Eternity (Circle of Light) by April Margeson

kiss was a mere peck, but it left my lips tingling.  I couldn’t do anything but sit there and look at him. 
    “I’m sorry.  I guess I should have asked you before I done that .” he said as he stared at the floor. 
    “Don’t be sorry.  I just wasn’t expecting it is all.” I whispered.
    He leaned in to kiss me again and I was more prepared for it this time.  I gently kissed him back.  The smooth motion of our lips soon became as natural as walking.  We responded to each other automatically.  Almost as if this wasn’t our first kiss.
    After a brief time, I noticed a sensation coming over me.  It was almost like I was dizzy again, but floating at the same time.  High above my own body.
    Eric placed his hand on my arm.  It was like he knew because it was happening to him too.  Or I thought it might be.  I sure hoped that it was.
    But the comforting feeling his touch gave me was unexplainable.  Every worry I had vanished.  Nothing else seemed to matter. 
    Eric backed away from me suddenly.  I was out of breath, but still wanting more. I heard the front door open.  I was still stunned from our kiss.  It was my mother. 
    “Bailey?” She called. 
    “In here, Mom.” Immediately, I straightened my hair.
    “Can you come help me carry in some bags?”  
    Before I could get to my feet, Eric had already met her at the door.
    “Hello Eric .” she said.
    “Hi.  I can help you with your things .” he said being the gentleman that he is. 
    “Thank you .” she said. “That is so sweet of you.”
    We all went out and brought the bags in.  Mom had gone to the grocery store after work.  From the looks of it you would think she had to feed an army.  I usually did most of the shopping, but I guess Mom had plans to fix something special for dinner. 
    We helped her empty all the bags and put the food away. 
    “Need some help?”  Dad asked her as he walked in the kitchen.  Mom gave him a loving glance and smiled. 
    It was hard not to notice the excitement of them seeing each other.  Even after all the years that they had been together, they still came across as a pair of love struck teenagers.
    Dad enjoyed helping her cook.  I think it was just another way for him to escape the growing pile of patient files on his desk.  He was always looking for excuses to ignore his work when he was home.  Not that I thought that was a bad thing.  I’m glad he does that.
    Eric and I returned to the living room to put away the books from our phony study date.  I turned on the television hoping to catch the evening news.  The reporter was talking about a shooting that had occurred earlier today. 
    Every few minutes it was something bad.  People had gotten shot.  Someone robbed a convenience store and the police didn’t have any leads. This is ridiculous, I thought to myself.  It’s every day that someone is doing something awful in one way or another.  I just wish there were something that I could do to make it stop.
    “That is just awful.” I said aloud as I watched the newscaster continue her description of what had happened.
    “I know Bailey, but believe it or not, things like this have to happen in order for the world to remain balanced.”   Eric said sadly. 
    When I heard him use the word balanced, I paused. Suspicion crossed my mind, but I quickly let it go.
    Finally the weather report came on. The forecast was for rain all day tomorrow. 
    “I really don’t want it to rain tomorrow.” I told Eric. 
    “Rain can be fun .” he said. 
    “How in the world can rain be fun?”
    “I'll show you when it starts raining.” he laughed.
    I hate when it rains.  I was either forced to ride the bus or walk to school.  If I rode the bus I usually ended up with a ferocious headache by the time we got to school and, of course, not counting the gum on my shoes and the nasty spitballs in my hair. If I walked, well, that was almost as bad.  But I wouldn’t get a headache from all those