Paul’s Plantation

Setting the Scene - Writing Prompt:

Paul has had many dreams of growing up on the southern plantation, but he had never been that far south before today. As he drove down the tree-lined road, he saw…

Paul’s Plantation

Paul has had many dreams of growing up on the southern plantation, but he had never been that far south before today. As he drove down the tree-lined road, he saw about fifteen beautiful horses happily galloping through the tall, green grass that was swaying in the breeze. He saw cows lazily resting in a huge field of dandelions behind the white picket fence he remembered from his dreams. He saw a small, babbling brook, gently flowing past the most gigantic willow tree he had ever seen in his life. It was even bigger than the one he saw in his dreams.

The closer he got to the house, the more at home he felt on this plantation. It felt as if this had been his home his entire life, yet he could not remember ever being here before.

As he pulled up to the house and parked his blue Lexus in front of the long, white porch, Paul smiled when the long row of white rocking chairs came into view. He didn’t need to look up to know that the ceiling fans were hanging from the porch just waiting for someone to sit on a rocking chair with a glass of lemonade. He knew this was the house he had been dreaming about for most of his life.

Paul got out of his car, walked up the creaky steps to the porch and knocked on the big, white, double plantation doors.

In less than one minute, the door opened and standing before him was a man that looked exactly like Paul . He smiled and said, “Hello there, Paul.  I’m Luke. It’s nice to finally meet you.

Paul shook his hand, a little taken back by the fact that the stranger had his face. He was more than a little weirded out that this man also sounded exactly like him.

Luke gestured for Paul to follow him inside. They walked into the parlor where Luke’s grandmother was sitting working on a needlepoint. She looked up from her craft and said, “Paul, it’s nice to see you again. Welcome to Willow View Plantation. I’m so glad you decided to visit after all.” She pointed to the sofa and said, “Please join me for some sweet tea and molasses cookies.

Paul sat on the couch and looked around the room. Even the photographs on the wall looked exactly as they did in his dreams. This was weird, but he had never felt more at home than he did at this very moment.

Paul said, “Thank you so much for inviting me into your beautiful home. I am honored that you have opened your doors to me.”

Grandma smiled at him and said, “My dear boy, you are always welcome here. Willow View Plantation has been home to our family since 1653. And you, my lovely, are my grandson. As we discussed on the phone, Luke is your twin brother. He is three minutes older than you. Your mother, my daughter, and her daughter died in childbirth when you were two years old.

After the funeral, your father put you and Luke into his car and took you to stay with his parents, because living in this house was too hard for him.  It reminded him of losing your mother and sister. It broke my heart when he took you away.

She wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and continued her story. “As he was driving through the Blue Mountain tunnel in Pennsylvania, he was hit by a drunk driver and died on impact. The emergency personnel only found one baby in the car. We searched for you for years. The cameras inside the tunnel showed many people surrounding the cars, but you were nowhere to be found.”

Paul told her that he didn’t know what happened that day, but he heard stories about a toddler showing up at a campsite in Cowans Gap State Park, which was close to the tunnel. The family whose campsite the toddler wandered into searched the park but could not figure out where this child came from. The ranger took the family’s name and phone number, and the child went home with them to upper New York. They waited for a phone call from the police, but it never came. The toddler was raised by them and his birth family never came forward to collect him.

“Did you have a good life?“ his grandmother asked.

Paul told her, “I heard the stories about that toddler, but I never knew that it was me they were talking about. My parents were wonderful.  They loved me as much as they did their own children. They were there for all my baseball games.  They supported my dreams of becoming a chef and even helped me pay for some of my education. Yes, I was happy.  But…” He traveled off and looked like he was deep in thought.

“But what?“ Luke asked from the corner. He stood there, leaning against the wall, listening to the conversation between his brother and his grandmother.  But he really wanted to make sure that his Paul was okay and that he wasn’t mistreated.  That would have been too much for Luke to handle.

Paul snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head, and said, “I’ve been dreaming of this house my entire life. I thought I made it up. It’s weird that this house exists exactly like it did in my dreams.” He then added, “Luke, I used to dream about you, too. I dreamed about playing in the brook, drinking lemonade on the porch, and playing with cars in mud puddles. But there were always two of me in my dreams. I had no idea why there were two of me, but it makes so much sense now.”

Luke told him, “I used to dream of you too.  I guess the difference is that I knew that you exist and I felt drawn to you. One day our family was on vacation in Niagara Falls and I thought I saw you. I told my aunt that you were in line to go on the boat, but she didn’t believe me. We were about six years old at the time. I just knew it was you, but nothing I said would make them believe me. My aunt grabbed my hand and took me back to the hotel so that I would calm down. But that was really you, wasn’t it? ”

Paul told Luke that his family did go to Niagara Falls for a wedding when he was six. His cousin got married on the boat underneath the falls. He remembered hearing a child yelling for Logan. He remembered that name because it was his older brother’s name. He kept telling his brother that someone was calling him.”

Luke replied, “Your name was Logan. I knew it was you! I wish they would’ve listened to me at the time. Logan, I mean Paul, you were right there…” he trailed off.

Just then, Alfred walked into the room and announced that supper would be served in half an hour.

Paul helped his grandmother to her feet. She asked Luke to show Paul to his room so that he could settle in and change for supper.

Luke gladly accepted this task. He had been waiting 25 years to spend time with his twin brother. They had so much to catch up on.

As the men walked through the house, Luke told Paul that their rooms were both in this wing. He showed Paul their parents’ bedroom and the nursery where they spent the first one and a half years of their lives. Then they arrived at Paul’s bedroom, which was across the hall from Luke’s.

They both went inside the bedroom and Paul sat on the bed. Luke sat beside him and said “Calling you Paul seems weird, but having you here makes me feel like finally again. I will call you anything you want me to if I get to have you back in my life again.”

“I know what you mean. I always felt like something was missing.” Paul responded.  He said, “I remember telling my mom that I needed a second piece of cake for Logan.  It confused them because Logan was sitting beside me eating his cake. They thought maybe  you were my imaginary friend. I talked about you a lot. It feels so good to know that you’re real. I finally feel like I’m not losing my mind!”

Luke said, “Welcome home, Logan. I’ve been waiting for this day, most of my life.”

Paul replied, “Thank you for helping me to feel at home here. I know this isn’t easy, but I am so glad to have some answers about who I really am. And I’m even more grateful that you are a real person. I used to dream of playing with you. I dreamed of being on trips to places I’ve never actually been and of doing things I never had the opportunity to experience in real life. Have you experienced anything like that?”

Luke said, “I did. I remember a trip to the Grand Canyon, but I’ve never been there in person. I also remember a beach on a tropical island that I’ve never traveled to. I remember playing baseball as a first baseman. Paul , I was a pitcher.”

Paul laughed and said, “That explains it! I was a first baseman and remember pitching.”

They laughed, and realized they were late for supper. Luke went to his own room. They both dressed for supper and met in the hallway outside of the dining room – in the exact same outfit. Together, they walked into the dining room where the rest of the family patiently waited.

Grandma looked at them and giggled. “ Both of my boys are here! Let’s celebrate!”

And they celebrated Logan‘s return. They also celebrated the boys being reunited. They celebrated that the entire family was finally together. And they celebrated the memories of the parents.

Now that Paul returned home to Willow View Plantation, he decided to take back the life he should be leading. He legally changed his name to Logan and moved back into the plantation house that he had been dreaming about for so long.

Grandma spent the rest of her life celebrating the return of her little boy. His return was, after all, a dream come true!