A Vulnerable Broken Mind (2 page)

              He picked up the phone. “Hello, Mr. Robinson, this is the front desk giving you your wake up call.”

              “Thank you,” John said politely. He couldn’t believe that they had already slept for nine hours. Time went way too quickly. When he hung up the phone, he turned his eyes towards Amber, who was already staring at him with a smile.

              “Good morning,” she said sweetly and kissed him gently on the lips.

              They snuggled for a little longer and then got out of bed to get ready for the day. They were going to hit the road as soon as their sightseeing around D.C. was over. They packed their bags and got ready to leave. However, John kept his word and called his parents that morning.

              He had managed to get in touch with his father, David Robinson. He was a retired lawyer and inspired John to pursue law himself. John’s mother, Karen, was a housewife for their entire marriage and as she described it, “Wouldn’t change a moment of it for the world.”

              He couldn’t have asked for a friendlier and more down to earth father, even if he was a lawyer. “So, are you and Amber enjoying the trip so far?” His father asked.

              “It’s been very good so far, Dad, how about yours?” John  asked.

              “It’s been wonderful. Your mother is having a great time,” his father responded and John could hear the happiness in his voice.

              “Can I speak to her?” John wondered out loud.

              “Unfortunately she’s not here.” David replied. “She went down to get some breakfast. She loves the food at this hotel. I’m not a fan of it though, so I’ll get something later.”

              “You never were a fan of hotel food.” John said with chuckle.

              “How am I supposed to enjoy it?” His father said, also laughing. “It’s pretty much hospital food but in a much nicer setting.” They both laughed again. “Well, son, I’ll let you go. I know you and Amber want to look around D.C.”

              “Okay, Dad, have a great day.” John said.

              “You as well. Get a couple of pictures for my scrapbook.” His father said happily. “I love you.”

              “Love you too, Dad. Tell Mom I said hi and that I love her.” John said.

              “I will. Bye son.”             

He and Amber finished getting ready and walked down to the lobby to check out. Soon, they were in their car and driving off to see the sights.

              The morning went along with ease; no problems befell them whatsoever. They enjoyed everything about the area. Being a teacher, Amber was looking forward to telling her students about the experience. Surprisingly, their least favorite sight throughout the experience was the White House.

              “It’s just a really big white house,” was Amber’s first response after seeing it.

              “I bet many more things happen inside of it.” John replied.

              “Yeah, but on the outside, it’s just a really big house. We have houses that look identical to this in Clinton.” Amber said, looking rather disappointed. She clearly found the house more impressive on television than in person.

              “Would you like to take the tour inside?” John asked.

              “No, we don’t have time for that.” Amber said and John looked at his watch; she was right. They had to be on the road by eleven so that they could be sure to get to Disney on time or else their reservations would be canceled.

              However, they did have time to get lunch before leaving and went to a local pizza place in town, Pasquale’s. It was a small restaurant with a very home-like vibe. It wasn’t fancy but was still very nice looking. The tables were foldouts with brown foldout steel chairs.

              When they walked in, they were greeted by a plump, bearded older man wearing a plain white apron and was caked with flour from the neck down. “Welcome to Pasquale’s folks,” he said with a broad smile. He had the type of attitude that would bring a smile to anyone talking with him. “Pick any table available and I’ll be right with you.”

              John and Amber sat at a table by the window and the man came to wait on them. “Hello folks, my name is Joe Brown, I’m the owner and main cook here at Pasquale’s and I would like to welcome you. Now that you’re here, I can honestly tell you that you have great taste in food.” He grinned and both John and Amber laughed

              “Our menus are right there at the end of the table.” He indicated to the menus sitting near the window. “I’ll let you browse through those for a little bit and I’ll be right back.” He said  jovially and walked off.

              They had decided just to order a small cheese pizza, to split between them. Once they had ordered and were waiting for their food, John and Amber struck up a conversation. “What are you looking forward to doing most once we’re there?” John asked Amber.

              “I’ve always wanted to walk through Cinderella’s Castle.” Amber smiled. “I’ve wanted to do that since I was a little girl.”

              John smiled back. “Well, you’ll soon be able to do just that.”

              “What about you?” Amber asked.

              “I’m jumping on the biggest rollercoaster I can find once we get there,” John answered and Amber laughed.

              “I think you’ll be able to live that fantasy too,” she said as she continued to laugh.

              Lunch could not have been any better. The man made them feel at home and the food was very good. It was one of those small, perfect experiences that you love to talk about when you go on vacation and wouldn’t change a thing about. Joe Brown had made the experience very memorable. While they might have been visitors, he made them feel at home.

It was soon time for John and Amber to hit the road once again. They wished Brown a fond farewell and left.

              They were both smiling as they got back onto the road. The stop at Pasquale’s was a great experience for the both of them. An even happier thought flooded them both as they realized where they were headed.

              “Are you sure you’re up to driving all the way there?” Amber asked rather seriously. “We could stop at another hotel for the night.”

              “No,” John replied. “If we don’t make these reservations, I highly doubt we’ll be able to get another room. If we pace things out perfectly, we can be there very early tomorrow morning.”

              “Are you sure?” Amber asked, feeling very concerned about John.

