trail. The stick I'm using to prod it is only pushing it further away. "Dude, no, just no," said Lauri, "move." "Well, I don't know why I'm the one who's trying to grab it in the first place. I've got short stubby arms. You are the long giant one." "******** you!," she said defensively and pushed me out of the way. Most of the time you would never be able to tell that we are legally old enough to drink by our maturity level. A little effort from the long one though, and the box is in her grasp. "Being tall sucks huh?", I joked as she struggled to get her tall body out of the brush. Pulling the fallen leaves off of her clothes, she gave me a look and I knew that meant I was being annoying again. We walked over to the bench silently staring . "Ooooh Man," she said in her excited tone. "I want to know whats in it, does it open?" I asked trying to get a closer look. "I'm trying dude,"she said. " I think its locked." She passed it to me and we sat on the bench. Its beautiful with painted background which showed fairies and gnomes in a different world and swirls of clouds in all of the colors of the rainbow. Metallic and glittered, it shone in the summer sky brightly. As big as a travel sized make up case, I could hold it up by its handle on the top with one hand. The lock was black with a skeleton key hole. "s**t," I said. "What the ******** are we going to do now?" "Its okay dude. We will go back to the van and find something to open it with, " she said coolly. "Don't tell me you cant pick lock. Your good for those kinds of things," she said to me smiling. What was I supposed to say? Unfortunately, I was not blessed with any talent that isn't illegal or immoral. Therefore, I was frequently doing those types of things because I am also an adrenaline junkie. So, I decide to play along. "This is true," I say walking back to the van.
I love the van. Its called "Fatty Red" or "Fatty" for short. An Aerostar from sometime in the 90s, provided excellent stoner coverage when smoking in our favorite places. The best part is she has random heads from cosmetology school floating around and a big recliner in the very back from her break up with her ex. Lauri isn't so fond of her vehicle or the chair. She is constantly bitching about it. Then again, that's Lauri, kind of a whiner. Okay. A lot of a whiner. I still say there are worse qualities a best friend could have though and most of the time, she's the only person I want to be around.
We get into the van, parked at the end of the trail. "Maybe we should move, lest anyone sees us, it's daylight," I say. "Hmm. You think?," she asks. "I do. Especially, since I don't want to be smoking a bowl in the open," I continue. "Okay, but lets find something we can open it with first!," she said. "Do you have a pokey?," I inquired. "OOOh. I do," she said fumbling in her purse. She extracted a long and straightened paper clip. "Thank god it doesn't have resin all over it yet," I commented while inspecting the lock. "Okay, you drive, I'll pick." She began to drive and I started working on the lock. I don't really pick locks often so I prodded messily inside the lock to try to feel how the mechanism works.
We arrive at another spot of ours just two blocks away. We call it "The Tube." Its a spot where a home used to exist. Now it was just some pile of construction cement, wood, and various equipment. Some of it had been scattered by other visitors. It was somewhat popular to teens because the area was at a dead end road covered in trees, and the driveway was dirt and went deep into the foliage so your vehicle or vehicles couldn't be spotted unless you were in there. On the outskirt of this property there was a cement tube somewhat disguised among the tall grass. We loved hanging out in there and wasting time climbing inside of it. Today we didn't even get out of the van. We were so excited about this box." It could have a chopped off finger in it and we could regret opening it, "I thought aloud. "I don't think anything in rainbow colors is going to have something that gruesome in it," she said, laughing. She packed a bowl while I continued to figure out the lock. Finally, getting angry, I swizzled the paperclip around furiously and it clicked. "I got it!" I yelled. "Oh my god dude," she said happily. We pulled open the lid and as we did, we had no idea that our lives were going to change and this would mark the start of a new beginning.

