[excerpt from “That’s Amore”]

I was supposed to go to the park that overlooked the lake today, but I found myself lost. Perhaps I didn’t venture far enough to find it. Perhaps I only ventured far enough to give up trying. I called Brian, cos his shoddy directions weren’t good enough. I didn’t get ahold of him, so I went to the beach.

*

I love the beach. Whenever I made it to the beach, I always ended up playing in the tides, finding seashells. My goal was to find the biggest shell that was still in tact.

I picked up a couple for old times’ sake.

*

…When I go to places like this, I end up not thinking about anything. Although that’s what most people tend to do, go somewhere and contemplate, I go cos I feel the need to escape my thoughts. There were really 2 things that ran in my head, and one of them was of this one girl in my third grade class.

Her name was Mehgan. Yes, it was spelled with an “H.” She was really nice. We became friends in a short period of time. Her family ended up moving far away. But, before she left, she gave me her favorite seashell as a gift.

I never thought of us being close. There was this other Megan in the class who was friends with her much longer. I was so surprised that of all the people in the class that she gave me her favorite seashell. I would have figured she would have given it to Megan.

It was huge. Almost in tact. For the longest time, I used to carry it with me where ever I went—like a good luck charm. I would rub the inside with my thumb cos I loved how smooth it was.

I lost it about four months after she moved. I was bummed.

I wish I hadn’t have lost it. I was honored she gave it to me. Cos although I didn’t think our friendship was all that special to begin with, it was to her. And that now means a lot to me. And I smile when I remember her.