Young Carlos Learns From History
By TT

Of all the classes he had to suffer through in school, history was by far his favorite, especially when they were studying colonial America and the Revolutionary War.

Maybe part of his fascination with that time period had to do with living in one of the original colonies and so near many of the sites they learned about in class. But, Carlos knew a larger part of it had to do with the people his teacher told him about.

George Washington was an amazing figure and not because he was President. He was inspiring in the way he went from struggling to leading. Carlos was especially impressed with the way he set aside his own desires and needs to do what needed to be done for the country.

Despite his admiration for the first President, the figure he found most fascinating was Benjamin Franklin. He was a patriot just like the others and did what needed to be done, but the inventions he made were remarkable. In some ways, Carlos wished he could be like Ben Franklin, but he just didn’t like science that much, although the experiment they had learned of today was something he would like to try for himself.

As he stepped out of the school building, he felt the light drizzle coat his face and he smiled. Looking upward, he saw the clouds were thick and dark. It looked like the perfect time to put his plan into action, despite the fact he’d only developed the plan while in history class.

Once he got home, he wanted to go straight to his room and begin preparing, but he knew his mother wouldn’t let him do anything until his homework was done. Besides, he needed to be in the kitchen in order to get the one item he didn’t have up in his room.

Finally, finished with his homework, he put his books back in his backpack and waited for him mom to turn her back to him. As soon as she wasn’t looking he snatched what he needed and did his best to calmly head upstairs. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to fight the urge to run up to his room.

Once in the sanctuary of his room, he let his backpack slide to the floor and turned back toward the door to make sure it was closed.

Satisfied he was safe for the moment, he opened his hand and looked at the small object he had stolen.

It wasn’t exactly like the one he had seen in the pictures, but hopefully it would do.

Moving toward his toy chest, he opened it up and began searching for the other items he would need. Once he found them, it would only take a moment to fix everything and then he would have to wait.

Later that night, Carlos sat in his room looking out at the falling rain. Though he tried not to, he had found himself repeatedly looking out of windows throughout the day. He had tried to stop doing so when his father commented on it, but, thinking of his plans for that night, his eyes would stray to the window all on their own.

Now, he was in his room and the house was quiet. His kite with the metal key tied to the string was sitting beside him on the floor. His window was open and the screen already raised. Now all he had to do was wait for the rain shower to turn into a storm.

Present

Ranger stood at the window, looking out at the gray cityscape, struggling to blend with the steel gray of the clouds above. A low rumble rolled through the skies, moving ever closer.

He wasn’t surprised when he felt a delicate arm wrap around his waist.

Lifting his arm, he wrapped it around Stephanie’s shoulders and drew her close to his side, letting out a small sigh of contentment as he felt her head come to rest on his shoulder.

They stood together like that for a few minutes, staring out as the rain shower increased in intensity and power. Lightning that had provided a brilliant glow at the top of the clouds suddenly burst forth, searing the sky in a display of power that could only leave the watcher breathless. The roar of thunder almost simultaneous with the lightning, rattled the windows of the building. In an instant, the wind became a howling creature driving the rain into a frenzy, forcing it to prematurely end its fall to earth and sacrifice itself against the building.

The couple watched the intense storm in silence as it raged, content in each other’s embrace.

As with many such violent summer storms, it soon wore itself out, allowing the deluge to begin.

When the last, distant flash and low rumble had passed by, Ranger smiled as he felt a soft kiss along his jaw. Looking down he couldn’t help the love that shone in his eyes as he looked at Stephanie. Placing a light kiss on her lips, he turned them and moved the couch where they quickly settled with Stephanie in Ranger’s lap.

After a few moments of silence, Stephanie asked, “Did you like storms as a child?”

Ranger couldn’t help but smile as he remembered various moments from his childhood. “Yes,” he admitted.

Looking up at him, Stephanie noticed an amused spark in his eye. “What’s your favorite storm memory?” she asked.

With a soft chuckle, Ranger admitted, “It wasn’t so much a storm as it was a shower, but it is still a favorite memory, at least until my father found me waiting to fly a kite out of my bedroom window.”

“Oh?” Stephanie prompted, now alert and longing for the full story.

Ranger loved the fact Stephanie was so eager to find out everything about him. From other people it felt invasive, from her… When Stephanie asked, it seemed to bring them closer together. He would swear that with each new part of himself he revealed, Stephanie fell a little more in love with him. It was definitely a trait that Ranger wanted to encourage, especially since he was so lost in his love of her. “We had been studying Ben Franklin in school,” he began.

End