Thoughts of a Sunny Day

The car came to a stop, and I stepped out, closing the door behind me. I ran home, determined to finish my homework and retreat to the lake as soon as possible. I dashed into my room and dumped everything out of my bookbag, on the floor. I took out my task sheet and looked at what I had written.

My first assignment was under the math subject. I took out my math book and a sheet of paper, and began to work out the problems one by one. I worked at a quick pace, which made my handwriting extremely sloppy. That's something my teacher won't be very happy about, I thought. As I solved each problem, I counted down the amount remaining, until I finally finished. I quickly put my math belongings into my bookbag and checked it off on my task sheet. For my next assignment, I needed a poster finished by next week. That can wait, I thought. I looked at the next line and was pleased to learn that nothing else but the word "none" was written.

"Yes!" I mouthed. I leaped off the floor and hurried into the living room.

"I'll be outside," I told my parents.

"No," my dad said. "You have to eat dinner first."

"What?" I asked, in a frustrated tone. "But I never have to eat first!"

"But you should," my dad said, calmly.

"Dad...!" I said, dragging it out. "I'm not even hungry"

"You've barely eaten anything lately. If you don't change that, you'll be sick," he said.

"But I'm fine!" I said, in a very high-pitched voice. "Oh, come on!"

"All right, all right," he said. We'll compromise. You can go out for only half an hour, and then you have to come back and eat."

"OK!" I said with a smile on my face.

I ran into the kitchen and took out the bag of old breadcrumbs, which had remained from the day before. Then, I quickly put flip-flops on and ran outside, calling, "Be back in thirty minutes!" as I shut the door behind me.

As I began to walk toward the lake, I took a deep breath and smelled the fresh spring air. It was such a beautiful day. The lake sparkled from afar, giving me that relaxed nothing-could-go-wrong kind of feeling. Before I knew it, I stood before it. I took a seat on a rock nearby and opened the plastic bag. I took out a handful of crumbs and sprinkled it around me. Already I saw the ducks approaching, always a little frightened at first. I saw them bend down their slender necks and gulp the crumbs away, looking at me as if asking for more. I sprinkled more crumbs around me, and once more watched the ducks gulp them down. My eyes rolled over the lake, and again I absorbed its perfect beauty I watched the wind softly stroke and crease the water before my vision found another site: the sky It was unbelievably clear and its brightness made me squint, as I looked up at it. The lovely beaming sky. It made me feel so small, looking at its never-ending corners. I saw it, as if wondering how far under its covers I would reach. I looked at it with dreams, and goals passing before my eyes. I looked at it, and thought... What was stored in my future?