Dreamland

Born to be Wild

I just moved back to Connecticut. I'm living in a ramshackle old cottage I just bought; it's up in the hills outside of Winchester.

I'm up early; it's about an hour 'til sunrise. My older sister is visiting, up from Florida. She's staying with me. My younger sister is coming over with my Mom & Dad; they should be here in a few minutes. We're all going to ride up to Barkhamsted Reservoir to watch the sunrise.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table having a coffee with Carol, when Julie & my parents arrive. She's driving them in her car, a second-hand Geo Metro. Her car was recently in the shop and for some reason the windows on the doors won't close, they're stuck wide open. I don't own a car right now, I get around on an old Kawasaki KH400 two-stroke like the one I owned before I got married, except this bike's black instead of green.

We hit the road. Carol is riding in the car with them; I'm leading the way on my motorcycle. It's a warm and muggy night, so I'm riding with my shirt off. Pretty soon it starts to rain. The rain is coming down hard, but I like the way it feels, the drops stinging my bare chest. It's really invigorating!

I miss the turnoff for the reservoir in town, distracted by the rain. Rather than go back, I decide to keep going. It's early enough; we can take the long way, around the other side of the reservoir.

I pull over into a parking lot near the south side of the reservoir as the rain is stopping, and Julie pulls in behind me. Mom & Dad and my sisters get out of the car, they're half wet from the rain coming in through the side windows of the car. My jeans are soaked, but the rain is already starting to dry on my chest, steaming. I ask if they want to continue on, and they agree.

We pull out of the parking lot and drive towards the north side of the reservoir. It's just starting to get light and the clouds are breaking up. We should get there just in time to see a beautiful sunrise.