Peace of Mind

Darkenss surrounded me. I was sure I was alone. Dressed in my most recent band t shirt and black skort, I was cold. I shivered. A familiar figure walked towards me. I could see him. I recognized the walk anywhere. Fear shot adrenaline straight through my veins. By now I could tell that I was having a nightmare. I hadn't seen "him" in three years. I tried to close my eyes and convince myself to wake up. But, there was no escaping this. I kept my eyes closed willing "him" to disappear. The adrenaline was not all that I could feel in my veins. The intensity of the withdrawals was pulsing inside of me. My stomach had felt as if it had been grabbed by a tiger's claws. Even my subconciousness, I couldn't escape any of my demons. The demons that I kept hidden from those I considered closest. Even Lauri, my most trusted friend, had no idea about my last binge. She could never understand. Could she? No. Inside my head, was a dangerous place to dwell.
Reopening my eyes slowly, I breathed deeply, trying to prepare myself for what lay ahead. I looked around. There was no one there.
"Brittany"
The voice was just as I remembered. Convincing. Even my name tugged at my muscles, pleading for them to make me turn around in response.
I closed my eyes again.
"Brittany, you know that won't help."
Tears were building up. I had to open my eyes and try to blink them away. When my eyelids lifted, it was as if a gate had been opened. I quickly tried wiping them away with the back of my hands. He could never see me cry. Would never see me cry.
I doubled over. The pain in my stomach was unbearable. I tried to keep myself together. I tried to sit up but, as I did, I vomitted onto the ground.
"Still a druggie, I see."
He moved to stand in front of me.
"Stay away from me!"
I had tried to stand up again, but I was too weak still. I gave up and crashed onto the ground again.
He started to come forward. I started to throw up again so I couldn't do anything. Helplessness overcame me like a heavy blanket, covering me from head to toe.
"Brittany!"
"Go away." I tried again and closed my eyes.
"Brittany!"
The tears came back. God help me, I thought, eyes still closed as if that may help him hear my pleas.
"Brittany!"
I couldn't move. I sprawled out on the ground and gave myself to the darkness.
"Brittany"
I felt so much better and this was a different voice pulling at me now. Resurfacing slowly I realized it was Lauri that I had heard.
"Dude, wakey bakey sunshine"
She appeared, blocking the light as she hovered over my face.
We were in the van and until she moved, I was greatful.
"Duuuuude." I said trying to match her light mood even as I was suddenly blinded by the sun. "We totally crashed in the van outside the tube last night dude," she said. "I see that dude."
I looked around. Lauri must have been awake at least for a little bit. The van smelled like cigarette and I noticed the toilet paper was sitting in her lap. She was looking at me with a curious look on her face, holding a packed bowl. I looked back at her wondering about the slow smile creeping across her face. I looked down and saw the box we had found, was it yesterday? And what was with that dream with rainbows? I sighed loudly. It was way too early in my day to contemplate these things. I looked up from the box and gave her the best "but I'm tired" look. She passed me the bowl. I took it. Then the lighter. I sighed, a sigh of relief. Pressed the glass bowl to my lips and then flicked the lighter and lit the bowl. The smoke swirled through to clear class pipe. I inhaled as much as I could then returned the bowl to her. I exhaled slowly. Finally, my only peace of mind.

Childhood Memories


"We need food." I said this to Lauri as if I was expecting her to get me some.
I was totally aware that she wanted to discuss the box. I allowed to conversation to go in that direction briefly. Just to make sure I hadn't lost my mind entirely, I needed to defer on the realization, that the rainbow place with Serra was not just another disturbing dream to add to the list of the night before. We were still at the tube. "Let's go to Wendy's and then head to the cemetery from there." She looked at me. I loved her big eyes. Thoughts moved through them at a slow pace. She was smart as hell. I could only hope to have her brain. The different personalities didn't seem to affect her that often anways. I loved her other personality. Lauri was obviously the dominant one. There was one I hadn't ever seen come out. Then there was Tahlia. She was So different from Lauri. She spoke with an undertone that seemed as if she held the world's deepest secrets. She smiled and Lauri's eyes lit up in a way I had never seen Lauri's eyes shine. Tahlia, was something to be had for sure. Obviously, the fact that I slightly crushed on my best friend's other personality had its unrealistic complications.
