Lee of The Ozarks

In Missouri, there is a murky and cloudy looking lake. Hardly anyone knows about the tale that is told about it. Everybody thinks that the Lake of the Ozarks is a place where you can swim and have bundles of fun. If only they knew that part of the lake can take you into another dimension where no one can find you. You would be lucky if you make it out alive. It was another day in Missouri. Humid, but a perfect day to go to the Lake of the Ozarks. It had been a 3 day weekend and I was already tired of all of the homework and chores that I had to do. I decided to call my friends and see if they wanted to go stargazing tonight. I only had three friends due to moving a lot this past year because my father is in the military. 

*Phone Call*

Lee: “Hey Guys how about if we go to the Lake of The Ozarks”

Sarah: “Yeah sure”

Reece: “Sounds fun”

Lorraine: “okay cool”

*end of phone call*

My mother drove me to the lake. She told me to be safe and to not talk to strangers, but isn’t that what every mom says? I have always been safe about this kind of thing, but a couple years ago I was almost kidnapped back in 8th grade while walking home. I didn’t know how to deal with what was happening to me and luckily a stranger helped me and kept me safe till my dad picked me up. Driving down the street, we finally reach our destination. I caught up with my friends and mother left. Turning my head, I look to see all the fireflies floating through the air. I make an attempt to try to catch one in my hand but only falling into the muddy lake. I touch the bottom but somehow I can’t seem to push myself up to the surface. I start to freak out and push and push but fail at attempting to float back up. I start to see flashbacks of when I was only a toddler learning how to walk. I see myself speaking for the first time. Then suddenly a light is shining through the water. I black out instantly after seeing the light.

I wake up in a diner with neon lights and girls with long dresses, talking to men in different colored suits. The room was filled with the smell of freshly cooked burgers and milkshakes. Everyone seemed so happy and full of life. No one had a care in the world. I was dressed in a polka dotted dress down to my knees and a crocheted belt across the dress. Where am I? How did I get here? all these questions filled my brain till suddenly someone tapped my shoulder…

“Would you like something to drink darling?” said a young woman maybe in her early 20’s.

“Um, no thank you but I would like to ask you...Where am I?” I said looking around the place.

“Well this is Susy’s Diner… I mean you did come in here, right doll?” she said with joy and jitteriness.

“Yes of course! But… perhaps can you tell me the date and maybe the year?

“Doll face, it’s February 4, 1950! Don’t be silly!”

I died a little inside. Not only was I in the 1950’s, I was in the 1950’s alone.

My face turns a dark shade of purple as fear rushes through my body. I was possibly stuck here by myself. A folktale that I heard about only a couple days ago, is now reality. Staring at the old rustic clock on the chipped walls, it read 11:54pm. Was it really that late? I walk slowly passing by girls my age, greeting me but only getting ignored due to being scared that I am trapped here. The only thing to do was enjoy it. I was always told, even in the most horrible situations, you can always make it better by being positive. Minutes passed by and fog starts to block my way from seeing anything. It is now 12 am and glitter of different colors fill the air. I am being lifted in the air and pushed through a portal with a bright light beaming. I was thrown into the portal and I am petrified that my life's in danger. Next thing I know, I was dropped in a high school that was separated in sections. Sections of different colored people.

1960’s. The decade of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement . I always studied the history of Martin Luther King Jr. Not really knowing what it was like living in it. I always imagined what lives they were living and how terrible the people were to make a law that African American people can not communicate or even speak one word without being removed from the area. I heard loud noises come from the inside of the school. Curiosity filled my brain and without thinking I stepped into the school. I look around, signs over every object you can think of. Whites only. What do I possibly do? I am not White or African American. Where do I belong? Walking forward, everyone seems so miserable. All I can think of was what was going to happen next. How does this story end? Is this the end for me? What happened after I fell in that lake? Today was August 28, 1963. I walk out of the high school and down the streets. I hear sounds coming from the Lincoln Memorial. There he was. Martin Luther King Jr. He was presenting the most famous speech, “I Have A Dream” as everyone gets up they march. Over 250,000 people had followed and we walked together as one. What dimension is this? Was I going forward in time or am I imagining all of this? Marching, a large hole is in my path, causing me to fall forward and fall in it. I screech as the air gets thinner. Then I hit a dead end.

What is going on? Everytime I blink I am in a different place. There is no end to this madness, is there? Does this just continue or will I ever be back with my family? I turn around after I get up from the polished floors of a brand new dance studio in town. Everything was colorful and full of joy! They were practicing new dance moves and I was in the back with my attention on the clock. A loud peppy voice comes from the other side of the room.

“Hey honey bun, start moving!” said a lady in a pink leotard and green tights.

Not only was I scared, I didn’t know how to dance. Of course I danced back in my hometown, but this was different. I was in a different decade with different dance moves. I get myself to the back of the lines and we all show what we got. A girl in her late 30’s did partner routines with a guy who seemed younger than her. As my turn arrives, I jump in the circle and show off an amazing routine that blows everyone away. As I finished the last dance move, everything disappears. I see blurriness and hear murmurs fill the room. Where was I? I look up to see my mom and my dad looking over me. Not only was I relieved to see them, I am almost sad to leave the places I have been too. Was that all a dream or did I actually live that?

“Honey your back!” my mother cries with joy.

“What happened?” confused, I whisper.

“You were in a coma for the last year” my father cries, as he wrapped his large arms around my frail body that seemed to be aching.

Everything wasn’t real, everything I imagined was all fake. I burst into tears knowing that what could have changed my life, was all part of this dream that did not happen, but was only my imagination? No, it could not have been only a dream. I did not know what to think, but it was done. I will never forget the dimension I went to. Later that evening, I went to the grocery store to pick up medication. As I walked over to the newspaper and magazine aisle my eyes looked over to a magazine called “Blast From the Past”.  I decide to look through it, realizing I was in the pictures. From the 50’s at Susy’s, to the “I Have a Dream Speech”, and then the 80’s people. It must have been true. It wasn’t just a dream while I was in a coma. It was the past, that I happened to take place in. I picked up the magazine and paid for it. I made history. Then I went home and took my medication.