“Hurry up! You’re going to be late! ,” my mom yelled from the bottom of the steps. “You’ve already missed your bus!” As I was hoping to do, I thought to myself. “I’ll be right down!” I yelled. I turned the faucet off, grabbed my bag and ran down the steps. “Bye mom! Love you!” I yelled behind me as I walked out of the door. Instead of walking the way I usually take to get to school when I miss my bus, I started walking towards the park. I quickly put the hood of my Hurricane Huskie’s sweat shirt up so to block the feeling of getting whipped in the face by the harsh winter wind. The park was only a five minute walk from my house, but in the opposite direction of my school. Before my dad left to go to Iraq, he used to take me to this park all the time and it has been Once, on a cold day like today, my dad picked me up at school at around 10. At first I was worried and thought something was wrong but when we turned down the road that led to the park instead of driving to my house, my worries dissipated. Soon the rock in my stomach that seemed to be there every time I got worried was replaced with the light feeling of excitement. When my dad found a parking space and stopped the car, I immediately jumped out and immediately ran over to the swing set. My dad got out and went a got a blanket, two cups and a thermos full of hot chocolate from the trunk of his car. “Honey!” he called, “I have something to show you!” I ran over, grabbed his hand and followed him into the woods that are beside the park. When I asked him where we were going he said, “Someplace magical.” After about five minutes of walking we came to a clearing with a single oak tree in the middle. As we got closer I noticed that it was not a single oak tree but three different ones all twisted together. Most of the roots were sticking up from out of the ground and the branches were sticking out all over the place. He laid the blanket down and we both laid down. Neither of us said anything for a while and then he told me, “Magic is everywhere, just as long as you look for it.” I really didn’t understand what he meant so I stayed quiet. We talked the rest of the day underneath that tree. He left for Iraq the next day, and never came back.

I wanted to go back to that opening today. After a few minutes of searching the woods I finally found the clearing. I immediately ran over to the tree and felt the some rough bark my dad and I had felt that cold day so many years ago. I turned around and leaned my back against the tree trying to soak it all in. I slid down the tree so I was sitting on one of the bigger roots that was sticking out of the ground. As I moved around trying to get comfortable my hand touched what felt like a plastic bag. I looked and it was a Ziplock baggie. My sixth sense has never failed me. Inside the bag was a note and a lot of multicolored jellybeans, as I opened the bag two moths flew out. I grabbed the note and as I read it I could feel the color drain from my face (if that’s even possible). It read “Choose carefully”. Normally that wouldn’t bother me but the note was written in my dad’s handwriting. I looked in the bag and chose a white jelly bean because that was the only one that didn’t have mold on it. The second I put it in my mouth I realized that it was a really stupid decision, the jelly bean tasted like death and the tears of small orphans. I spat it out on the ground and wiped my tongue on the sleeve of my hoodie. Behind me I heard a voice say, “So you don’t like the white? You’re just like your mother.” My heart stopped beating and a million thoughts raced through my head. Slowly I turned around and saw the impossible. My dad was standing there.

Before I could say anything he said, “ I don’t have a lot of time so try not to ask questions and just listen. I know that will be hard for you but please try.” I tried to speak but no words would come out, so instead I just nodded. “Good. So you picked the white one. It is foretold that the people who chose the white jelly beans are highly organized, just like you.” I don’t understand how he knew that. I just recently became a neat freak and he died five years ago. “You always like to clean your room because you can’t stand for your surroundings to be messy. You must know all the rules, whether for your benefit or so you can break them, but either way you still want to know them. You memorize things very well, you can’t stand sloppy or messy people so I have no idea how you lived with me.” That’s exactly what my dad would’ve said. “You weigh all your decisions before making them. Sometimes you overthink them too. Now honey I have to go now.”
As he said that the tears in my eyes starting overflowing onto my cheeks and I said, “You can’t leave! I haven’t seen you in five years and I miss you! What am I even going to say to mom?! She still cries herself to sleep every night! We miss you dad. Please come back.” And with that I colapassed onto the ground sobbing. My dad looked like he was about to cry too. “You are going to tell her that I love her and that I miss her. Honey, listen to me. You are going to have to be strong for me. I love you, don’t ever forget that.” And with that he disappeared as fast as he appeared.
I sat there for the rest of the day until it got dark. Around 7:30 I decided it was best for me to go home. I made myself stand up even though it felt like all of the world’s gravity was trying to hold me down. I had to get home before my mom started to worry, which I’m sure she already had. After all I still had to color code my t-shirts.