She was looking at me in a way that said "do you have your own money". It was crazy how we could communicate. She was the only person in the world that I felt could possibly understand me enough to just know. Know everything without saying a word. I could introvert and she wouldn't mind. I could just daydream midsentence & she wouldn't push for more. She just knew. "I have three dollars. Double stack and frosty, here we come!"
She laughed and we set out. I looked at all the people outside, completely oblivious to the fact that we had spent an unknown amount of time getting high right behind their favorite strip malls. Suddenly the silence was nagging. I adjusted myself for more comfort in the passenger seat. I had gotten smaller in the last few months. A lot smaller. And the seat in the van seemed to cup me now. I felt comforted by it. "We should figure out this thing about having the same wierd dream. And this box."
"Mhmm."
"Do you really think that this piece of crap will grant us three wishes?"
We started laughing when I held up the box. I took a closer look at it, careful not to let it open. So many of my days had been taken from me. Days, I will never remember. My own selfishness and recklessness had taken time from me over and over again. I didn't want it to happen unwillingly.
It seemed different. It was mult-colored. Metallic & shiny. A rainbow seemed to be painted across the lid. I loved bright colored things. They seemed happier compared the darkness I surrounded myself with. Black roses covered the bottom trim. I hadn't noticed.
"I'm not sure of anything, with the exception of we had the same dream." She answered hazily. Even though I knew she was intrigued. To anyone else, it would have appeared as if she were talking about basket weaving. Something she would never be interested in.
We pulled through the drive thru and parked in the parking lot. Our usual spot. We always faced the fence and the tree on my right helped block my window and give us some shade. Also, there were always two cars near us. One on my side. One on hers. It provided excellent cover for short munchy breaks.
"We should open it again." Her clear interest caught me off guard. I always tried to be prepared, after all I was usually up for anything. Lauri's slothlike movements & conversation skills were refreshing from the partying and obnoxiousness of my other crowd.
"Okay." I didn't know what to say. But I didn't want to open it yet. If it were true. I had no idea, what to wish for.
"But what do you want to wish for?"
"I don't know dude, I havent gotten that far"
"Well, we should, that dream was kind of scary"
"I know what you mean dude, I don't want to have to see Serra again."
"Then, we decide our wishes. Then we open the box. Deal?"
"Deal dude."
We were done eating. I pulled my baggie out of my purse. Getting it all down into the corner of the bag, I cringed at my dwindling stash. I packed a bowl & said, "We are going to need more weed than this to contemplate this seriously."
She laughed. "Call someone then."
The idea of calling any of the possibly fifteen people I could get it from did not seem like a good idea right now. After the nightmares I'd had, I couldn't quite handle that yet.
"Let's go to the cemetery first, we've got enough to last us at least through the end of the night."
"Okay. Hurry and put that s**t away dude. Spiders."
I looked around. There was no one to be seen. Lauri was constantly paranoid about it. She didn't have my luck. I guess, I could understand then.
I finished packing the bowl, put my bag away, then handed it to her for greens.
The cemetery was only five minutes away from Wendy's. We convienantly chose places that were close. We never had any money and the van sucked down more gas than we did ganja. Or at least it seemed that way.
Once again, in a familiar spot, we continued to chill and pass the bowl between us. "Have you any ideas?" I asked.
"Loads. Just none I'm sure about."
"Right Dude"
I had nothing else to say. We were in this bunch together.
"When i was a kid, I wished for my stuffed animals to talk to me."
I laughed at my own statement. How silly it had been to wish for something so...useless. I guess not. I had fond childhood memories but, the older I got, the darker they seemed.
Lauri laughed too. "I don't think thats relevant now."
