Chapter Five: Julia:

Her heart had been unattainable since they were little kids. Wallace couldn’t forget those shiny green eyes if he could. Her name was Julia and see came from the next town over. He remembered the day that he met perfectly.

Wallace had always loved strawberries. But he would always break out in hives every time he ate one. His mother would try to stop him.

“Wallace, honey, don’t do that,” she would say. That boy never listened to her. That particular day was even more so. His mother took him down to the farmer’s market. Eight-year-old him would’ve rather been in bed that summer morning. His mother wouldn’t hear of it.

“You couldn’t spend your summer sleeping the days away,” she said. “You are going out today.” Wallace knew better than to argue with his mother. She always had the last word in everything. The boy had no choice but to get in the car with her. For the first few minutes, he was bored out of his mind. Even at that age, Wallace started to get bored with the people around him. His hometown was so small and everyone knew everyone. His mother wasn’t paying any attention to him. Wallace tugged on her jeans as she was talking to an eggplant vendor.

“Mom, can we go to the bakery now?” he asked. His mother shoed him off.

“Not now,” she said.

“Mom,” the boy complained.

“Not now dear,” his mother said. After about five minutes, Wallace gave up and wandered off. The bright colors of the fruits and vegetables didn’t appeal to him. They grew vegetables in a small garden in their backyard. Why did they need to go buy more? But then his mood perked when he saw the strawberry stand. Those bright red berried made his eyes glaze over. The boy quickly looked behind him. His mother was still talking to the vendor. She already warned him in the car not to sample any strawberries.

“We cannot have another attack like last time,” she told him. But those bright red berries looked so yummy. Wallace could hear them singing out to him. “Come. Eat us. Eat us.” The boy wandered over as if in a trance. The lady behind the booth looked up as he could closer.

“Hello there, little boy,” she said. “How are you today?”

“Fine!” Wallace cheered. The vendor noticed him staring wide-eyed at her produce. She looked like she had seen a pretty fairy flying in front of her.

“Oh, you want to try one?” she asked. Wallace nodded his head up and down with big puppy dog eyes. How could she say no?

“Well, okay,” the vendor said. She picked up the biggest, reddest berry out of her sample box. “Here you go.”

“Thank you!” Wallace shouted. He took that strawberry and popped it into his mouth. No sooner did he start chewing, his face started turning red. His cheeks started to itch. Wallace felt his eyes watering.

“Are you okay, honey?” the vendor asked. Wallace staggered backwards as he started scratching his face. The itching spread to his hands. His face looked so puffy too.

“Where’s your mother?” the vendor asked. She started looking around, frantically. By now, Wallace looked as red as a strawberry and itching. The poor vendor started screaming for help. The boy tried not to scratch but he couldn’t stop.

“Are you okay?” he heard behind him. Wallace turned around to see what looked like an angel standing behind him. Through his squinted eyes, he could make out her dark black curls and white dress with black polka dots. Or were those flies? Wallace didn’t get a good look at her face.

“No!” he shouted. His hands didn’t know where to move for scratching. This girl figure seemed to reach out to him with no idea of what to do.

“Help!” the little girl shouted. “Somebody help!”

“Wallace!” his mother yelled. The boy looked up as she scratched his neck. A taller figure stood with their hands on their hips.

“I told you not to eat strawberries! You know what happens when you do,” she said. Wallace tried to speak but his mouth was swollen.

“Stop scratching!” she hissed. His mother grabbed him by the wrist. “Come on, I am taking you to the doctor, again. She dragged Wallace along before he could try and speak again. That day, Wallace didn’t get to fully see that little girl. Even with his mother lecturing him around his allergies, the little boy’s head was in the clouds. Who was that little girl that spoke to him? Would he ever see her again? Wallace just had to try and see.