Yee 1 David Yee Ms.

Gardner Honors English 10 0 Period 31 August 2013 Something to Remember Myself By It was an unusually foggy day, now that I think about it. It set an eerie and foreboding background to what was about to unfold. The blackened spires that were once trees loomed out of the fog like sleeping giants. The only thing that would have made the atmosphere more menacing was if there really was a fire, but Im getting ahead of myself. The exact date was September 15, 2068. I was walking in the area that had once been Yosemite National Park. The fog may have been thick, but it did not restrict ones ability to hear. The sound of small rocks being crushed underfoot and the roar of a waterfall in the distance were abnormally loud, shattering the silence as if it were made of glass. All of a sudden, the faithful cane that I relied on to help me walk slipped out from under me, and with a thud I hit the ground. An ominous snap resounded underneath me, but the lack of pain meant that it was only my cane. I lay on the ground, unable to get up without the aid of my cane. A bit dazed, I heard the sound of feet running towards mefrom which direction I knew not. A rough hand helped me to my feet, and it was then I noticed the boy helping me up. He had an unreal, almost supernatural glow to him. The boy was humming a tune that I recognized; however, the memory of it escaped my grasp. All of a sudden, a memory of a time long ago hit meit was a tune that I was forced to memorize.

Yee 2 Duy! I said frantically, my eyes wild with excitement and my arms waving energetically. The word meant younger brother, and only my family knew of it. Duy! The younger David seemed to be shocked at this statement, eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape. How How did you know that? he stammered, trying to comprehend the situation. Only my fam Only my family should know about that. Please try to understand this, I begged of him. I am you. A moment passed, then another, then another. I stared at him intently even though he looked down to avoid eye contact, and that was when I noticed a single teardrop running off of his nose. The shock simply seemed to be too much for him. Here, let me go get you another walking stick, he mumbled, motioning to the broken cane at my feet. The younger David then ran off into the fog, leaving me alone to contemplate the situation. Work is the outlet that I too would turn to in order to try to rationalize the idea, which was exactly what the younger David was doing. Moments later he came back with a blackened stick along with a bloody nose. The blood was all over the right side of his face as well as his hand, reminding me of the time that I used to get bloody noses in my youth. The tears were now gone. Thank you, I acknowledged him, taking the stick and relieving the pressure off of my left leg. Do you need a tissue for that? Thatd be nice, he said unevenly, spitting out the blood that was in his mouth. He still seemed a bit shaken, but he was recovering well. So hows it like in the future? Its fun, I lied, giving him a tissue from my pocket. When youre my age and you get to live as much as you have you just want to go and rest for a bit. Maybe take a walk like I am. I

Yee 3 didnt have the heart to tell him of how terrible it was, having to rely on someone else. I had to live with my daughter because I didnt have a home anymore and she didnt have the heart to send me to a retirement home. She graciously took me in when I needed it, even though I couldnt find a job to help pay for myself. The guilt weighted on my shoulders as if I was carrying the sky. Everyday I wished for some way to ease her from the burden that I posed. Hows the family doing? I questioned, attempting to direct the conversation away from the painful thoughts. Theyre fine, but now that Ericas moved off to college the family dynamic has changed. The focus is now on Ashley since shes next in line for college, and the only place I can turn to are my faithful books, he replied. I remember the books that I read, which were the same exact ones he was reading: Artemis Fowl, and Airman. Those books and their childish themes were the only things that separated me from absolute isolation. They were my friends, they were my family, and they were always there for me. I snapped out of my nostalgia to pay attention to the younger David as he continued. Right now Im reading Artemis Fowl and The younger Davids knees suddenly buckled, and he looked as if an enormous weight was being placed on his shoulder. He threw his arms up as if he was grabbing a heavy circular object on his shoulders, but I could see nothing. The image reminded me of the titan Atlas holding the sky on his shoulders, and the younger David seemed to be having just as much trouble. When he looked up, I saw the reflection of a fire dancing in his eyes, and beyond the fire I saw something else. It was fear. Run! he exclaimed, grunting with the force of some heavy object on his shoulders. It came here too fast!

Yee 4 I gazed behind me, but all I saw was fog. I glanced back and I saw the younger David struggling to push some invisible object off his shoulders. He thrashed out from whatever was pinning him down and looked back at me. Cant you hear it roar? Itll devour us if we wait any longer! He shouted. The younger David seemed frantic at this point, and before I could respond the younger David was sprinting away from me. The sound of his feet hitting the ground suddenly stopped once I couldnt see him. Thinking that he had injured himself, I quickly walked in the direction that he had taken off in, but I couldnt see any sign of him. I looked down, but there were no footprints. I strained to listen to a sound, a noise, anything, but I could no longer hear him. It was as if he disappeared. All of a sudden, a cry laced with terror split the air around me. It filled the fog around me, shaking me to the very bone. The cry sounded just like my own. A second cry came moments later, but I realized that this was my own. My cry seemed to respond to the first crywhy I made the sound, I cannot say. Then, an image of flames sprung up in the fog ahead of me, but as soon as I noticed it, it was gone. An eerie silence followed afterwards. Where did he go? How could someone disappear like that? Unless, I thought to myself, he was only a memory, having manifested into a physical form. I tried to remember meeting an older version of myself when I was younger, yet I could not. I tried to rid him from my mind, thinking that I had merely hallucinated; however, the stick was an all-too real reminder of what had happened. Every groove and knick was all too real underneath my hands. I listened for him again, but only the wind answered my ears. I was as I started, I thought to myself. Alone.