"Well, I was just saying."
"I know dude," she started, "but we have to be logistic with this."
"Aww, but I hate to be responsible." I teased her. My immaturity always flustered her, even if she didnt show it on the surface, even if she knew I was joking, I could see it ripple across her face.
"Money is always a possibility."
Her idea was nice. But money? Of all the things in the world we could have, would I really want money?
"What about special powers?"
Her eyes widened. Her owl like face was still as I watched her realize something.
"I want to be an owl." I laughed.
"I want to be a mermaid." She laughed too. This was not being taken seriously so I packed another bowl. Enough childhood memories.

Speed


A loud bang sounded through the house. "Damn it you two! Stop right now, before you break all of my s**t!" I laughed. Rachael always got like this when we were together. Lauri had to work so I was with my other best friend. Sort of the next best thing. Although, I was friends with each of them for very different reasons. The first was his natural ability to make me smile even if I didn't want to. Next, I am able to do ANYTHING and he would never stop me or judge me in any way. Third, I was strangely addicted to him.
"Get off me!" i said, writing on the ground, unable to escape his body on mine. He bent over with that look in his eyes until he was almost touching his nose to mine. I hated this. Our sexual tension was thick enough, it made me feel as though I was suffocating. I tried wiggling out of his grasp again. I was stuck. I had an idea though.
"I'm not going to do anything about it!" I lay underneath him, motionless. I knew he hated when I didn't fight back. There was no fun it it for him anymore if I didn't challenge him. He put his lips to my ear and breathed. Goosebumps raised on my every limb and I gasped. "Really?" he whispered. His warm breath gave me ideas, I know I shouldn't have.
Suddenly we hear Rachael again. "Get off HER JASON!" Saved by Rachael again. I sighed. Relief flooded through me. He got up. Nobody challenged Rachael. She hit harder than any of the guys in the group. "Leave her alone." She eyed him. He laughed and left the bedroom. I hated being addicted to someone so full of himself. But I guess its just part of the rush I get from him. "I'm sorry Rachael."
"Don't worry about it. I know they are ASSHOLES."
She said the word assholes louder than any of the other words in her sentence. Then I saw her scan the length of my arm. "New bruises huh? Damn. You really are one of the guys Britt." She averted her eyes like she thought something she didn't want me to know. I'd known Rachael for only a few months. She was still getting used to me. None of the girls around here were anything but trouble. Slutty girls that don't care. Sure, I guess I'd done my fair share of bad things. Never anything against her though. I would never touch Louie. I know all about Louie's affair and I felt bad for her. So did she. Neither of us would say anything though. She deserved better than him but I was supposed to have loyalties to my friends. It wasn't my business to confess. That didn't ease the guilt about it though. We sauntered into the living room. All of the guys were there. Jason sat near the armrest at the far side of the room. The couch had many sections that curved around half of the room. It was a good thing, because there were a lot of us. Closest to me on this side of the couch was Tony. He was giving me that creepy look. Ugh. I hated that look. No matter how many times I'd said no, he'd persist regardless. Still i felt for him because I'd been that pathetic at one point in my life. Also, he was fiercely loyal to me, like I could do no wrong. That only proved his own mental issues. The rest, Louie, Improv, Chaos, Bong Water, Not so Silent, all sat staring at the screen. Someone was playing a game. Need for Speed, one I wasn't so familiar with. I didn't care right now. I was inverting. Without me knowing it, my mind wandered away. "Let's go!" I heard someone say as they yanked on my hair. It hurt. But I liked it. I'm such a masochistic emo b***h. "Ow ********!" What do you want?" I looked at him angrily. Then I saw the bag. My heart skipped a beat. My veins seem to expand and contract painfully. Smiling he said, "We gotta go, come with me." He winked & we left after short goodbyes.
