Ross Lake

The only desire I have now is not to wake up, but the alarm clock on top of me says otherwise. I start groping around the headboard of the bed in search of the source of the most annoying sound in the world until I find a rectangular object. Without a second thought, I slam my hand on it, making the noise stop instantly.

I get up still a little sleepy, trying to understand where I am and how I ended up here; as far as I remember, I was in the bathtub, and now I'm in bed. Surely my mother brought me here — it comes to mind —. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of living in the "past", questioning myself constantly about why I'm here.

Now standing, I feel more lively and vigorous, it's been years since I felt this way; more alive, happier. I hop to the bathroom, somehow unable to control this "urge" to walk like this. Arriving, I notice something strange, the sink that yesterday was too high for me, preventing me from seeing myself, now isn't like that; I can see a bit of my eyes while standing, without the need to use the toy chest — I know that in childhood we grow overnight, but I didn't know it would be so literal —.

After a few minutes, I leave the bathroom and head straight to the outside of my room; for some reason, the environment around me is a bit different; things remain the same, but something has changed. As I descend the stairs, I start hearing two people arguing somewhat loudly, I can't identify whose voices they are because they overlap each other constantly. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I can see who it was, it was my father and my mother, and from what I could hear, my mother was complaining about him being out all night and only coming home in the morning, while my father countered saying he didn't have the freedom to live. The tone of voice oscillated between a normal conversation and an argument between two furious people.

Before I entered the kitchen, my father stormed out of where he was, walking in angry strides, passing by me and quickly going upstairs towards his room. When I reach the kitchen, I notice the empty expression on my mother's face; it's as if life is missing from her. She's distracted and doesn't notice my presence, before she sees me, I glance around and notice that the dining room table is different; before it was made of old-looking solid wood, now it's a long glass table with six yellow chairs. Strange — I think to myself —.

Looking at the calendar on the wall, I see the date June 15, 2010. I'm startled by what I just saw, I can't believe I'm in 2010. How was I in 2009 yesterday, and now in 2010 today? It doesn't make sense — numerous questions flood my mind —. As I'm stuck staring at the date on the wall, I hear a voice coming towards me:

— 'DD', are you up already? — I realize it's my mother; her tone of voice fluctuates between sadness and happiness —.

I quickly respond:

— Mom, are we in 2010?

— What do you mean, 'DD'?

— Well, wasn't it 2009 yesterday?

— No, my love, yesterday was June 14, 2010.

— I don't understand.

— What don't you understand?

— Nothing, Mommy — despite calling my mother 'Mommy' for these "two days", I felt strange. It had been years since I called her that, but I guess I can get used to it —.

— Are you hungry? — after saying this, she takes a tissue from her hand and passes it near her eyes, wiping away a solitary tear that insisted on rolling down her face —.

— A little.

— I'll prepare something for you.

After that, she goes to the fridge, takes out a box of waffles, and starts preparing them in a pan. After a few minutes, she emerges with a plate of two, apparently, delicious waffles and says:

— Do you want to sit at the table to eat or do you want to watch TV while you eat?

— I want to watch TV — eating while watching TV was one of the best things I did when I was a kid, so I decide to relive that moment —.

— Okay, let's go to the living room, I'll bring the plate for you.

I start heading towards the living room as she follows me, upon arrival, I notice a figure with perfectly cut blond hair shaped like a bowl just like mine, leaning over the couch while drinking from a bottle. At first, I take a moment to recognize him, as he was too big to be Aaron, but soon I realize that it really is him, he has grown bigger, 1 year has passed — it comes to my mind —. Everything falls into place, Aaron has grown, he's no longer that 4-year-old baby. It's amazing how time changes everything; before he was attached to his pacifier, now there's no sign of it anywhere. I look for an empty space on the couch, or rather, a place where Aaron hasn't taken over, and I sit down, my mother placing the plate on my lap and saying:

— What would you like to drink?

I reply:

— Can I have chocolate milk?

— Of course you can, I'll bring it to you right away.

After that, she leaves the room and heads towards the kitchen. I sit on the couch next to Aaron, while magically the television mesmerizes me; I don't know which cartoon is playing, but it's about two bears heading towards an abandoned cave. I know I'm too old — mentally — to watch cartoons, but what's before my eyes brings me comfort.

