Ecstasy

“Wyatt, if it's a boy.  We're thinking Emma, if it’s a girl.”

“Wyatt Hawk.  Emma Hawk.”  I paused, repeating the sound of the names in my head.  I turned from my locker and looked at my older brother, “You have my stamp of approval” with a sarcastic smile.

Kyle quickly turned towards me, “I wasn't asking for your approval, pecker” he says, with an even bigger smile, knowing he topped me in wits, for the time being.

We turn back towards our lockers, and continue getting ready for our swimming class at the University pool.  Removing my towel, swimsuit, and goggles from my backpack, we continue our usual conversations of what we consider ‘life’.  We make sure to stare directly at what we are doing; the slightest divergence could result in seeing naked old guy butt.  In exchanging my pants for my swimsuit, I place my towel tightly around my waist, shielding my youth from the older folk as I slide my swimsuit on beneath my towel. 

“There's a guy that built a bunker for this other guy who runs a gun training place that was 1100 square feet.  Theres a door on it that cost 8,000 dollars that is specially built for F5 tornadoes approved by FEMA.  They shot a piece of wood at it going 600 mph, but the door couldn't withstand that.”  I sat there, listening to my brother, when suddenly I began to feel an urge in my body. A tension, that seemed to start in the back of my head.   “With 8,000 dollars down the drain, they bought a new one, a better one.  The inside of the bunker is fully furnished.  It has an unlimited supply of water because it was built over an aquifer, which is basically like an underground lake.  It also has a fully functioning sewer system.  There's a kitchen, sink, shower, toilet, EVERYTHING!  There's even a six month supply of food.  It can hold up to six people.  Not to mention he has every gun you could ever imagine.”

Kyle continued talking, but this strange quivering I was feeling began to make its way to my face, and as it passed my ears, I lost my ability to hear.  Not completely, but enough to make my brothers voice sound like a faint whisper.  It was as if this familiar sensation took my control away, and forced my head to hunker down, level with my shoulders, like a turtle.  Once the tension arrived to my face, my eyes slowly closed, requiring me to focus all my attention on this uniquely relaxing experience.  Then it happens, time stops.  Everything paused.  My head slowly emerges from its hunkered down position, and extends backwards, I feel like a giraffe.  Once my neck hit its peak length, it shot forward, almost violently.  All the built up pressure was finally being pushed into one area, my nose.  Half way through this powerful jolt forward, I take a deep breath.  With my face now facing forward and slightly at a downward angle, I exhale a stinging blast through my nostrils.  The sneeze.  I am completely lost in ecstasy.  I take in another deep breath trying to take in the moment.  All my cares, worries, and responsibilities seem so far away, I’m floating in the clouds.  Time finally catches up to me, and I nod to Kyle's story, realizing I've missed most of it.

“So, once I have enough money, I’m building a bunker.  You in?”

I turn to him, nodding in agreement, “of course”.