Jason's car was different from the van. It was so much more uncomfortable mentally. I had spent quite a bit of time in this car but I could never be sober in it. I was high because we smoked some weed with the group. Now it was just him and I though. We were speeding down a familiar highway. He handed me a bowl. I smoked and he smiled at me. This smile was different though. It was not full of sarcasm or menacing thoughts. It was genuine. Like we were just friends on a drive. We drove to a spot of his in a completely other city chatting about everything. Nothing too serious. The sexual tension was too dangerous to talk about anything serious. We danced in the car to our favorite songs. We really were childlike. Laughing and smoking and ******** with people in the other cars next to us, we were a dangerous duo. He yelled, "I feel the need, the need for speed." I laughed so hard, I couldn't control it. He stepped on the gas, knowing I wasn't worried about any consequences. A large smile spread across my face and I leaned into the seat, " Are we gonna do that bag or what?"
He smiled. "Yeah, when we get somewhere."
"Awesome!"
I enjoyed the fast drive there but with great anticipation. We were going at least 120. But I wanted more. I really felt the need. The need for speed.

Gilding a Lily


My heart was pounding so fast it felt like my chest was going to explode. Yet, in all the fear I felt, I was so happy. Damn being ******** up all the time. It never gives you time for the real world.
"Hello, I'm Officer Jones from the police department. Do you guys have some ID on you?"
"Yes we do." Jason handed him mine and his together. The officer looked at it. I glanced over at the center council. I felt a small giggle escape my lips as I realized the mirror was still sitting in between the seats with the straw on it. I quickly glanced back hoping nobody would notice. At least all the powder was gone.
The officer on my side continued.
"What are you kids doing out here right now?"
I wasn't sure how to explain our existence in an empty lot at three in the morning. I did know that we obviously didn't get caught mid ball. Jason didn't say anything. He was smiling at the steering wheel. Some hell of a time for him to shut the ******** up now.
"We just got into an argument and we drove around and discovered this place might be good to talk for a minute. I'm sorry. We will leave now. I didn't realize we were disturbing anyone."
This seemed to work because the officer handed my ID back to me and signaled to his partner to do the same for Jason. He flashed the light around the car and then leaned into the window, arms resting on my door. I was very uncomfortable and I shifted slightly to try to hide the mirror and straw.
"There was no disturbance miss. We were just curious why there was a car parked in the middle of this construction site."
This time I held my laugh in. Were we really at a construction site? I thought it was a parking lot...
"Obviously you are safe miss and I'm just going to insist that you do leave this property. Good luck to you two."
They walked away to their cars. Jason and I put on our seat belts and took off. We were laughing and going on excitedly about our luck.
"Damn. Can you believe that s**t?"
I looked at him and grinned. "Yeah I can since you bitched out and didn't say ******** you. I was having a hard time keeping my s**t together."
We were both shaking. I hated the shivers. It made every muscle sore by tensing. I wiped some more drip from my nose.
"Ya. I noticed. Let's say ******** the blow for now and go smoke a joint somewhere."
"Good idea."
We drove down the highway at regular speed. No reason to risk our luck twice. As we drove around, Jason continued to talk. I listened, sort of. I was thinking about Luck. And about the box. Three wishes. Luck would be nice. I thought about all the things I'd ever wished for through out my life. I couldn't decide which of those I would chose given the possibility. Then Jason smiled at me again and I thought I want to be happy like I am when he smiles at me like that.
"What's going on? You're quiet again."
"How can I get in a word with you rambling?"
"Funny. Yeah. I talk a lot when I'm on yay."
"Ya think?"
We laughed some more. Then we pulled into an apartment complex.
"We are in Kenosha."
"Okay. Who gives a s**t. Why are we here?"
"I don't know."
The parking lot was huge and there were businesses surrounding us. Much better than his last spot.
"So you have papers for this joint I hope because I don't"
"Yeah. I have some but I don't have any buds."
"I've got some buds. Don't worry about it."
