Memory Lost Boys Never Forget Had Always

Memory Lost Boys Never Forget" had always thought my childhood to be quite memorable. Birthday parties, family reunions, road trips, football games.. It was a very active and eventful life when I was growing up, and I always seemed to have an exciting adventurous tale to tell in class the first day after summer break, or when my parents asked me how my day had been at the dinner table. I loved playing outdoors, and the nearby woods offered endless games of make-believe.

However, when I was barely twelve years old, I chose to take a walk down the old, rarely used hiking trail in those woods with my friend Kenny. Down that path I would find something unlike anything I had ever seen before, and I would have such a life-changing experience that my entire twelve years of life before would seem almost like an empty slate with nothing at all written upon it.

That day would be the most memorable day of my life because it was the day that the fantasy games of those woods would take on a horrifying form and break into reality before my eyes. It was a summer day like many others. Kenny and I had spent the morning helping with each other's chores so that we would have more time to play later in the day. We snuck away before lunch time, packing sandwiches and juice boxes in our backpacks.

We always tied old pop cans to the backs of our bikes so that when we rode we could pretend to be skillfully evading the gunfire of an enemy's attack, and the sound of the aluminum hitting the pavement trailed behind us as we made our way to the woods.

I don't remember if we were playing Lost Boys hunting Indians or Pirates hunting Lost Boys that day, but I do remember that we were staying low to the ground and speaking in whispers so we would not give ourselves away to the imaginary and elusive enemy. It was Kenny's turn to make a battle plan. "We have tracked their whereabouts! Their secret hideout is down the path to Darkenwood!" Kenny dramatically gestured towards the forbidden abandoned hiking trail of days past, which led into a deep ravine.

"Are you certain it is safe to pursue them into that part of the forest? Are there not.. dangers?" I questioned his plan, but I dare not break character to voice my concerns, so it was only a matter of seconds before we were running down the vine-covered path into the darkness of the uncharted territory. Our hightop shoes became sloshy with the water that sat in the low-lying ground after the early morning rain, and we smeared some extra mud from the banks onto our faces for camouflage cover.

It was then that we heard the groaning motor behind us, and Kenny whispered that the enemy was approaching. We turned towards the sound, looking upwards to the road that winded above this part of the woods. We had imaginary bows and arrows drawn, and I whispered, "Hold steady, aim true. Perhaps the enemy will pass without seeing us." Honestly, I was expecting to see a car zoom around the curve and disappear into the mundaneness of what lay outside of our make-believe.

Actually, I was probably expecting almost anything other than what happened next. The motorcycle came crashing through the minimal guardrail that was meant to keep cars corralled onto the paved road, and in the slow-motion of the moment a chrome-and-leather dragon came flying over our heads. When the thundering BOOM of a crash landing shook the ground beneath our feet, the trance was broken and we realized the reality of what had just happened.

The motorcyclist had been unable to keep his bike on the road when he hit the sudden curve, and this was a very serious accident that had taken place in the real world. Kenny's mouth hung wide open in shock, and I heard him swear for the first time in his life. Kenny was out of sight running through the woods by the time I heard him say that he was going to get help.

I stood in shock, barely breathing, not wanting to leave the comforts of our fantasy land to face this horror alone. Nonetheless, I slowly made my way towards to mangled beast that lay helpless within my sight. I remember taking very careful steps, as if I were trying to avoid land mines or fairy traps that were set to keep me from discovering this ancient secret.

The smell of gasoline was overwhelming by the time I was close enough to realize there had been no helmet protecting the now black and red soaked blonde hair of this teenage boy. A knelt down beside the wreckage in an attempt to comprehend this, and I saw that the torn lips of this beast were moving and attempting to speak.

At first it was completely inaudible, but as the rising of his chest became more uneven and the sound of his breath became a strained gurgle, his insistence that I know his secret grew louder: "I...flew.. I.. flew...I.. FLEW!" By the time Kenny had returned with an emergency crew,.