Minutes pass, and my mother brings me a large white mug filled with chocolate milk; after handing it to me, she kisses my head and heads towards the stairs, I can hear them creaking as she climbs. I take a long sip of the warm chocolate milk; as I drink, I notice two big blue eyes sparkling in my direction, I take the mug away from my mouth and notice who was staring at me, it was Aaron, with a look that said: "Can I have some?"

I look at him with a doubtful expression and ask:

— Do you want some?

He doesn't say anything, his eyes still fixed on my cup, he just nods. I peacefully hand the mug over to him, and seconds later, he's immersed in big gulps of the chocolate milk. I feel the need to protect Aaron, even though our age difference is small, I don't know much about this feeling, but it's as if he were my "child". I think if I were a child with a child's mentality, I probably wouldn't have given him my chocolate milk, but now it's different.

A few seconds after he starts drinking the chocolate milk, he's already finished. When he takes the mug away from his mouth, you can see a brown mustache from the drink. When I see him with a dirty mouth, a wave of amusement washes over me, and I say:

— You look like an old man with that mustache.

He rushes to the mirror next to the TV and is surprised by what he sees. Shortly after, he stands in front of me and starts talking:

— I'm not old at all. I'm an adult, a big adult — after saying that, he starts twirling and humming: "I'm an adult, I'm an adult, I'm an adult..." —.

— You're a "Shorty" that's what you are.

He stops humming and looks serious in my direction, saying:

— You're the Shorty.

— No, you're the Shorty.

— It's you.

— It's you.

— It's you...

We keep repeating this almost endlessly, then I get up from the couch and stand in front of him, looking deep into his eyes, and say:

— You're the Shorty.

After I say that, he jumps on me, and we start a play fight. It's tickles on one side, tickles on the other, very weak slaps from him. At a certain point in our "battle", we're laughing more than fighting. In that moment, I feel a wave of happiness wash over my whole body; it's these moments that I miss from my childhood. Where everything was lighter and happier.

After a few minutes of this "fight", Sean enters the room with a sleepy face and says, in a serious tone:

— What's going on here?

After that, Aaron and I let go of each other and stand still like statues. Sean approaches us still with a demeanor indicating indignation and says:

— Both of you, get up now — I don't know why, but I'm afraid of him —.

We get up, and Sean quickly grabs us by the legs and starts carrying us, hanging from his shoulders, and starts speaking again:

— Since you don't know what a real fight is, watch this.

He starts spinning and spinning; both Aaron and I start screaming a lot, feeling a mix of fear and joy at this moment. After a few seconds of spinning, Sean starts laughing, and Aaron and I join in the joy. After a few seconds, Sean stops, as he was starting to feel dizzy, just like us. He puts us down from his shoulders and says:

— That's how you fight for real.

Aaron, stumbling a bit, responds:

— My head is spinning and spinning...

— It'll pass soon.

— What were you calling him, 'DD'? — Sean directs the question to me —.

I reply:

— 'Shorty'.

— Hmm, 'Shorty', I like it.

Aaron, somewhat annoyed, says:

— I'm not 'Shorty', I'm an adult; look, I even have a mustache — Sean bursts out laughing after Aaron's remark —.

Aaron looks at Sean with a doubtful expression while he still indulges in long laughter.

After Sean's laughter subsides, he says:

— That chocolate milk mustache is far from being a real mustache; I, who am a real man, look at me — he runs his hand between his nose and lip indicating — I already have a real mustache.

Aaron looks at me, and I return the look; then both of us burst into laughter. Sean's expression towards us was like: "I don't understand what's so funny". He watches as Aaron and I laugh at him, then he says:

— You two still have a long way to go to reach my level.

Still laughing, I reply:

— I'll be more of a man than you.

After that, he comes towards me with an angry face and subjects me to long tickle attacks; I fall to the ground while trying to fend off the tickles. It's a moment of great happiness for me and at the same time of sadness because I know it won't last forever, and at some point, I'll be back to the present.

While Sean bombards me with tickles, I hear the doorbell ring; Sean stops and goes towards the door. After that, I hear him calling me:

— 'DD', come here.

I go towards Sean and then come face to face with someone I almost instantly recognize, it was Levi, who this time was slightly different; his hair, which "last year" — I'll treat time like this, it wasn't yesterday, it was last year. But, like it or not, that's how it's happening — was perfectly cut in a bowl shape at forehead level, now it was long, past his ears. I also notice that he has grown, he's almost my height. As soon as I see him, I say:

— Levi! How are you?