I pulled out my sandwich baggie of herbs and placed some on the mirror. Enough for a big joint. My body needed a little slowing down. I was still racing with the coke in my veins.
"Here. You roll a joint. We've been friends forever and I've never seen you roll a joint."
"That's because I can't."
"Bullshit. You're going to roll this joint or we are not going to smoke."
I punched him in the arm, hard as I could.
"Don't ******** threaten me like I'm one of your stupid girlfriends. I can't roll a joint. Just roll it and get it over with!"
"No. I'm not going to. I'll teach you though."
There was a thump in my chest. I loved this side of him. His sweet side was so beautiful. It made my heart feel like it was melting.
"Ok."
We sat there and I fumbled around clumsily. For a stoner, I really did not have coordination when rolling joints. He gave me tips and finally I had a pregnant looking J; ready to go. I lit it feeling proud of my good- well, kind of good- accomplishment.
We smoked in the parking lot in silence.
I looked at him. He was so pretty to look at. His soft baby smooth skin was tan from the summer. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to swirl around me when I looked at them.
"That's Her apartment building."
I didn't understand at first.
"Who's?"
"Laura's."
"Oh. Then tell me why we are at the b***h who broke your heart's place at five in the morning."
"I just was thinking it was a good spot."
"Yeah sure. You have got to let her go. Its been over for a while now and she just uses you. She is a total perv. Let's ******** you. You don't understand."
"I do. More than you know. Either way. I want to go somewhere else."
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
He looked at me for a minute. I knew what he was thinking but he blinked suddenly and looked away. I was happy about that. Just because the coke made you horny as ******** doesn't mean you shouldn't try to keep a grip on yourself.
We drove again. Not far this time. It didn't seem like it but the sun was getting close to rising. I was listening to the loud punk music blaring from the car speakers when we pulled into a playground.
"What is this?" I asked, laughing.
"I've gotta move around. Let's play."
He stuck his tongue out in a mischievous manner revealing his tongue ring. He played with the ball at the tip of it with his tongue while waiting impatiently for my reaction.
I got out of the car and ran to the swings. We raced like children and fought over the swing we both ran to. I lost and sat next to him on the slightly higher swing. Then we were both pumping our legs and swinging happily. The wind in my face was exhilarating. My heart pounded and the adrenaline made me fearless. I looked down as I swung backwards. I was going really fast and I was swinging so high, I was quickly parallel with the earth. It seemed impossible but I was suddenly filled with more euphoria than I'd felt all night. I love everything that scares me and that is my weakness.

I sat up to see Jason jump off his swing from nearly the height of my swing. He landed flawlessly, his motions smooth and accurate. He then ran to the top of the slide on the jungle gym portion of the playground. It had been designed to look like a castle even though it was quite small. The slide began at the tallest turret. "Come on. Try the slide!" He waved for me to jump.

"Okay. But you're ******** crazy if you think I'm going to jump. I'm not all ninja like you!"
I slowed the swing down and hopped off toward the slide. I took my time with the obstacles along the way. I had always loved playgrounds. They are like miniature worlds of your own creation that offer an escape from the surrounding world. I relished in each moment of it.
I stood next to Jason against one of the rails surrounding the turret. He passed me a lit cigarette.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"The sun looks ******** gorgeous out here!" I leaned into the rail as if I could just fall into the rising sun. The moment was ruined when I had to wipe the drip from my nose again.
"I used to go to the playground and watch the sunset at my old school. It was one of my most favorite things to do."
"Me too."
Then we sat there and watched the sunrise in silence. I'm sure my being high affected its beauty. Sort of like gilding a lily. I soaked it up. Then I looked over at Jason who was staring at the sunrise still. He looked so appealing. Even as strung out as he had gotten. The sun brightened his face and pronounced all the wonderful things about him. I thought it could be that it brought out all the good he had inside of him. The euphoria swelled inside my head again & I didn't ever want to let go of this moment.

