Bed of roses, the updated copy

There's a place where people gather together to remember, and forget. They look to the past for the times of love, the present and plead, saying "why so young," and the future proclaiming "now they have it all."...

"Isaac, don't forget to remember me!" Carrie pleads.
"I won't!"

Mothers house was in Happy Valley, Oregon, where I was raised. For years I had wanted to live in Texas, and for years I've wanted to be a Marine. I know that times have been tough and though it may be, I have always loved to travel, well imagination counts, right? Since six years old, I have had these visions. I never thought much of it, but, I mean, too much de ja vu. I would cry and see a face, then within three weeks, a loved one dies. Once I witnessed a club shooting, through a dream, a dear friend was shot down. I cried for two days straight after the actual shooting occured. Sometimes my classmates would call me crazy or try to figure out what was wrong, because I had hid myself in the corner (of course this was in elementery school). Then in jr high I would start hearing things. Entire wars would play out into my head.

There are so many things I remember about my childhood. I even remember my old favorite super soaker, but I'm not telling about that now. Anyway, I had burried a time capsol in the back yard. "Mother, where's the shovel?"
"In the shed." I would hate to leave this house, all the memories.

I went to the back yard and dug up the treasure box. I rummaged through the photographs and found a book filled with a lifetime full of memories all rolled into one week, spring break '97, Lake of the Woods.

At the age of fourteen, all my friends were dating. I was the only one who chose to "stick it out" and wait for a girl, a special girl, no one certain, no one inperticular. I was the one that everyone called 'loner.' Two years after my decision, I became friends with many young women. One of my friends was Angela Meyer, she was one of the most georgious women I had ever laid my eyes on, but beauty struck me not. She was seventeen, one year older than I, and we and a bunch of other friends were out by the lake. Angel, as I shortened her name to, was staring at me. As I looked over, her eyes were glistening from the moon reflectant water. Her blond hair was highlighted with a tint of grey, and was suddenly flipped after this snob of a kid, Jackson Martin, an Alabama resedent, took a bucket and saturated her head with the ice cold water. Her beautiful green eyes shut as she lay her head down on my shoulder, as if...she...was desperately in need of some
loving sypathy. "Isaac," she murmered franticly. "I need to tell you-" her words broke short to rephrase, "do y-"
"It's getting cold. Let's go inside." I stated.

We scurried along the rock path to cabins number 15 and 16. When we got there, my cabin members had the lights on, and Lexi Meyer, one of Angel's invites, was in a dead sleep in the chair by the furnace. Elizabeth Davidson was the only one awake in the girls' cabin.
"Isaac, Angel, y'all have fun?" she asked."
"Fine," I said,
"well I had a wonderful time with you Isaac," explained Angel, "and why are you so glum right now? You weren't like this earlier. Oh, I know what we could do, we could go back and..."
"we should start heading in." I said as I try to put some water on the firepit.

In the morning, Angel, Liz, and I were the first ones awake.
"She...?" I asked
"yes," Angel answered. She hesitated awhile... "she was suppose to be smarter, Lexi usually, she never..."
"Isn't your sister in her thirties,? She should be smarter than that." I whispered.
"She should be smarter, and she's thirty-five." answered Angel.
Of course the girls made us guys clean up the vile, awful vomit. Angel insisted I stay outside with her, her sisters and friends. "A mans a man," exclaimed Julianne Stone- her and two other girls were the causes.

An hour after the mess was cleaned up, Annabel, Julianne's younger sister took out the prebuilt ramps and her bright pink Yamaha dirtbike from the utility van. Marya Davidson too had a dirt bike, her's was lime green. Seeing as Alex Carter and I were the ones who built the ramps we were forced to help unload. As soon as we finished unloading I decided to leave, I intended to go alone, but Angel followed me.

We found our way down to the general store beside the restaraunt that was there. I spotted a path and we started walking it. We took a right when we met up with the wallamate and lost ourselves in the serine wilderness. By the resteraunt there was a floating dock. We passed some campers in tents, some of which had brought dogs. I always knew Angel was a 'hugger,' there was no one she didn't like, and everytime she saw a friend, she had to wrap her arms around them. Angel's nickname durrived in part by her personality. What really annoid me was her arm was locked in mine, like she didn't want to leave me, like she was scared, but her face said otherwise. On our way back she wanted to sit on the floating dock we passed earlier.
"I know you want to own your own restaraunt, but you never told me. I want to know where you want to move to, when, I want to help take some stress off of you. You know I... You know... How can I say this, I know someone who deeply loves you with all her heart. And she is in this very resort, maybe closer than you think!" explained Angel.
"I don't think your even serious." I started to chuckle, "you have said that so many times that I lost count. I would like to move to Tex-"
"You don't understand me, do you," she weaped out, "that someone is right beside you."
"I...I'm so very sorry. I didn't mean to."

When we got back to the general store I saw Annabel on the dock, Liz, Jake Davidson (Liz's older brother) and her were playing king of the hill, suddenly Annabel gets pushed to the edge and front flips into the water.

I look at some old pictures taken that spring and recognize all but four faces. There was a picture of Annabel doing a backflip off the dock into the water with Alex and Lexi tossing a beachball off to the right. There was another with Jake and Liz in a footrace. There were more of the group.