Dreamscape: Saving Alex Read Free Page A

edges of my eyes. My
treasures blurred into an obscure mess as Natalie threw more and more at me.
    “Oh my god!” Natalie raised her eyebrows and
lifted my tiger Beanie Baby by its tail. “You still have this, really? This has
got to go.”
    “Stop it,” I said, grabbing it from Natalie’s
hand. “You don’t know what this meant to me.” I cradled Mr. Tiger against my
chest. The crusted fuzz scratched my collarbone.
    “Seriously?” she asked, scrunching up her face.
“You need to let some of this go. You can’t take it all with you.”
    “I don’t want to leave any of it behind,” I
muttered, barely hearing my own words.
    “Oh boy,” she sighed and walked past me to the
walk-in closet that overflowed with my trinkets. Boxes and bags of old dolls,
papers, and crafts hung over the shelves. “Are you serious? What is all this
stuff?”
    I laughed. If she thought my room was bad, my
closet was even worse. I didn’t even know what hid in each corner.
    She pulled down the first bag and peeked out the
door, her exasperation replaced by a smile. “It’s like a scavenger hunt in
here. You never know what you’re going to find. Like this. I can’t believe you
still have this. Wasn’t it from our fifth grade holiday program?” She held the
pink-sequined dress against her body. “Do you think it’ll still fit?”
    “Of course it will. You never know when you’ll
need it for a ball.”
    “Or when your Prince Charming will show up. I’m
sorry,” she said, biting her lower lip.
    “It’s okay. Either way, I guess you’re right. I
won’t need it.” I grabbed it and tossed it across the room towards the trash.
    “That’s not what…” Her voice trailed off as the
dress slid over the edge of the trash can. “I meant.”
    “No, you’re right. I can’t take all of this with
me. And if something’s got to go, I won’t need that.”
    We went back to silently filling the boxes, only
stopping when Natalie mistook something for trash. I didn’t understand it. It
was perfectly clear to me what needed to be saved, treasured. Natalie just
raised her eyebrows. She didn’t understand. Maybe I was being unrealistic,
blinded by the shadow of what things meant, not what they were, but my heart
hurt.
    I looked at the half-filled boxes, then the
half-empty closet, and spared a final glance at Mr. Tiger, still tucked in my arms.
Threadbare, matted, and void of whiskers. Had I held on to him for too long?
    “How do you know when it’s time to let go?” I
whispered.
    “Of that? About ten years ago. Here, let me help
you.” She pinched it out of my hands before I had a chance to stop her and
tossed it into the bin. “Come on.
Stop the tears. We’re not throwing all this stuff away, just the things you’ve
held on to for too long.”
    “It feels the same
to me.”
    “Don’t be so
melodramatic. You’re going to get to your new h ouse and set most of this
back up, including this poster of — who is this exactly ?” She laughed at me.
    “Stop it.” I
laughed as well. “Seriously, it’s just, I see you toss these things, I—”
    “You what?”
    “I just wonder how
quick you’ll forget about me.” I turned so she would n’t see my chin tremble, even though my voice gave it
away.
    “Oh Alex,” she said, turning me around, squeezing
my forearms and searching my face. “Stop it. This is stuff. You’re my best
friend. I’m never going to forget you. You’re right here. Always.” She pointed
to her heart and blinked back her own set of tears. “Got it?”
    “You’re right.” I nodded. She usually was, but
that didn’t settle the tremors rattling my heart. Everywhere I looked,
something pulled at me, reminding me of my past, of what I would be leaving.
    When Natalie disappeared back into the closet, I
walked over to the bulletin board by my bed. I thumbed through the old photos,
ticket stubs, and sketches, sighing.
    I turned at a crash sounding from the closet.
Torn, crumpled bags lay scattered