Orchards

My phone was vibrating on the windowsill next to my bed. I reached for it without removing my face from the pillow or opening my eyes. Ugh. My fingers clumsily felt around for the phone until they accidentally knocked it down onto the bed. At that point, it had stopped vibrating and I had to roll over and open my eyes to find it. I flipped my phone open. The first thing I noticed was the time. The clock read 4:05p.m. Oh my goodness. I'd slept over a day. I clicked the button to reveal who my missed calls were from. I started at the bottom and scrolled up. First there was one from Jason. Then there were two from Rachael. One from Tony. Lastly there were 7 from Lauri, all within the last two to three hours. I hated listening to my voice mails and immediately rejected the popup offer on the screen. Then I went through my text messages. My inbox read 15. I opened them up. Most were random "what's up" or updates from random friends. But there were several from Lauri telling me to call her as soon as possible. Ugh. I was still lagging in the energy department yet.
I decided I was going to shower first. I could smell myself and it was truly disgusting. I picked out new clothes. A black mini and a Sublime T. I grabbed a crumpled towel on the ground and walked to the door. Opening it, I half expected to see someone but I remembered my brother and parents were at work. Perfect timing. I showered and shaved while smoking a bowl in the bathroom and taking my time to wake up.
As soon as I was dressed, I brushed my hair & teeth while calling Lauri. "Hey dude. What's up? I slept forever, I'm sorry."
"Dude I have been trying to call you for hours. Its really important! I'm going to come pick you up."
"Okay. I'll be outside in the front of the complex."
I hung up & put on my flip flops. It was a few minutes before my mom would be back from work and I didn't want to have to endure any family time. Lauri sounded stressed and I was curious about what could be going on. I pondered this as I walked to the front of my complex carefully avoiding the windows of the office by walking around the back. By the time I got there, Lauri was waiting in one of the parking spots. The van was standing out like a sore thumb and I hurried into it so we could avoid being seen.
"Hey dude." I lit a cigarette and leaned back into the seat, enjoying the familiarity of the van. Lauri immediately started driving away towards the closest cemetery featuring my favorite rendition of The Last Supper. It doesn't get any better than giant statues of Jesus and his hungry guests, even if he is moldy from the years of rain. I smiled at this thought and looked over to Lauri, who still was silent.
She waited until we were parked in our usual spot, to say anything.
"Dude, I had another encounter with Serra."
I studied her face for clues to her anxiety.
Then the name clicked and I felt my mouth drop. I had forgotten everything. It just seemed so surreal, like we had been stoned and imagined it after passing out. Her expression revealed that her visit from Serra had been even more unpleasant than the last. Serra has a way of really freaking you out. Her vibe is not evil per say but its definitely not good.
"What happened?"
"She said we have to use our wishes. At least one by a fortnight."
I laughed. "Did she really say fortnight? Haha. Who talks like that?"
Lauri didn't laugh. She gazed down in to her lap. "I really need you to take this seriously. We are in way over our heads with this box thing and I can't really stand having that b***h invading my head anymore. It's really weird."
Sometimes being overly apathetic really sucked. I sometimes wished I could care about something or anything. One of those times was right now.
"She said there are consequences to keeping the box from its purpose. The box is supposed to present itself to those who are destined to have it and use it. Not using it can upset the magic within and, well, apparently we can die."
The word die had an impact on me. I looked at her with wide eyes and she nodded. I sighed and packed a bowl. I didn't exactly know how to process this. This s**t doesn't happen in real life right? So why is it happening to me?
"Okay dude. Let's not stress too much. We've just got to figure out three wishes and then we are done right? Simple."
Lauri got stiff and started yelling. "We could have, had you not been running off with your little boyfriend doing blow for half a week. You really need to grow the ******** up and realize who your real friends are. I can't ******** do this without you & you are acting like a selfish spun out b***h!!"
