Photo by kadooo
Sometimes, I can’t remember what I did the previous day. But there are those days that I will always remember.Driving from Fullerton to Long Beach for a pick up. We packed the Toyota Tacoma with people and ready for our adventure. We were waiting around and I was getting anxious and nervous. The waiting was always the worst. Making sure we had all of our supplies for the night – multiple packs of Marlboro Lights, papers and two 20-pack of long neck Budweisers. Yeah, that’s how we rolled. Still waiting. Talking about what may happen that night. Still waiting. Thinking that it may not happen since we were still waiting. Turtle shows up and the waiting stops. Hugs & money is exchanged. We are back on the Toyota Tacoma and are feeling giddy. We are on the 405 on our way to Rancho Cucamonga. As we are driving out of Long Beach, the sun is disappearing behind us. On our way to meeting our friends in the outskirts of the city.
By the time we are in Rancho Cucamonga, it was dark and I started to feel restless. The plan is to camp for the night but we didn’t have any camping equipment. We were going to spend the night under the stars and enjoy nature. I think we are all giddy and ready to enjoy the night. We start drinking some beers and lighting up ciggies. I have an expectation as to what will happen but still unsure. Sharing some laughs and climbing on rocks. The sky is so clear and the stars are so bright. As the night goes on, I start to feel goose bumps. Still not sure what the night holds for me and my friends but at this point, I can’t wait.
Hanging out by a big boulder and some of my friends have started to climb on to it. I am sitting underneath it mesmerized by the burning orange tip of my Malboro. Looks so bright and it is as if I could feel the heat coming from it. I take a puff and it just gets brighter and hotter. I sit there for a while and as I get up to show R this marvelous source of light, she too is mesmerized by it. As I get the ciggie closer to her face, she starts to freak out thinking I am trying to burn her with it. Instead of getting lost inside my head, I walk away from the group and sit on a nature-made bench which consists of a tree branch. Sitting there with my beer and Malboro, I look around and begin to stare at the mountains. It was as if I had night vision and I could see everything so clear even though it was probably sometime around midnight and we were out in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know how long I sat there in the quiet of the night but all of the sudden I felt someone next to me. It was my friends C & M and they were checking up on me making sure I was ok. They had seen how R had reacted but couldn’t make it off the rock they had climbed off fast enough. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction as they were as captivated as I was by Mother Nature.
The group had started out as 8 and now it had split into 4 groups. K & J, who were a couple, were doing their own thing. R & T, who were sister and brother, were sitting by the rock. D was still on the boulder where he stayed for the rest of the night until sunrise when it was time to go home. C, M & I were by now laying on the ground by my bench. We were looking up at the stars and laughing. Passing the cigarette around and seeing who could blow out smoke rings. As the night progressed, the temperature dropped and I could feel the wind through every part of my body even though I was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. But I wasn’t cold. I felt like I was a kid again who was on a magical trip. Everything looked different. Everything felt different. Everything sounded so clear.
Suddenly M noticed that R & T were walking towards us but we didn’t want them near us. We didn’t want to leave our spot so we stayed on the ground and did not move. We stopped talking and the three of us held each other’s hands and hoped to go unnoticed. R & T sat on my bench and you could tell that they were looking around for something. I can remember huddling next to M and thinking that I didn’t want to be discovered. I didn’t want R to freak out again and for me to leave my happy spot. I closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, the sun was rising. I could see the mountains and they didn’t look at all as what I had though. There was a lot of dirt floating around and my purple hoodie and jeans were covered in dirt. R & T were no longer on my bench. Instead, they were by the rock with D, K & J. Talking and finishing the last of the beers. C was sitting on the bench smoking. M was still laying next to me holding my hand. I lit up what must have been my 20th smoke of the night and started laughing with C & M. We went to McDonald's to get some breakfast and drove back to Fullerton to crash for the rest of the day.
What an unforgettable night.