              “I’m very sure, sweetie,” John said and quickly leaned over to give Amber a kiss. The kiss helped bring the smile back to her face.

              As the hours grew later and the sky darker, Amber had fallen asleep, leaving John in silence. He didn’t want to turn on the stereo in the car and wake her up. He hoped that the signs, lights from the other cars and the thoughts in his head were enough to keep him awake.

Another hour passed and he began to see signs for hotels and gas stations. He looked over at one of the signs and wasn’t drawn to the destinations listed on the sign but to what appeared to be a figure standing underneath it. His headlights briefly shined on what appeared to be a little girl standing beneath the sign.

              It took a couple seconds for John to process what he had seen and then he immediately looked back. The bright lights from the cars behind him prevented him from seeing the sign again. Curious, he pulled over to the side of the road. The sudden stopping of the car woke Amber. She slowly stirred and then opened her eyes.

              “What’s wrong?” She asked groggily.

              As she asked, John unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. “I’ll be right back, I just need to check something,” he said.

              “What are you doing? What’s going on?” She asked in a more worried tone. She sounded more awake once she realized how distracted John was.

              “I’ll explain when I get back. Wait here.” John said, trying to sound calm. He shut the door and began walking towards the sign. He couldn’t see it from a distance as the headlights from the cars passing still shined in his eyes.

              The sign became clearer as he got closer and he jogged towards it. As he reached it, he realized that there was absolutely no one standing there. He looked around and tried to see if there was anybody standing anywhere near the area.

              He began to walk back to the car, dejected. He proceeded to look back constantly, trying to see if anyone would appear. He could have sworn that he had seen a little girl there.

              When you’re all alone in the dead of night, in complete silence, you sometimes see things. Hallucinations that form in your imagination appear. They seem so real but you soon find out that they are only real to you and nobody else.

“Was that what happened to me?” John thought to himself. But no one could answer that question besides him. He would have to decide whether or not to accept it as a hallucination.

              When John had got to the car, Amber stared at him with concern. “Are you okay?”

              “I thought I saw something out there.” John replied and he told her all about it as he drove off. As he told the story, he took the next exit and went to the nearest gas station. He was just pulling into the station as he concluded with the story.

              “I think you’re a little tired.” Amber said with a knowing smile. “I’ll drive from here. I’ve had enough sleep for the day. You clearly need some rest.”

              “It seemed so real.” John marveled. He knew that he sounded childish when saying it but it was all that he could think of to say.

              “I know, dear, but you really need some sleep,” Amber said. “Let’s get some gas, get a few drinks from the station and I’ll take the next shift. Are you okay with that?”

              John sat in his seat for a bit before answering. He was still pondering what he had just seen. He wanted to convince himself that it wasn’t real but he couldn’t manage to do so. While still feeling very conflicted, he knew that he had to answer her.

              “Okay, that sounds good to me.” He answered and he wasn’t being dishonest in his answer. Being in the passenger seat and getting a few hours of rest would actually clear his head.

              After getting gas and a couple of drinks for themselves, they were back on the road.

              John fell into a deep sleep. Amber was always nervous when driving at night but having John next to her offered her some comfort.

By the time John had fallen asleep, they were on the highway, away from the lights of any city or rest stop. Amber would occasionally look up at the stars, which were very visible. Looking up at the stars was one of her favorite things to do; she had loved it ever since she was a little girl.

              Amber took a quick glance at John. He looked so peaceful in his slumber, so much so that it brought a smile to her face. While looking, she noticed that in her peripheral vision, lights from the cars in front and passing her had completely gone out.

When she turned her head to look forward, the cars were gone. When she looked to the back, there were no signs of any car. The road did not resemble the road she was on just seconds before.

She looked up at the sky. The stars that were visible were now completely invisible. They were now covered by thick, almost black clouds that would be indistinguishable if it weren’t for the moon that just barely seeped through one of them. The moonlight did not last long as it was soon drowned by more clouds moving in.

Amber looked around as the wind began to pick up speed. Soon enough, she could feel the gust shake the car.

The rumble caused John to stir and eventually wake up. His eyes were completely blurry when he first opened them. All he could see was dark fuzziness in front of his eyes. He closed them tight and shook his head to wake himself up a little more. When he opened them again, his vision had cleared enough to see the dark and endless road in front of him.

“Where are we?” He asked Amber as he stared into the bowels of absolute nothingness.

              Amber stared at him. Her expression screamed the word “panic” but she was fighting with herself to remain as calm as possible. “I honestly don’t know.”

              “Did you make a wrong turn?” John asked, trying to remain calm himself.

              “I didn’t turn at all.” Amber explained. “I turned my head for no more than a second and when I looked back, all of this appeared in front of me.”

              As she said it, a bolt of lightning struck in the distance. Lightning then continued to strike violently around them. Neither John nor Amber could hide their nervousness as they looked around.

              “We need to get off of the road now,” John said in a slight panic. “Get off at the next exit.”

              Amber looked at John with a look of worry. “John, I haven’t seen a car, an exit, or even a sign for a while now.”

              John looked around, doing his best to remain calm, and looked for a sign but after a couple of minutes, he realized that it might be a lost cause.