Northern_Lights_2017

81 Tangerine Nicolas Harrison I like takin’ walks. It doesn’t matter where to, I just like stretchin’ my legs. ‘Course Ma is always yelling at me cause sometimes I go past the limits out into the back country. I could get into a heap o’ trouble for doin’ that, but it ain’t ever stopped me. Ma is always hollerin’ that a ten-year-old boy shouldn’t be goin’ on so many walks anyways. She keeps tellin’ me I should be out playin’ with the other boys my own age instead, but I don’t like playin’ with them boys. They are real mean to me. I don’t fit in. I prefer to keep to myself and go on walks. Awhile back I was wanderin’ round, this time past the limits, when I found a place I ain’t ever seen before. It was real pretty. It was like I stepped outta the city—which, I guess I was—and walked into a dream. There was grass everywhere, so much that I didn’t even know there could be so much. The city is real brown and full of dead ol trees. But this place was real different. The grass was so tall that it nearly went to my waist, and I know I ain’t a tall boy but I still ain’t as short as the shortest. The first time I walked into that grass, I thought I was in a ocean colored green. I stood in it and watched the blades go back and forth like real waves; it was real mesmerizing, ya know? The sound of water pulled me farther into the grass. The green kinda tapered off and stopped completely, givin’ way to sand. I ain’t ever felt real sand before, just the dust that covers everythin’ in the city. I knelt down and picked it up in my hand; it was real soft and warm from the sun. I was kinda hesitant to put my bare feet on it—I like to go walkin’ barefoot, it feels real good—but I did, and boy am I glad. It was kinda hot at first, but then it started feelin real nice and I walked further onto it, draggin’ my feet through the stuff. The color was different too; it was a real clean white, like someone had taken all the dirt outta it. I think it mighta looked like snow, from what I heard snow looks like. It’s awful warm in this part of the country, so we ain’t ever get snow, and it hardly rains either. The source of the watery noise was coming from a big ol pile of rocks that had water pouring down it. I think it’s called a waterfall; that’s what I’d call it, at least. The water was falling into a big pool that was clear as day. I could see all the way to the bottom; there was a whole lotta fish in there too! They was all colors: orange and white and blue and green and yellow too. Boy, if I woulda had my fishin’ pole, I coulda brought some of them home. That woulda filled my family’s tummies. I walked to the edge of the water and stepped in; it was cool, but just warm enough to get rid of the heat of the sun that was blazin’ above. I went a lil deeper till the water was up to my shorts. I really wanted to go further in, so I stepped outta the water and stripped down till I was buck naked. I walked back in and began to paddle out. I learned how to swim back in the city when I was eight; the river was still clean then. That dried up about a year ago, so now there’s not really anywhere to swim at all. I paddled further out into the water, enjoying the feeling of swimmin’ again. I flipped onto my back, closed my eyes and floated there. I don’t know how long I floated, but somethin’ nibblin’ on my toes made me jump. I thrashed around a bit, lookin’ down only to realize the fish were just curious who was in their pond. I laughed to myself; these fish weren’t gonna hurt me. I swam to the edge of the water and crawled out. I sat down on the sand near my clothes and started hummin’ to myself. The sun was real warm and it only took a few minutes for most of the water to have disappeared from my skin. After a while I stopped hummin’, but something else was still singin’. I looked into the green trees and noticed real plain- lookin’ brown birds whistling away. I watched them for a long time, listenin’ to their song; I even hummed along with them. I stood to get a closer look at one of them, but it flew away. After it was gone, I noticed that there was some sorta fruit attached to the tree branches the birds were perched on. I walked round the edge of the pond, over to the tree, and look up. There were dozens of the fruit; they was all a real bright orange color. Me bein’ the curious kid I am, I started climbin’ up the tree. I got up real quick and reached for the first circular fruit I could find. It had a kinda scaly skin, but it sure smelled good. I don’t know what it was called, still don’t to this day, but I sure know it was good. When I first bit into it, I spat it out; the taste was real bitter. I realized that there was skin on the fruit and when I pulled it away, I found a soft yellowish-orange flesh inside. I pulled a piece out and popped it into my mouth. It was the best thing I ever tasted, real sweet and juicy. I quickly ate that one and picked up a few more before hoppin’ outta the tree. I went near the edge of the water again and sat down, digging into the fruit. I know I shouldn’t a eaten that many, but they was so good. Later that night I regretted it; I was sick for hours. After sittin’ for a while, I noticed the sun was a lot lower than it was when I first arrived. I checked my beat-up ol watch and saw that I was due home in less than a hour. I know now that it takes about forty minutes to get to the place, but that’s with knowin’ where I’m goin’ directly. Ma sure was mad when I missed supper, so I didn’t get any. Didn’t matter to me though; my belly was full of that orange fruit. The second time I went back to the pond, it didn’t take me as long to get home. Each time I went back, I found new things. Like the third time; I noticed a little patch of shorter where really sweet-smellin’ flowers were grownin’ in a real deep red color. I picked a few and brought them back for my lil sister, but made her promise not to tell Ma. On the eighth trip back, I found a secret cave under the waterfall; it was real damp, but it was real peaceful, too. I liked to sit in there and take naps. It was a good break from bein’ out in the sun. And on the thirteenth time I was there, I dove down to the bottom of the pond. There was a bunch of shells and real shiny rocks in all sorts of colors and sizes. Shortly after that trip, I began bringin’ a bag with me. My sister really liked the lil things I was bringin’ her. But I kept makin’ her promise not to tell Ma, and she never did.