Skipping stones had always been one of Jacob’s favorite activities and over the years it had become instinct to search the edge of a still body of water for the flat circular stones that could be propelled with a lazy grace across the surface of a quiet lake or slow moving stream. Learning to skip rocks was one of his fondest memories from summer vacations spent at the family cabin in Maine. Picking out a good skipping stone was a skill that was honed with years of use. The igneous and metamorphic rocks being carried within the channels of the streams in downeast Maine provided Jacob with plenty of examples of high quality skipping stones. Jacob felt calm around rivers. The constant motion of the water moving downstream drained him of anixety and tension, washing away his worries and concerns. The Narraguagus River had been where Jake had learned to skip rocks as it flowed downstream towards the Atlantic and passed his family’s cabin. The family had been coming to their cabin on the Narraguagus since before he was born as it had been in his father’s family for several generations.
It was the week of his twentieth birthday and his family had come up to the cabin as part as his gift and their annual family vacation. left him behind headed to Bangor to pick up supplies for the week. Likely they had also gone to gather a cake and was partially the reason they had asked him to stay behind to “keep and eye on the cabin” while they were away. Jake did not mind as it gave him time to be by himself, which rarely happened when you were staying in a four room cabin. And because he was alone he had decided to spend the afternoon down by the river skipping stones and relaxing. The soft and rapid pat pat of the stones as they spun across the pool of slower moving water was easy to hear over the dull rushing of water the river was making further downstream as it plunged through a bedrock section.
Jake watched as the latest stone plunked into the water after only four skips and chuckled to himself. Not every throw was a record breaking seven or eight. He began to eye the small bar he was standing on for any more flat smooth rocks and found mostly rounded quartz pebbles that would be no good for serious skipping. Not surprised about the paltry offerings of the bar, Jake jump back onto the rough path he and his family had blazed over the last twenty years of coming here to move further upstream to seek out another bar with more stones for skipping. Jake spotted a new bar easily and made his way through the brush down the bank and onto the bar. A sharp sting across his palm caused him to hiss in surprise as he drew back his hand. He had missed spotting the multi-floral rose and had cut his hand as he moved some branches out of his path. Grumbling and sucking the small cut he slipped back the “devil bush” as he and his sister had nicknamed it so long ago, reaching the bar.
As Jake walks along the bar water squishes out of the pores as his boots compact pore spaces. The recent rains must have the water table pretty high, but Jake was unconcerned as he searched for ideal skipping rocks. The waterproofing of his boots would keep his feet dry even if he had to walk out into the river a little bit. A slight reflective shine catches Jake’s eye and he bends to inspect the rock. Tiny micas and garnets announce the rock as a schist but unlike most this schist seems pretty well rounded and not very flaky. Normally schists were not the best skipping stones but this particular one would do very well. Turning the rock over in his palm Jake got a feel for the balance of the rock as he squished over to the edge of the bar. Resting the stone on his middle finger, Jake cusps it with his thumb and index finger. Bending his arm back and forth a few times to get a feel for the stone. Jake pulls his arm back and in one swift motion launches the stone spinning downstream across the pool.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Jake stares in awe as the stone seems to skip perfectly across the water, after about six it is all about momentum but instead of slowing the stone seems to speed up and take a left turn! Jake’s mouth drops open as the stone begins to skip in a circle and before he can process this unbelievable fact the pool explodes upward and outward from the circle the skipping stone had been traveling. The water splashes outward, covering Jake and causing him to close his eyes and turn away. Turning back, Jake wipes his eyes clear of the water and blinks several times. The first few to clear his eyes and the next several because he cannot believe what he is seeing. Above the now calm pool of water hovered an incredibly strange looking woman wearing a floor length gown woven out of moss, vines, seaweed, flowers, and other natural materials. Her hair ran the spectrum of colors from the deep blue of the twilight sky to the white of fresh powder on the slopes and framed her golden face while seemingly floating as if underwater and defying gravity. But beyond the strangeness of her dress, hair and color of her skin were her eyes. Seemingly made of well rounded speckled stones she regarded Jake calmly as if floating above slow moving rivers were an everyday occurrence.
The mysterious alien looking woman opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a horrendous screeching noise that pierced Jake’s ears causing him to flinch and cover his ears.
