The Blue Moon by Madeline Gottlieb (top ten books to read txt) 📕

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Carl was his second step-father, someone he highly despised. Carl was a mid-aged man, and despite his stature, he moved quickly, as he'd won many races the neighborhood had monthly. Being only in his 30's, Carl had always shaved his gray beard that tried to grow constantly. Zach's mother, on the other hand, was a beautiful woman, with dazzling dark blue eyes and perfect brown hair that curled amazingly.

When Zach was younger, at age six, his father had disappeared, leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves. The boy thought it was weird, that his father had just left without any of his things, or without even leaving them a letter. Almost two months after his father had gone missing, his mother, Caroline, met Carl and the two hit it off at once.

He'd spent most his life writing letters to his father about his day, but they stayed in a small box under his bed with a do not enter sign on it. But much to Zach's dismay, the two got married when he turned eight, when Zach was still hoping his father would walk up the driveway and hold his arms open for his son that he hadn't seen for years. But it never happened, so he'd given up any hope he'd once had.

Zach crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash, annoyed. In a rush, he grabbed a pop tart and ate it quickly. The only thing he would be able to think about today is the dreams, and the only thing he recognized from the dreams was the clearing he was in with Eiko. Slipping on his black vans, Zach walked out the door, ready to face reality and dreams.

Past Dreams and Memories

“Zach, what are you doing up so early?” John, a close friend, stopped in front of Zach, kicking his skateboard up into his hand.

Zach scratched his head and shrugged, looking around at all the people that were skating here. “Eh, I woke up early and decided to skip school, so I figured I’d just come here and hang out with you guys.”

John's crooked smile made the girls go crazy at school. Everyone loved him; he wasn’t one of those stuck up guys. He was nice to the underdogs, ignored the douche-bags, and stayed in the right crowd, even though the popular chicks wanted him. He scratched his head full of red hair. “Well, man, seems like you chose a great day to skip. Christian brought some soda and chips, and since you don’t skate, you can chow down.”

Winking, John placed his board on the ground and hopped on, skating over to the group of guys. Zach followed, nodding to a few that he'd known since grade school. “Zachy’s finally returned!” Christian, Zach's other best friend, hit him on the back and smiled. “It’s nice to see you again, bro.”

Christian was tall, maybe 6'3, and he'd always make fun of anyone who tried to act bigger than him. His eyes were always bright and he always had a smile on his face, expect for the month Chris had died. His short brown hair did justice in the hot fall sun, and it made Zach want to cut his shaggy dark brown hair as well. But there was always something off about Christian; something off about the way his eyes would change color and he'd start speaking a whole different language no one but John could understand. Whenever Zach would try to ask about it, Christian would laugh and tell him it was just some secret language he and John had made up.

“Same to you, it has been a while, huh?” Zach returned the smile, trying to do anything to keep his mind off the dreams.

Christian nodded and sat down on the bench, shoving his hand into the chips bag and eating some. “It has. Last time I saw you was last week.” He joked. For the last year, Christian had been in a private school because both his parents had deployed and the only school his grandparents lived by was a private one. But luckily, he was still the same Christian; still as funny and quiet as he could be. "So, have you met any girls yet?"

Zach shrugged. “No, man, I haven’t been looking really.” Christian shrugged and went on with eating more chips. Zach looked up and saw John standing a few feet from them, motioning for Zach to come over. Standing up, Zach ruffled Christian’s hair and walked over to John.

John smiled and patted Zach's back, setting his board on the ground and placing his right foot on it. “Did you want to talk about anything?” His eyes searched Zach's and he knew what John was talking about. John knew about the dreams and the car accident Chris and Zach were in. Zach nodded hesitantly and John motioned for him to follow John to the empty ramp.

The two of them sat down and he waited for Zach to start, so he did. “It’s the same dream still, only I’ve been dying more and in different ways.”

John never knew what to say, and Zach didn’t blame him. If someone had told Zach that, he'd think they were crazy. John of course, thought it had something to do with the accident, and Zach thought so as well. “Listen, Zach, you’re probably just having nightmares. I know the doctor gave you stuff to take at night to help.”

“It’s been months, John. The pills haven’t done shit to help me, and you know that. There is something happening and I need to find out what.”

