Released January 2010!

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            As I sat at the red light, I had a choice. I could turn left onto Main Street and pull into the church parking lot, or I could keep going straight, toward Dean's Creek. My conscience pulled me to the left, but my choice no longer existed. I was in the wrong lane, and the red light had changed to green—so I was forced to go straight.

            I looked over at the church and saw them all standing there in the parking lot. There were at least twenty people from school, crying their eyes out. I was positive that half of them didn't even know her. It was amazing to me how some people would do anything they could to turn all the attention back to themselves. Instead of having people focus on the reason why they attended the funeral in the first place, they would sob loudly so that other people would have to spend their time comforting them.

            I took my foot off the brake and stepped on the gas.

            The hot April sun was blinding as I parked my car and stepped out onto the street. After slamming the door, I walked around the winding creek, all the way to the front. I realized that anyone who might see me would think I was absolutely insane, wandering around in an old creek in a black dress and black heels. Suddenly, my right heel broke, and my shoe sunk into the dirt, throwing my body off balance. I fell down on the ground, then started to roll quickly down the steep hill toward the water.

            My body rolled and rolled, finally hitting something hard that felt like a leg. I was so stunned by everything that had just happened, I didn't have time to think, stop, or scream. As I lay flat on the ground, trying to catch my breath, I realized that not only had my dress flown up about five inches above my thighs, but I had also lost another heel in the process.

            A voice interrupted my thoughts. "You know, I may not know a whole lot about heels, but I'm pretty sure that walking on the grass isn't such a good idea." My rescuer extended his arm and held out his hand.

            "Thanks for the tip," I mumbled.

            As I looked up at his upside‑down body, I felt a little dazed and disoriented. Ignoring his hand, I stood up by myself, then smoothed out my dress and made sure my messy bun was still intact.

            "I'm Kennley." He offered a handshake.

            I chuckled a little to myself. Kennley? What kind of a name is Kennley? The image of a Ken Barbie doll kept popping up in my mind. Once again, I ignored his hand and walked away from him, toward the creek. Sitting down on the grass, I stuck my feet in the lukewarm water.

            Who was this so‑called Kennley, anyhow, and what was he doing at my creek? No one ever came here. The creek was practically deserted, and I liked it that way. I loved the tall tree that created the perfect amount of shade and the long, winding creek that disappeared into the forest. He seemed like an intruder, and I couldn't help but be rude to him. Maybe he seemed nice, perhaps even a little overly friendly, but I didn't care. I wasn't looking for any new friends or acquaintances. I was looking for somewhere peaceful, and that place had just been robbed from me.

            "What are you doing here?" I asked, staring at my reflection in the creek. I wanted my words to sound more curious than accusatory, but they didn't come out that way.

            Kennley walked over to sit next to me, but I immediately scooted away from him.

            "I'm sorry," he replied. "I didn't think I needed a reason to be here. Next time, I'll call you first to get your blessing."

            I rolled my eyes. Even though I could feel him staring at me, I ignored it. His cell phone began to ring to the tune of "Barbie Girl," and he pulled it out before swearing underneath his breath.

            "Well...um..." Kennley paused, like he was about to say my name, but then realized he didn't know it. "I'm guessing your name is Dean, since you seem to own this creek. So Dean, it's been nice bumping into you today, but I gotta run. Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure my little sister changed my ringtone." He quickly stood up and left.

            Even though a part of me wanted to say goodbye to him, I just ignored him completely. I picked up my scattered heels and headed to my car, because I didn't want to stay at the creek. It didn't feel like mine anymore.

            By the time I made it back to my car, I realized I was being stupid—I couldn't even go home yet. I had made up my mind not to go back to the creek, and the funeral wasn't even an option at this point. So where else was I going to go? I barely had five bucks on me, so I sat in my car, trying to come up with a plan. I was considering going to McDonald's when I saw Kennley, speed-walking across the street and dodging cars. He was talking on his cell phone and appeared to be unusually angry. Although I didn't know what his unusual behavior was about, he had seemed much too friendly and happy to have a look like that on his face. He screamed something that I couldn't hear because my window was rolled up, then slammed the phone shut. I watched as he took off in a fully fledged sprint down the street.

            After I slowly pushed aside my curiosity, I turned the key in the ignition and pulled away down the street to the nearest McDonald's.

            I was learning to adapt to the world in which I had been so viciously thrown. The past was, well, the past. As for the future, that was a mystery. But the present held power. The present could be whatever I wanted it to be, and that alone created my future. I had never felt so powerful in all my life—and yet, so weak.

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