Sitting up Jake winced as the sunlight hit his eyes as he looked about the room until his foggied mind found the source of the screeching and slapped it quiet, at least for the next nine minutes. Bedroom ... alarm ... work ... tired ... came the sluggish chain of thoughts trying to piece themselves together as he remembered where and when he was. Flopping back onto his bed he rubbed his face as the last vestiges of sleep began to fade and his conscience mind began to reassert itself. He had been dreaming and it was that same damn dream again. That made five times this week. He was growing tired of reliving the same wacked out scene over and over again. Jake glanced at the alarm clock and realized it had gone off two hours earlier than he had wanted. Grunting, Jake threw off the covers and clicked the alarm to the off position before pulling on some semblance of pants to head out into the kitchen to start the coffee. In a truly civilized world the coffee would make itself.
Seeing as he had two hours to kill, Jake decided to go for an early morning jog. Typically he preferred night jogging after work, but once he had awoken there was no going back to bed for him. Throwing on some shorts and a shirt, Jake dug out his gym shoes and stretched for a few minutes before heading down the stairs of his apartment building and outside to run a quick couple of miles. The route was an easy one, down Summit Avenue to Beacon Street, out to Park Street and then looping back. The loop was just under three miles but mostly flat so not too taxing of a run. Jake set an easy pace as he did not want to tire himself too greatly on account of the fact he still had to get through a day of work and then judo practice tonight. Sarah would definitely not go easy on him, even if his birthday was tomorrow. In fact her idea of a birthday present might be to see how many times she could put his ass on the mat. Chuckling as he ran past The Publick House he shook his head at the thought of such an amazing gift.
The chuckle the thought elicited was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the woman from his dreams within the reflection of one the windows of the Publick House. The short yelping cry of surprise was cut off as Jake tripped and rolled to a stop as he hit a light post. Standing with a groan, a few passersby paused a moment to make sure Jake hadn’t seriously injured himself and Jake reassured them with a nod and a wave. Looking at the window pane after standing Jake noticed that the figure was no longer there nor anywhere on the street. The thumping of blood was all Jake could hear as the combination of the running and the sudden tumble mixed with a surge of adrenaline had his heart racing. He stared at the window for several more seconds before assured that his vision from his dream wasn’t lurking on Beacon Street. Sparing a last look about Jake set off back towards his apartment to clean up and get ready for the rest of the day, so much for an easy morning run.
The cascade of the warm water burned his skin slightly but it also felt good running across the back of his neck and sending waves of warmth through his body pushing out the last little bit of sleep that was lingering and with it the fatigue from the run and the tumble. A few stretches, some shampoo, soap and a washcloth, and several minutes later Jake was spinning the shower handle to off and getting dry. He was finally not asleep but he wouldn’t be human until at least his first cup of coffee, which he could smell as he headed out into the kitchen to get some breakfast before heading out to catch the T for work. Flipping on the TV in the modest sized kitchen he poured himself a bowl of whatever off-brand cereal Tim had picked up at the Shaw’s, looked like Toasted O’s. Sipping from his coffee he waited for the milk to really soak into the wanna be Cheerios and watched Sports Center. Frowning at scrolling scores he clicked the TV off and turned to finish his meal before heading off to work, the Sox had lost again.
Waiting outside with his Charlie Card in hand, Jake sipped from his travel mug eyeing all of the other commuters who had the white buds in their ears. He chuckled to himself at a passing thought, the iPod was the bastion of protection for so many T commuters. The isolation of those white buds would keep the lesser crazies at bay and excuse a person from any sort of social obligation. Smirking slightly, Jake sipped his coffee again and piled onto the Green line, silently wishing he had managed to avoid trashing his bike last week. Instead he was stuck on the T but soon his bike would be fixed and he could commute at his own pace once more. Jake cast a few wary glances at the trolley’s numerous windows searching for a strangely clad woman from his dreams but saw the typically slightly smudged windows of the T.
The Boston Public Library was the first publicly supported library that allowed lenders to borrow materials and take them home. Jake jogged up the set of stairs as he made his way to the main floor. Jake loved working at the Library. The idea of being surrounded by so much history and knowledge was awe inspiring. He never got tired of the amazing architecture or the historic significance of where he worked. Granted working the reference desk was not a dream job but it was a job that let him read books often and help people figure out where the book they needed was in the library. Jake walked into the back lounge and set his stuff down before firing up the coffee pot for the day. Typically the first one to arrive, Jake was responsible for most of the early morning chores that were necessary to get the library up and running.
As Jake walked through the various rooms inspecting desks and such for stray books he began to reflect on his dream. Five nights in a row seemed like maybe something he should be worried about, though he was not sure if he believed in any sort of dream psychology mumbo jumbo. He remembered the summer up at the cabin in Maine but he had never told anyone about what he had thought he had seen that day. Honestly since then he had worried that he had gone round the bend as it were and could be the star of his own Donnie Darko movie. Seeing that figure outside of dreams was even more worrying. Frowning at his pleasant thoughts Jake dismissed the whole morning to bad dreams and was determined to just go about his day. If he were actually crazy someone would surely have noticed by now and they definitely would not trust him with keys to the McKim building.