John simply shrugged. “Whatever you choose, I’m with you, man. But be careful.” His eyes met Zach's. “And I’m telling you, it’s just a dream. You won’t find anything.”
“If I don’t you can say ‘I told you so,’ okay?”

John smiled and nodded, running his fingers through his red hair. “Sounds like a plan, but really Zach. Be careful, it was a hard enough blow for the guys to take when Chris died. So don’t do anything stupid to get yourself hurt, got it?”

Zach nodded. “I’ll try my best, but you know how danger tends to find me.” John’s eyes glinted with mischief and he nodded, standing up. “Thanks, John, for listening.”

He smiled and nodded and then Zach watched as he hopped on his board and skated to the others. Leaning back against the rail of the ramp, Zach stared at the sky, wondering if the dreams he had were actually dreams or memories.

Rolling his eyes at his thoughts, Zach stood up and made his way out of the skate park, telling everyone that he was just going for a walk. Shutting the gate to the park, he leaned against it, thoughts swimming like crazy in his head. He no longer knew what to think; he wasn't sure what was real and wasn't, but he knew that no matter what he had to find out.

“The clearing,” Zach muttered, remembering that the familiar woods near his house had the same clearing in it. Zach sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out what to do with his life now. Deciding quickly, he looked around and then broke out into a run, heading back towards his house so he could get to the clearing and hopefully learn what was going on in his life.

Trusting You Was Like Suicide

The neighborhood was small, with only a few families living here. Surrounding the neighborhood was a huge forest, the trees reaching to the clouds and covering each other, letting no sun in. Zach stepped onto the dirt trail that lead into the forest and took a look at the houses behind him, hoping that he'd come back.

As he walked on the trail, Zach started to notice things that were from his dreams and he shivered. You're going crazy, Zach. A voice in his head spoke up and he felt his eyes widen. He's never had a voice inside his head like that. Are you scared Zach? Scared of what you might find ahead and scared that you'll get hurt like last time?

Ignoring the voice in his head, Zach hopped over a log and stopped at the creek. There were ripples in the water caused by the water gliders and there was a slight sparkle to the water, despite the sun not shining on it.

Come on Zach, you can do this. The voice spoke up again and he rolled my eyes, hopping across rocks to get to the other side of the creek. Zach-y boy, don't ignore me. You'll need me to get through all this without getting hurt.

Once again trying to ignore the voice, Zach stopped walking, trying to find out where he was. The clearing was large; a large creek went all the way around and there was a small pond in the middle, along with a girl who was sitting in front of it, her back facing him.

Her long black hair hung to her lower back in curls and at once he realized who it was. Taking a few steps towards her, Zach remembered how many times he'd watched himself die, thinking it was by her hands. Come on man, you can do this. Just don't get too close and you should be fine, the voice came back, only this time causing him to fall to my knees in pain.

His gasp made her turn around, her green-silver eyes wide with fear and confusion as she stared at him. Zach rested his elbows on his knees and held his face in his hands, the pain becoming unbearable. What's wrong, Zach, the pain of being around her too much again? Zach gasped again as the pain got worse.

Something touched his shoulder and at once the pain stopped. He lifted his head and looked up to see the girl's hand on his shoulder, her eyes still wide. "A-are you okay?" She muttered, trying not to shake.

Zach stood, shaking a little, running his hand through his hair, staring at her. She was wearing the same thing from the dream, the white dress stopping right before her knees. "I'm fine," he replied, clearing his throat. Liar.

She nodded, her curls bouncing up and down. "What are you doing out here anyway?" She asked, her eyes now narrowed and guarded.

"Is your name Eiko?" Zach asked, instead of answering her question, wanting to know now.

Her guarded expression fell for a moment and then returned, crossing her arms over her chest. "How do you know my name?" She took a step towards him, her eyes locked onto his face. Eiko's green eyes seemed to get darker when she stepped towards him and dark clouds covered the sky, causing everything to get dark. The wind started to blow hard and rain began to pour. "Answer me, boy."

Yeah, answer her Zach, might as well tell her since you're gunna die anyway. 'It-it's hard to e-explain." When she didn't answer, Zach continued. "I've been having dreams since I turned 17, and you're in them."

At once, the dark clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. Her eyes widened and got lighter as she backed away, not letting her eyes leave him. "You're the one."

"What does everyone mean I'm the one? Can you at least explain it to me, please?" He asked, becoming more confused by the minute.

Eiko stood there and then turned away from