Ouch. That stung but I instantly went into chill out mode. We couldn't accomplish anything with her yelling at me about s**t that I couldn't do anything about now anyways. Also, the coke hangover was still in effect. Everything was hazy as my brain was still adjusting to regular speed. Getting high probably didn't help anything but keep me mellow.
"I know. I'm sorry dude. But I'm here now and we can figure this out. So try chilling the ******** out and thinking about what we want."
We sat silently smoking and thinking. I saw her muscles loosen up and she leaned into the seat. She passed the bowl back to me and I went to pack another one. I pulled my baggie out and poured the last of the contents into my bowl.
"This is the last of my stash. How about an everlasting bag of weed?"
"Dude. Maybe... that's it."
"What?"
"We get creative about what we want. Instead of wishing for money we wish for an endless bag of weed. We could sell it and make all profit!"
"DUDE! That's awesome! Let's do this then."
"Well wait. We should be sure of how we want to phrase this."
"Right. We don't want some ******** endless bag of shake."
"Right dude."
"So how do we wanna say this?"
"Well let's be specific. Pick a brand."
"A brand of weed? Damn, that's tough."
I thought of all the different types of weed there were. Was it possible to chose which is best? I was having a difficult time.
"What if we didn't have to pick one brand? What if we made it so the bag had different plants. Instead of buds?"
"That's good dude. But how can we make that work?"
My imagination went off. Taking in all sorts of ideas and working them out into a fantasy...
I imagined a pouch. It was a drawstring pouch so you could close it efficiently. When I opened it in my imagination, I imagined reaching into it and watching my entire arm sink into it. I retracted my arm and watched myself poke my head in the bag. I imagined the inside of the bag being an enormous greenhouse full of wonderful blooming cannabis plants. Then I snapped out of it and tried to describe every detail to Lauri.
"OOOOH MY GOD... I'm sooo exciiiiiiited. That's a perfect idea dude!"
She fumbled around the van until she came up with a notebook and a pen.
She wrote messily on the page, scratching out and rewriting over other parts. Then she handed me the notebook.
She wrote down exactly what I described in the form of dialogue that was supposed to be our wish. I had no qualms and I nodded as I handed it back to her. She pulled the box out of the glove compartment and we sat there looking at it for a minute. Our anticipation filled the van and I lit another cigarette to help settle myself. I really couldn't believe I was doing this. We looked at each other anxiously, then she spoke.
"We wish for a human accessible draw string pouch that contains a greenhouse full of the finest marijuana plants that grow endlessly, which we may enter and exit with as much of the marijuana as we would like, as many times as we want to throughout our lifetime, which is also easily hidden on our person when we are not inside of it."
The words seemed to float around us in slow motion. The earth felt as if it was shaking. We looked around and none of the animals or birds surrounding us seemed to notice. The van was rocking violently and suddenly spinning until everything was a blur. The violent wind made it impossible to see what was going on. Then it stopped. The van was no longer rocking and all the other odd phenomena had ceased. Then I saw the pouch. Velvet and black with the thick drawstring cord, about the size of a change purse, it had been exactly as I had imagined. Lauri sat staring with the same astonished and bewildered look as myself.
"Holy s**t."
She laughed. "Oh man. It worked!"
"I'll say. That was ******** scary s**t."
"Yeah. It was sketchy."
She seemed comforted by the fact that our wish had worked. A little more pep in her voice, I could tell she was just as curious about the inside as myself.
I snatched up the pouch and slid the clamp down the rope to open it. Lauri fidgeted impatiently. I opened the pouch and put my hand into the pouch exactly as I had done earlier in my imagination. My arm felt like it was being swallowed slowly by an animal with no teeth. It felt strange but I was excited.Then I started putting the rest of my body into the pouch. I left my other hand stretched out towards Lauri. She grabbed onto it and I thrusted the rest myself into our magical orchard of ganja, Lauri trailing behind me in awe.

Guardian Angels