He replies with a long satisfied smile:

— Dan! I'm good, and you? — then he looks at me with a certain strangeness and adds — You're not ready yet?

— Ready for what? — I look at him even more strangely —.

— Well, yesterday I told you that today I would take you to see a secret place.

— Oh yeah, I forgot — I didn't actually remember talking to him yesterday because, for me, 'yesterday' was 2009 —.

— Did your mom let you go?

— I haven't asked her yet.

— Oh, Daany... What if she doesn't let you?

— She'll let me, you're here — for a moment, I was really worried that she wouldn't let me go. Would she let me go without asking if she knew I'm the Daany from 2024?! —. Come in, please.

Then, he enters and comes across Aaron, who is now spinning and spinning while watching some musical cartoon. When Levi passes through the living room, he says to Aaron:

— Hi.

But Aaron is so focused that he doesn't pay attention to Levi. We both go down the hallway and quickly up the stairs. When we reach my room, I say to him:

— Introducing Mr. Levi LineMoon, my room.

He looks at me with a certain strangeness and replies:

— Huh, but I already knew your room. You introduced it to me last year; have you forgotten?

With a somewhat doubtful expression, I just say:

— Oh, right. I'm a bit scatterbrained.

— That's for sure — after saying that, he laughs heartily, and I just agree, laughing along with him —.

— I'll change; I'll go to the bathroom and be right back.

He nods, and he sits on the chair that accompanies the desk. In the bathroom, I change my pajamas for clothes more suitable for the sunny day outside; I don't even know where Levi is taking me, but I'll go with the most comfortable clothes possible.

I come out of the bathroom and say to him:

— I'm ready now; I just need to ask my mom.

— What if she doesn't let you? — his look was one of apprehension —.

— She'll let me, trust me.

When I leave the room, I call out loudly:

— MOM!

I hear her voice coming from downstairs:

— I'm down here.

I signal for Levi to follow me, and we both return downstairs. When we reach the kitchen, my mom, upon seeing Levi, immediately displays a genuinely happy expression and says:

— Levi, it's been so long since I've seen you! — then, she gives him a long hug and a kiss on the forehead, which he returns with the same intensity —.

He also responds to her with great happiness:

— Aunt, it's been so long since I last saw you. How are you doing?

— I'm doing well, my love, and how about you? Are your parents doing well?

— I'm doing fine, aunt. My parents are doing well too — his tone of voice is natural, but there's a hint of hesitation in his speech —.

— Is everything really okay? What's going on? — my mother notices Levi's slightly unusual tone —

— Well, it's just that Dan wants to tell you something.

My mother looks at me and says:

— Go ahead, 'DD'. What is it?

With a bit of apprehension, I reply:

— Well... Levi invited me to go to a secret place... I accepted — I don't remember accepting, but I trust Levi —, but I didn't ask you... — she looks at me with narrowed eyes —.

— Can I know what secret place this is?

Levi answers before me:

— It's a secret, aunt. If I tell you, it won't be a secret anymore.

My mother's gaze shifts from Levi to me and back again, and I wonder what's going through her mind.

After a long period of thought, she says:

— You can go, but both of you should be back here by 4:00 PM, understood?

Levi and I almost simultaneously respond:

— Understood!

After that, I head towards the stairs, but Levi interrupts me, saying:

— Where are you going?

I quickly reply to him:

— I'm going to get a backpack to carry some things for us to eat.

— You don't need to, I'm bringing everything we need — he points to the large backpack on his back —.

— Oh, then alright.

The two of us head towards the door, but before we leave, my mother addresses us:

— Aren't you forgetting something?

I ask her:

— What do you mean?

She then points to her cheeks with her index fingers. Both Levi and I quickly understand what she means. She bends down to our level, and we both give her long kisses on her cheeks.

Outside, I quickly head towards the garage. Seeing me going, Levi asks:

— Where are you going?

— I'm going to get my bike — I respond casually —.

— What bike?

— Well, my bike.

— You got a bike and didn't tell me?

— I've always had a bike.

I open the door to the garage, but I find nothing, just my dad's old SUV. My face expresses serious doubt, which Levi notices.

