Thursday September 23rd, 2010.
The Sparks Residence
Kolleen had already settled herself in her dining room. The entire first floor was divided equally into four rooms. A single hallway went down towards the stairs. The walls were covered with blue wallpaper which was complimented with black borders. The floor had been covered with a thin, green carpet. Randy noticed that the first door was ajar and he knew Kolleen was in there. He slowly walked down the hallway, leaning against the right wall. He just wanted to see her face again, being out of her sight for more than a minute was tearing his heart into pieces. He continued to lean against the wall but stopped walking; his mind was beginning to fog up as a memory started to arise.
His eyes clenched tight at an attempt to block out the pain building in his head. A masculine, yet calming voice broke through the harsh silence that enveloped him. Randy opened his eyes and noticed that he was standing in his backyard. The sun was bright and not a single cloud could be seen. The area was fenced in with bricks and had iron bars lining the top. The grass looked so smooth and the aroma of freshly mowed lawn confirmed this. He noticed that he wasn't alone, in fact there was a whole group of people standing by the back porch. The backyard consisted of a built in swimming pool, which was behind Randy. And there were bushes lining the left and right sides of the fence's interior.
Among the people who were talking were his mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, from his dad's side and a few random people. At this pinnacle moment of time, Randy was already pretty tall. That day he was wearing blue shorts with black trim and a light blue muscle shirt. His hair wasn't quite as long as it is now, but it was getting there. He walked over towards the group of people and finally began taking in their words.
"So, you're really going through with this are you?" Patrick Rodriguez asked. He looked very old in this memory, and resembled Randy a lot. He was stooped over, holding onto a cane in his left hand and his wife's hand in his right. Paula Rodriguez had bushy white hair, chubby cheeks and dangling jowls. She was wearing a white dress with pink flowers all over it, Patrick had brown slacks and a flannel long sleeved shirt. Robert seemed so happy at the time. He was at the prime of his life, with his body being in the peak of perfection. His hair was shoulder length and jet black. His eyes were blue and he had a wide jaw; it matched his cheekbone structure perfectly.
"Yes, I am going to do this Dad. It's what I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Sure, I joined the DWL and yeah, I have had success. I just…" He stopped and dropped his head, shaking it slightly. Patrick shifted his cane over to his right hand, after he kissed Paula on the back of hers. He then put it on Robert's shoulder. "Look at me son." Robert slowly turned his head towards him. "You already know that your mother and I love you very much. We love what you've become and we can't get enough of how amazing your son is doing." Robert looked over at Randy, giving him a brief smile and nodded. Randy nodded back, smiling brightly.
"You've done the family name proud and you're doing it even better now. You're joining the Army to serve this great country the same that you served all your fans." Randy was now near the porch, as he began ascending the stairs. Diana had been sitting on the porch bench with a friend of hers; she looked just like Kolleen. Mrs. Sparks and Diana were playfully talking to each other about their kids and reminiscing about the past. His mother was wearing a red dress and Mrs. Sparks had a white t-shirt along with a blue skirt on. The rest of the people at the party were just a couple of wrestling buddies that Robert had found whilst at the DWL.
One was a short man, with curly brown hair and a pug-like face. The other was a woman who was wearing a skin tight bikini and had dark tan skin. Randy didn't get much time to take in her beauty, before Robert called out to him. "Son, come over here!" He sighed then turned towards his father and did as he was told. He heard sizzling and gave a brief moment to try and see where it was coming from. It was wafting over from the grill just to the left of the porch. An amazing aroma of chicken, burgers and hot dogs cascaded his nostrils. Robert laughed while pulling him into a one armed hug.
"Are you excited son?" Randy looked up at him, noticing the twinkle in his eye. He was always passionate about supporting the U.S and he finally got a chance to do it, even if he put it off longer than he wanted to, for Randy knew his father wanted to make sure that he was okay before enlisting. Randy halfheartedly nodded which made Robert give a hardy laugh. "That's my boy! He's amazing Dad. You should see him when he wrestles for the school team." Patrick grinned at this news and then placed his own hands on Randy's shoulders. "You are exactly what this family needs; a new generation to continue the Rodriguez name. It's natural, God given talent that you possess my boy! Don't let it go to waste." Suddenly the area around them began to flicker like an old T.V.
Kolleen's voice came out of nowhere, as if it were floating through the air. "Randy, are you doing alright?" she asked him. He looked all around him, seeing his family but not her. "Kol, where are you?" He walked away from the family and stepped off the back porch. Even the ground was flickering; his balance began to falter. He fell to one knee, clutching his head in agony. When he was able to open his eyes, the scene was already dissolving around him. A few brief moments passed and now he was standing in a white abyss, which quickly evaporated in thin air. Then he was face down on the floor, with his nose pressed into a carpet.
Kolleen had been sitting next to him for God only knows how long. "How, ugh; how long have I been down here?" She sighed and then hoisted him back to a sitting position. She looked scared, paralyzed even. "What's the matter?" She shook her head, brushing the hair behind her ears. "I-I don't know, one second I'm entering the kitchen and then the next I hear you collapsing. I ran out here to see if you were alright and you were lying face first on the floor." Randy just shook his head, rubbing his eyes gingerly. "I don't understand why this happens. It's like I'm in the past, you know? Reliving a memory without meaning to do so."
"How often does this happen to you?" She was concerned; that much Randy was sure of. He pulled himself up against the wall. "I really have the slightest clue Kol. The whole thing just doesn't really add up to me. I mean think about it, how often do people just randomly jump to their past like that?" This time he was looking deeply into her eyes to try and find a sense of peace and only found despair. "Randy, people think of their past all the time; this, what happened to you just now, is… its just abnormal. People don't just pass out like that, unless they're really drunk or even crashing from a high of some sort. You weren't undergoing either of those things and you just dropped like a sack of potatoes."
