My first job was at an ice cream shop.
I was only 17 and my wages were small,
but it was important to me to do a good
job. After a month on the job my boss
gave me a nickel per hour raise, which
wasn't much, but it pleased me.
The supervisor at the store was a boy,
named Michael, who had just turned 18.
We enjoyed visiting while we worked
together. He was cute and I would liked
to have dated him, but he already had a
girlfriend. So we never crossed the
line, but stayed close friends.
As Michael and I was cleaning up the
store one night, he asked me, "What do
you enjoy doing outside of school."
"A lot of things," I said. "I like to
play tennis, I like listening to
different types of music, and I enjoy
writing when I am alone."
Michael said, "I enjoy writing too.
There is a creek close by that I like
going to because it is quiet. It is a
nice place to sit and write."
He asked, "Would you like to go there
sometime with me? I could bring along
some poems and stories that I have
wrote, and let you read them."
"Sure," I said, "I would like that."
Michael said, "the best time to go is
during the Fall. I promise to take you
then."
Michael introduced me to his
girlfriend, and when I got to know her,
I liked her. We became friends and even
started to go to church together on
Sunday. She was in love with Michael and
hoped they would marry one day.
Sometimes I think she was a little
jealous of mine and Michael's
friendship, but she kept it to herself.
I quit working at the ice cream shop
in August to leave for college. Michael
and I continued to correspond. He sent
me a card in September and signed it,
"Don't forget we have a date at the
creek in October. Love, Michael."
I wrote back that I would come home
the second weekend in October, and that
I would see him then. I took his card
and stood it up on my desk.
When the second weekend in October
arrived, I drove home on that Friday. I
called Michael when I got home and
asked, "Will tomorrow be a good day for
us to go to the creek?"
"Sure," he said. "Come over early
though. Around 10:00."
When I arrived at Michael's house
Saturday morning, I could tell he was
glad to see me. Michael said, "let's
walk to the creek since it is close by."
Michael had a folder in his hand, so I
knew he had brought some of his work for
me to read.
We walked through a field to an area
lined with trees. Michael said, "there's
the creek."
I stared and said, "Where?"
We walked to the trees, and there I
could see a steep hill down, and at the
bottom was a shallow creek. Michael
started down first and gave me his hand
to help balance me. I started sliding
and laughing, the sides were slippery.
I asked Michael, "how do we get out of
here."
He smiled and said, "we climb out."
When we reached the bottom, the creek
was crystal clear, and as we walked
along beside it, I noticed three small
waterfalls. The sound of the water was
peaceful.
Michael took me to some rocks that we
sat on. "This is where I write," he
said. Sunlight filtered through the
trees where we sat. I couldn't even see
the sky when I looked up, only the tree
tops. It was beautiful. Michael said, "I
wanted you to come to the creek in the
Fall, because this is when the monarch
butterflies migrate through here.
Sometimes there's hundreds of them."
"Let me see your poems," I said.
Michael handed me his folder.
"I only brought the ones that I got
A's on in school," he said with a grin.
I opened the folder and began reading.
Most of the poems were about nature, and
there was one I particularly liked about
the creek.
As I read, I noticed a few monarchs
flying through the creek. His poems
moved me and I understood why we bonded
so much as friends.
I handed Michael back his folder, and
said, "these are excellent." He smiled,
and said "thanks. I had hoped you would
enjoy them."
I took off my shoes and started wading
through the creek. More monarch
butterflies started flying through. They
would even light on me, and I would try
not to move so as not to scare them
away.
Michael saw me smiling and said, "I
knew you would enjoy this. To creative
people, it's not the material things in
the world that we enjoy, but rather the
world itself."
We stayed at the creek for about two
hours, and then as Michael had said, we
climbed out of the creek. We held onto
tree roots that were sticking out of the
sides of the hill, and we used them to
pull ourselves up, and to balance on.
When we got to the top of the hill, I
told Michael, "Thank you for bringing
me. I enjoyed seeing the creek."
"Always remember the creek," Michael
said. "Let it be a reminder that no
matter how hectic life becomes, that we
still need a quiet time for us."
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