— You told me yesterday you didn't have a bike and didn't know how to ride. In fact, I installed a step on my bike to take you — he points to the small dark green bike parked near the entrance stairs —.

— I was mistaken — it suddenly dawns on me that I still don't have a bike; I remember getting my first one from my grandfather when I was 8 years old, which means it's still next year—.

— It happens. Can you carry my backpack?

— Sure thing.

He hands me the backpack and gets on the bike. Then, I climb onto the pegs at the back of the bike, put my hands on Levi's shoulders, and he sets off towards the secret place.

The journey itself is peaceful; all the while, I feel the cool breeze on my face. It's a very calm day, I feel everything around me, the peacefulness of Downcity; the sound of birds chirping back and forth... Everything is fine.

Throughout the journey, Levi doesn't say anything. I only ask occasionally if we're getting close, and the answer is always the same:

— We're almost there.

Everything is going well until we reach a certain stretch of the journey and encounter a steep hill. Before I could tell Levi to slow down, he plunges down at breakneck speed. I feel the air being knocked out of my lungs, but I have plenty of capacity to scream, and scream I do, while Levi just laughs, laughing a lot as I crumble in despair. The wind rushes violently against my face, causing my eyes to shut. I continue screaming until I hear Levi's voice directed at me:

— Hey, hey, it's over already — his speech is filled with seriousness and yet amusement with the whole situation —.

I open my eyes and, when I realize it, we've already gone down the steep street and are passing over a bridge that crosses the Tulyo river. At this moment, everything seems peaceful to me, despite my heart trembling in my chest. I regain myself a little and soon say:

— You're crazy, we could have died!

— But we didn't die, big head — his voice sounded purely joyful, there was nothing but joy —.

— Never do that again, are we clear?!

— Do it again? Alright, I won't, I promise — he lets out a long laugh as he turns onto a small dirt road along the banks of the Tulyo river —.

— Where are we going? — the path we were on before was calm and without any unevenness on the ground, but now we're facing a completely rough road, with potholes all the way; Levi, the backpack, and I were shaking all the time —

— Relax, you'll see.

The scenery around is splendidly beautiful, the morning sunlight hits the flowing waters of the river while reflecting a bluish glow on Levi and me; the trees lining the course of the river are with their foliage in a very lively green tone. I am immersed in an environment of pure peace, I am truly happy. I'm with my friend, life is easy, the weather is nice... I love today.

After a while following the course of the river, we reach the top of the road, where we travel on a seemingly regular road. The wind that was subtle before begins to intensify, not in a way to hurt the skin, but rather to soothe the soul. Levi is at an acceptable speed, we're not rushing, but there's no slowness either. A sudden thrill comes over me; I slowly begin to take my hands off Levi's shoulders, where I had been leaning. In an instant, I open my arms and feel the greatest freedom I have ever experienced in my life. The air passes through my fingers, hands, arms, shoulders, hair, head, ears, eyes, nose, and chest; I feel alive, I feel at home. A few seconds after this somewhat brave act, I put my hands back on Levi's shoulders.

At a certain moment, Levi stops and says:

— So, just to the left here, we'll reach our secret spot soon. You have to promise you'll never bring anyone here, okay?

I respond to him with a very peaceful look:

— Okay.

We proceed down a narrow road covered by trees that resembled a small tunnel until I come across a long lake of bright blue color; it was possible to see the bottom of the lake, the rocks, the small vegetation. My eyes were amazed by so much beauty. The water reflects the sunlight, creating an aura all along the lake shore.

Levi notices my enchantment with that landscape and says:

— Was the whole journey worth it?

— Of course it was — I respond without taking my eyes off the crystal-clear waters —.

For a moment, a flash of memory passes through my mind: Lake Ross... I had forgotten about Lake Ross; this memory from today really happened and, I believe, on this same date.

Levi quickly resumes:

— I present to you...

Before he can complete the sentence, I speak:

— Lake Ross...

— How do you know about Lake Ross? — his expression was filled with doubt and a little frustration —

I pay attention to what I just said, then quickly try to retract:

— The sign... I saw a sign...

— Sign? I didn't see any sign — his expression still expresses doubt —.

— It was hidden... behind some dead trees...

— Hmm...

