text: Do you remember what it’s like to be that short, wide-eyed boy and all that you wanted was to win that giant boat from the arcade? The one that hung up on the top of the ceiling, dangling in front of you, luring your quarters into the adjacent claw machine. Do you remember the scent? It was like popcorn and an old spilled soda. Direct the prongs to grab onto the prized white box, specifically the one that says one thousand tickets, so you can buy that boat! It must be impossible, but you try anyway because it’s fun to imagine. What a memory, something close to the heart that warms you like watching the snowfall by a fire... &#x200B; Now you’re a little older, more interested in those early morning fishing trips with your dad than the rafts in the arcade. There’s something innate about fishing, it’s like a great connection to a simpler time. Being here reminds you of a simple life, and that there is hope for one. The only worry in the world is that eventually, you’ll have to go home. &#x200B; Scrolling on your phone a few years later, reminiscing of those happy times, makes it feel like it was just yesterday. Don’t you wish you could be there again? &#x200B; Take her by the hand, and buy her a ticket to the Lac Du Saint Sacrement, the biggest boat in town. Don’t get nervous, it's just the third date. You just met last week, and you’ll be gone by tomorrow. Her hair has these soft-colored highlights, blue pink, and blonde, and it reminds you of the way holiday lights shine in December. This is your summer fling. She smiles at your jokes, which is a first because no one thinks you’re funny. You share stories of growing up, about how you’ve been coming here since you were a kid. The smell of cheap funnel cakes and greasy burgers mix with the cool summer breeze. You take in a deep breath and feel the endorphins sprinting through your body, which makes it feel like the last day of school. This reminds you of what you crave in life: Love, affection, peace, and a drop of sun. &#x200B; Aboard the Lac Du, an artist plays his guitar strings to the sound of Jimmy Buffet, but he sings about Lake Georgeville instead. It’s more comedic than anything but you clap for him anyway. Take a trip up to the top floor, and if it’s too cold, you can promise to keep her warm. &#x200B; The last golden gleams of sunshine hit the water and the sun looks at itself in the mirror, like that picture in your bathroom. You scoff, laughing, remembering what it’s like to be back home, with that stupid photo in the stall. Now the stars have a chance to see themselves in the reflection as the sun goes away. From here, there are a thousand stellar lights visible. Darkness--Wait--Oh no. This is the last night you have here before you have to leave heaven. What a strange but wonderful place, how all of these people, alone in the woods, can be connected. It’s like a summer camp but without the need to be woken up for breakfast. Red, green, blue, orange, white lights fill up the evergreen mountains with a sound that can shake rib bones. Fireworks, one last hurrah. You hug her, lay your cheek on hers. A perfect night for a first kiss, or maybe some time away from school, or maybe a blissful night to get away from work. Then it hits you. Your stomach tenses. This is the last night here, after this, you’ll be going back home... &#x200B; Trash blows across cracks of concrete and sirens roar a loud squeal and reverberate off of skyscrapers that cast a cold shade onto the streets. Your nose runs but you don’t have the hands to blow it, or even a tissue, to ease the mess that’s now leaking into your mouth. It’s quite disgusting, and you’re quite disgusted. At night the only quiet soul in town is the thick layer of smog that hovers above the buildings like something out of Independence Day. This is not living, and there is no love here, so you decide to start scrolling on your phone again. Soft pink lips, streaks of strawberry highlights dazzled between strands of straight blonde hair. You miss her. You miss it. &#x200B; Smile child. It’ll be summer again. The Lake will still be there, the mountains will still be there, and the fireworks will roar once again. You’ve saved up enough, it’s time to book your plans. It’s what every person should have the opportunity to experience...the place where the boy became a man.