"It's happened before, although it wasn't too recently." Randy rested his head in between his knees. He felt a small hand on his back, sliding up and down. "I think you need to get some rest, you've had a really long night and your mind is foggy from all that has happened. I'll help you up to my room, okay?" Randy couldn't find the right words to say, so he nodded in return. "Alright then, let's get you back up to your feet." She pulled with all her strength to get the man to a standing position. After a brief moment, he was back upright and staggering slightly.
She took his arm, wrapped it around her neck and began leading him towards the stairs. These steps had no sides to them; they were attached to the walls themselves. There was a black railing mounted to each wall and a dozen paintings lining them. Randy barely had the strength to move, so he couldn't get a good look at them. Once they were up to the second floor, she set him against the wall to the right of the stairs. "I'll be right back. I just gotta use the bathroom." "Alright, I'll be right here," he said, waving her off. She nodded then went through the door to the left. There was a wall blocking that side of the upstairs, with only a brown door mounted into it.
Randy looked up slowly, just able to catch a glance of another hallway behind it. For what he could see, there were four more doors back there. There was another door and wall that mimicked the one across from him, which he was leaning on. Kolleen returned about a minute or so later, and shut the door behind her as slow as she could. When it clicked shut she exhaled hard as if she were holding her breath. "Why are there so many rooms?" "My family's always been a private one. My mom and dad both figured that with these doors, privacy won't be an issue and so far, it's worked. You're probably wondering what's down that hallway, I'll tell you later." "Okay then, where is your room?" he replied.
She went beside him and opened up the door to his right, holding it open for him so he walked through and heard it click behind him. This hallway had three rooms branching off of it. One was at the very end and two were directly in the middle. The walls upstairs were painted dark brown with a lighter brown border. Two lights were mounted on each side of every door and they were off at the moment. The very last door at the end of the hall had gold words nailed to it. They read: Kolleen's Room, "I guess I know where it is." he said jokingly. "Yeah, I like the way the name looks against the door. I don't know why, it just attracts me." She grabbed his hand as casually as she does, and guided him down the hall.
It was surprisingly bright since the ceiling had skylights built into it. "My mom and dad's room is the very last door at the end of the other hall. There are two extra guest rooms and a bathroom, which is closest to the main door. In this hall, obviously my room is at the end. The two perpendicular rooms are different however. The left one is another bathroom and the right is a guest room." Randy was amazed by all the rooms in this house. It baffled him how they were able to afford it in the first place. "I know, it's a bit overbearing but it's a really nice house. I've grown up here since, well since I was a baby."
"This place is amazing! But why didn't you just use this bathroom?" "My bathroom is being repaired. The sink is busted and the toilet needs to be replaced. Now, let's get to my room, we need sleep." Randy nodded and allowed her to continue guiding him towards the end of the hall. When they were just outside of her bedroom, he was able to get a really good look at the letters. They shined just like metal, like they were actually made of gold. "Don't worry, those letters are only plated in gold; the rest is of the metal is silver." "Jesus Kol, these letters are amazing; this house is amazing! How did your family ever afford all of this?" She opened her door, revealing the most astronomical room that he ever rested his eyes upon.
Her walls were covered with multiple posters of wrestlers, ranging from Crackin' Jackson all the way to a man named Josh Sparks. His was in a bordered glass frame however, and mounted behind her bed, which was directly across from the main door beside a double sided window. Her sheets and blankets were gold colored, as well as the pillows. The bed itself was queen sized, but it barely took up any space in her room. There was a desk to the left with a spinning office chair in front of it. A mirror was placed on the wall behind the desk and makeup sat perfectly on top.
The right side held room for a fifty inch T.V. complete with surround sound, Playstation 3 and Xbox360, with an enormous puffy couch rested in front of it all. "Come in, please," she stated, laughing at Randy's face. She pulled him into her room and then shut the door softly. He couldn't get over the way the room was; it was just mind boggling. He walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of the right side. "These blankets are so soft." "Yeah they're made with a combination of silk and cotton. My dad got it for me on my sixteenth birthday." "Is that who's above your bed here?" She walked over and sat down on the left side, pulling her legs up onto it.
"Yeah, that's him. He was a wrestler as well; He never made it that far in the DWL though. He was booked to fight the Heavyweight Champion, December 30th, 2008 and was so happy to have this opportunity and kept displaying it to my mom and I with gifts. That's how I got the huge T.V. over there and the couch; he bought it just before the accident happened…" Kolleen trailed off. Randy's brain rang at this information, reminding him of his father. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?" She kicked her shoes off then got under her blanket. "Get comfortable, we need sleep." He knew she was hurting so he dropped the subject and took off his shoes as well. Once he was settled under the covers, Kolleen immediately clutched onto his right side, burying her face into it as well.
Randy put his arm around her and held her in a tight hug while she drifted off to sleep. She was sobbing for a while until she finally passed out, giving him time to think to himself. She's gone through so much, how could I even imagine what she's felt? God, if you can hear me, please, answer my prayer. Could you tell mine and Kolleen's dads that we need their guidance? Kol's obviously in pain and it sounds as if she never got closure. For me, I just want to know what my father is doing. Does he still watch over my mom? She really could use his help God, you know what she's going through; she needs him now more than ever. Please help us! With this prayer in his mind, Randy felt that hurting girl nuzzling her face in his chest and then he dozed off as well.