Levi parks the bike a few meters from the edge of the lake, I get off and head towards the lake. As soon as my feet touch the extremely cold water of the lake, I scream loudly:

— OUCH.

Levi in the background can't contain his laughter and soon bursts into long laughs. After he stops laughing, he continues:

— I was going to warn you, the water is still cold Dan — there are traces of laughter in his speech —.

— Yeah, I noticed.

— Do you want to swim? — he says in a tone of irony that I quickly pick up —

— Yes, I will, right after you.

He comes laughing towards me and asks for the large backpack I carry, opens it, and takes out a kind of thick lining with some folded metal rods and soon says:

— Can you help me set up the tent?

— You brought a tent?

— It's a temporary tent, it protects us from the sun, mom told me to bring it.

— Alright, I'll help you.

I assist Levi in taking out everything necessary from the backpack. At first, it seems like a jumble of metal and plastic, but then everything starts to take shape, the poles form a sort of structure, and then we place the large lining over it, thus definitively forming a temporary tent. I move towards it, but before I can put my foot in, Levi intervenes:

— Hold on, you need the inner lining, otherwise you'll prick yourself on the rocks.

He takes out a thick lining from the backpack, also with a comfortable appearance, throws it inside the tent, and then takes out two small pillows and throws them inside as well.

— All set, our secret spot is finally finished.

It's a moment of such inner peace that I don't even have words to describe it; just feeling everything around me. Feeling Levi's warmth towards me; feeling the sunlight shining on the water; the sound of the wind among the surrounding trees. I feel like a bird that has just been set free from its cage and is in its natural habitat.

Levi sees me lost in my thoughts and I think he understands everything that's happening. He just takes my wrist and starts walking towards the lake; I agree with his gesture and walk along with him. I now feel the cold water on my feet again, we don't say anything, we just observe our surroundings and feel how good it is to have each other. I feel Levi put his arm around my shoulders, I reciprocate almost instantly.

After a few minutes of just observing everything, we decide to enter the tent completely. Its structure is all open, our legs go in from one side and our heads come out from the other. We face the lake, observing it, when Levi starts talking:

— Do you think in other lives we were friends?

I feel my eyes fill with tears after he says that, and I respond:

— I think so. We could be friends forever.

— Well, who said we won't be?

— It's just that I'm afraid.

— Afraid of what?

— Afraid that time will separate us, afraid that life will take us on new paths — the future hasn't been so kind to our friendship —.

— You're talking weird.

— Sorry.

— It's okay. But let me tell you something, we'll always be friends, I guarantee it.

— If I tell you something, will you promise not to call me crazy?

— Alright... — his tone of voice seemed to express apprehension —

— I'm from the future.

— What do you mean from the future?

— I time-traveled and I'm here in my 7-year-old body.

— Hold on, you time-traveled and ended up being 7 years old?

— Yeah, it wasn't exactly like that, but almost the same.

— I swear I'm not understanding.

— Forget it, it's my craziness.

— You asked me not to call you crazy, but you are a little crazy, huh — he lets out a long laugh —.

I start laughing along with him, until at some point our laughter merges and intensifies, making us laugh about something we no longer even remember what it was about.

After a few moments, he continues:

— Since you're from the "future", what's it like there? Are there flying cars? Robots everywhere?

— No, it's not like that. It's pretty normal actually, it's almost the same as what we have nowadays.

— What a lousy future, huh. But tell me something else... — he pauses where I think he'll never speak again — Are we still friends in the future?

I feel a shockwave run through my entire body, I've never felt this before in my life, but it's like I'm losing part of my heart at that moment. I search for words to answer him:

— Yes... we are... — my words are faltering and lose consistency as I speak, feeling bad for lying to Levi, but it's not in his hands —.

— That's good. I'm happy, Dan, I'll always love you — after that, he pats my back gently —.

Time passes and silence takes over the environment, as we only observe the bright reflection of the sun on the waters of Ross Lake. At a certain moment, the silence becomes overwhelming and I can't hear anything anymore, not even my breathing, nor the sound of the water, nor the sound of the wind; I also can't move, it's as if my entire body has lost motor functions. The only thing in front of me is the sunlight radiating over the water, intensifying with each passing moment, penetrating my eyes in a thunderous proportion; making everything I see the long reflection. I find myself engulfed in a sea of pure brightness, where there's only the blinding light.