Enzo Limongi: Blue Mountains

No matter how far Rene drove the mountains did not seem to come any closer. They did not move further back either; it looked like they were just stickers on the windshield, staying in place forever. His hands were tight on the wheel and every few minutes he would look at both passengers’ faces to check if they were bored.

His friend Otto was singing along to a pretty song and looked out the window mindlessly. The dead grass, blurry and brown, never ending; the grey road, which they both agreed to ignore, smooth and quiet. He kept looking at his hands, spreading out his fingers, then clenching fists, and rubbing his stomach with them.

For Otto, it was as if each strand of dead grass they drove past were a fleeting memory and together they were passing them, leaving behind their past. Maybe one piece was the image of angry parents, their faces red and puffed up and contorted into a mess of wrinkles, staring him down with scary eyes; maybe another was the sound of shouting he heard from the living room which overpowered the music he stuffed into his ears; in yet another perhaps there was nothing but the terrible anxiety.

William lay in the back, with faded tear marks on his cheek, as he slept and clutched at his heart. His other hand languid on the floor, slightly trembling, wrapped around a small picture of a woman. The picture itself was crumpled, worn, and faded; it depicted a pretty boy, who also looked sad.

None of them were sure where they were going. That gave them comfort. For a few hours, they could happily be clueless and stop scrambling for answers; they didn’t have to cry alone and roll around in their decadence until it stained them and got into their mouths and were forced to swallow it; here they could purge it and throw it out the window. On the road it would rot.

“I have to pee.”

”Me too.”

Rene stopped the car. He and Otto got out of the car. They tapped William but he stayed sleeping. They shrugged and went about their business on either side of the car. Then, they got back in the car and continued. The setting sun hid behind a mountain peak only to have sharp rays burst out around it. It bothered Otto but Rene laughed.

Otto averted his gaze back to the dead grass; Rene looked at the mountains. They were snowy and blue. They merged with the pink rose sky and Rene loosened his grasp on the wheel. It felt like hope—as if the new life were taking form before them and Rene’s grief and despair were being burned away. The fire of his thoughts, thoughts that tormented him and made him hate and fear himself and everyone, somehow overpowered, extinguished by the sun’s embrace. For the first time, Rene could smile without fear.

“Look at it.”

”Okay.”

Otto’s eyes turned away from the dead grass and glimmered at the sight of the sun. He put both his palms on the windshield and looked at Rene with a warm smile, as if he were feeling the warmth from the sun and channeling it. His yellow teeth bright and pretty. He, too, felt the fear fade away.

The sun disappeared and they both cried; unsure if it was sadness, anger, or peace that caused that reaction; maybe for no reason. The mountains were illuminated by the moonlight behind them.

“I’m hungry.”

”Me too.”

”Let’s wake him up.”

William woke up and was startled for a moment. He dreamt of his life. The boy.

They all crawled outside deep into the field of dead grass and walked. For a moment Otto felt himself sweating, shaking as his eyes darted all over the place. The two calmed him down, one hand on each shoulder, waiting until his breathing slowed. They laid out a blanket and faced the mountains and they stared at them. Their eyes transported them to the stirring rocks and ledges and they all held each other's hands to keep from falling. Water trickled down next to them and between a fissure.They started climbing; the higher they went the warmer it got, as if the sun from before was still there, laying down a protective blanket of heat for the boys. Aching hands pulled them upwards; their eyes never looked away from the peak. Occasionally they’d slip on the snow or a small barrage of rocks would roll downwards and give them a fright but they continued with rapid hearts. A few times William needed them to hold him so he could clutch his heart. Other times they had to pause because Otto was looking for the perfect crevice to hold onto because he thought his hands were too big. Most of the time Rene stayed behind in case anyone fell, knowing that if someone fell, the guilt would be too heavy to carry, and he’d fall, too. They reached the peak in this order: William pushed up by both, Otto pulled and pushed up by either, and Rene pulled up by both. They stayed there forever.

About the Author:

Enzo Limongi is an 18 year old boy living in South Florida. He has always read books and appreciated the writing as a creative and artistic medium. As a result, he is introspective and deeply in touch with his own emotions and experiences, which he aims to share with his writing. Although just starting his writing career, he wants his words to touch all hearts.