Sarah made her way slowly down the line of tables towards the reference desk where she knew Jake would be sitting. She had not texted him to let him know that she was planning on stopping by, she felt surprises kept life that much more interesting. Plus it was Jake’s birthday tomorrow and she would never take it easy on him just because the Earth had made it round the sun one more time. Sarah made sure to approach the desk from the side so stray glances up would not betray her approach to Jake. Jake was busy reading a book so Sarah’s approach went unnoticed and when her hands slapped down on the counter Jake’s jump out of his seat was quite spectacular ending in him flat on his ass and the few library goers looking towards the desk. Jake somehow managed to keep his cry of startlement to brief chirp as he flung himself out of his chair but spared nothing on the withering glare aimed at his best friend. Jake rolled his eyes at Sarah’s antics before glancing at his watch to see it was noon. “Lunch?” Jake asked.
“Lunch,” came the smiled reply from Sarah. The two set out the door of the main entrance towards Copley Square, passing his boss Beth.
“Heading out for a bite to eat, Beth, want me to pick you up anything?”
Beth replied as she continued to return books to their rightful place, “Thanks, Jake but I’m good. I’m going to need you to help move the shelves on the first floor. The new wood for the shelves is arriving tomorrow and the director wants it finished as quickly as possible.”
“Sure thing, won’t be long.” answered Jake. A nod from Beth was all the reply he received as he and Sarah continued towards the exit.
“Thanks for trying to empty my bladder. You’re such a great friend.” Jake remarked as he and Sarah made their way across Copley towards the Panera.
“No problem! Don’t want you getting soft before I leave for the tournament.” Sarah’s quirky smile lit up her face as she practically bounced along the sidewalk. “But just so you know there ain’t hard feelings you can buy us lunch.” Jake snorts and rolls his eyes once more at Sarah.
“Poor graduate student is poor, eh?” Sarah’s wink and laugh were all the affirmative Jake needed as they arrived at Panera. Jake opened the door to Panera, “After you, ma’am” receiving a slug on the arm from Sarah for the ma’am comment before heading into Panera.
After ordering up front they head to a booth to await their meals, sitting across from one another. “So you ready for this tournament or you gonna get whipped out there?” Jake asks as they wait.
Sarah snorts and makes a face at Jake in response before switching conversation topics, “Man the coming term is shaping up to be wicked difficult. Every day I gotta be up by eight!”
“Oh, poor baby you have to wake up before eight. I feel no sympathy for you what-so-ever.” Jake is not disturb by the rapid shift in conversation as it was a staple of his lifelong friendship with Sarah. “So not asking you the dreaded question, how is your research going?”
“Ugh, it’s not right now. The damn laser broke again and we had tah send it out tah a specialist. And they have no idear when it’ll be done.” Sarah slumps as she frowns momentarily leaving the shakers and napkin holder alone. As she huffs the counter calls out both of their orders and the two make their way to collect their food before returning to their booth. Jake and Sarah proceed to consume their food with Sarah inhaling most of the food before Jake is even half way through, but again Jake finds it unsurprising. Sarah had always been an almost obnoxiously fast eater and when they were in college if Jake did not eat as fast as Sarah then Jake would not get his share of whatever they ordered together. It had definitely made ordering a pizza interesting.
“So big shot? You going for the top trophy again?” Jake tried again as he chewed slowly, preferring to savor the meal instead of trying to develop a new lung digestion system.
“Course. Ain’t a soul that can beat me on the mat. What’s that line from that show you love? Not a soul in the galaxy can stand in my way?” The grin that stretches Sarah’s mouth is devious because not only has she misquoted Firefly but she did it on purpose.
“Gah! If you’re gonna quote it do it right!” Jake shouts perhaps a little too enthusiastically and definitely before his brain has a chance to register the grin on Sarah’s face to know she is doing it on purpose for just such a reaction. Adding a grumbled “Ain’t a soul in the verse that can stop me” and crossing his arms. “You know you love that show just as much as I do”
“Nah! That space western stuff is boring. Give me a good old fashioned shoot em up movie any day!” Sarah laughs and leans over to ruffle Jake’s hair and draws a guffaw from him before he joins in Sarah’s mirth. Lunch ends with smiles and laughter as Sarah off to Northeastern and her lab, while Jake heads back to work finally having forgotten his crazy dream from this morning.