California Kisses

Chapter One

My hand flew across the paper in front of me. Smudges were everywhere, the side of my hand darkened with lead and casting a shadow on my page I hadn't originally planned for. With my other hand, I shoved my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose, blinking rapidly as my world focused a bit better.

I imagined the time for lunch long since approached, but when I got into these moods, not much else could bring me back into the real world. When I slipped into a mood such as this, my entire world became the fantasy inside my mind. It became colorful costumes and brilliant characters. Landscapes from another realm danced across my vision and those needed to come out before I burst at the seams.

No one else seemed to quite understand the therapeutic aftershocks which came with a blank piece of paper and a pencil, filling the untouched spots to the brim with a vision of my mind.

As a result of my intense concentration with my personal pursuits, my social life . . . well, what social life? When a world waited at my fingertips to be created with people just to my liking and where I controlled the outcome, getting into a gamble with actual people just didn't seem like it would be worth the effort.

I sat there at my desk, lamp lighting up the page in front of me. The landscape came straight from a fairy tale. Blossoms of a foreign flower bloomed at the edges in varying stages, framed by large leaves which would eventually be a vivid green. But the real centerpiece of my work lied behind these.

A waterfall cascaded from the clouds, past majestic mountains and into a crystal clear pool. The foliage grew wild and untamed, free as an ocean breeze. As I stared at the picture forming in it's early stages, I smiled. My imagination ran wild, perusing the mental catalog of colors in my mind for the perfect shades to fill this world I created.

Knocking on my door snapped me back into real time. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling the disconnect from my project, like a line severed. It seemed dramatic to my family when I tried to explain it. But when I dropped off the world, it was like Alice going through the looking glass; I left reality behind and went somewhere else, wherever my mind wanted to. Being shoved back to where I belonged always came as somewhat of a shock.

Closing my eyes and taking a centering breath of air, I replied, "Yeah?"

Taking my one word as a green light to enter, my mother opened the door, smiling at me. "Hey, Wendy. Taking trips again?" I just nodded. It wasn't as if she didn't know the answer already. "I just wanted to let you know your cousins are coming over today -  would you mind watching them for a couple of hours? They'll be here in about an hour and I hoped you could help me get some things ready for them?"

I felt the rest of my day slip through my fingers at her words. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore my cousins. But this project of mine demanded to be finished. And now, I would have to delay and regroup later.

"Yeah, no problem," is what I told her instead.

She could sense my disappointment in having to put the project on hold. It was written all over her face. So I plastered a smile on my own in an attempt to sooth her. Besides, if I smiled long enough it would become a genuine smile eventually.

My younger and all compiled of boys set of cousins were always fun to be around. I felt certain I would forget all of my disappointment in a matter of hours.

I switched off the lamp on my desk and began putting things away. The pencils were laid carefully back in the drawer and I pulled down a large plastic shield on top of the drawing. It would keep the page from getting smudged should my cat jump up there or if any of my cousins strayed too far from the living room again.

Once I felt my sanctuary was properly secured and safe, I left my bedroom to go downstairs and help my mom get ready for the scheduled invasion.

As I mentioned before, my cousins were younger than me by roughly eight years or more. Preparing for them didn't take a whole lot as they easily pleased and entertained. As long as the pizza rolls and Marvel movies didn't run out during their visit, they were good to go.