The Prodigal Daughter

The Story

A/N This is really bad so don't judge. It was an assignment.

A young girl grew up in a beautiful farmhouse overlooking the lake in Thunder Bay. Throughout her childhood, she was treated well, though not spoiled. Her parents were very old-fashioned and often objected to her piercings, makeup, the music she listened to, and her skirt length. She tended to rebel and wear them regardless. When she got grounded, she would seeth inside, thinking how much better her life would be without them around. She began planning and one night had a big argument with her parents. She runs away.

She had visited Sudbury once before on a school trip, read articles about how dangerous the city was, and figured it would be the last place her parents looked for her. Having planned for this moment, she had some money put aside. She headed to the train station and purchased a bus ticket to Sudbury under a false name. The bus ride lasted nearly 17 hours, and throughout the entire drive, she was captivated by the world around her. She was even more spiteful of her parents for withholding this from her. Once she arrives in Sudbury, she rents a motel for a couple nights until she can find somewhere else. Still mesmerized by the city's beauty, she spends the rest of the day exploring. On her third day in the city, she encounters a handsome man who looks to be in his 30s. He buys her lunch, offers her a ride, and arranges a place to stay long-term. He then shows her some pills, and they make her feel better than she's ever felt before. In that moment, she decided that she was right all along; her parents were keeping all the fun from her.

Time passes, and she continues to enjoy her new life in the city. She lives in a penthouse on the top floor of a giant skyscraper. She attends parties nearly every night and orders room service whenever she wants. The man who helped her - she calls him Python - begins to teach her things, like how to pickpocket and conduct scams successfully. She thinks of her family from time to time, however, she never dwells on it for long. When she thinks back on people back home, she can hardly believe she grew up there, as their lives seem so dull now compared to hers. One day she comes across a missing person poster with her face on it. She briefly panics but then realizes that she looks nothing like the child on the poster. She now has blue hair, in contrast to her previous brown, and with all her piercings and makeup, no one would ever mistake her for a child. Also, most of her friends are runaways, and no one snitches in Sudbury.

After a year, the first signs of addiction begin to appear, and it startles her how quickly Python turns mean. She is abruptly tossed out on the street with nothing to her name. She does odd jobs, but they don't pay much, and she has gotten used to the luxurious lifestyle. Any money she does make is used to support her habit. She sleeps in alleys and wonders how her life came to this. One night while contemplating how her life became this way, she realizes that her parents were always right, and she had ignored them. After nearly a week of deliberation, she decided to return home and beg her parents for forgiveness.

She called her parents three times, and all three went straight to voicemail. For the first two calls, she hung up immediately once sent to voicemail; however, by the third call, she had planned what she would say. "You have reached the Barlowe residence; please leave a message after the beep" *BEEP* "Mom, Dad, it's me. Life isn't how I imagined, and I'm sorry I never listened to you. You were always right. I was wondering if you would take me back. I'm catching a bus up to you, and I'll arrive around noon the day after tomorrow. If you want me back could you meet me at the bus station; if you aren't there, I guess I'll just stay on the bus and keep going. I love you." She purchased her bus ticket and found her seat. It was a 17 hours bus ride from Sudbury to Thunder Bay, giving her lots of time to think. As she sat there thinking, she realized all the flaws in her plan. What if her parents were out of town and couldn't get the message? Shouldn't she have waited until she could talk to them? Worry began to coil in the pit of her stomach. She decided just to try to relax for the rest of the ride and began practicing what she would say to her parents if they were there.

The bus finally arrived at the station. The driver came crackling through the intercom, "Alright folks, we are now arriving in Thunder Bay. We will only be stopping here for 20 minutes, that's all, and then we will be leaving with or without you, so make sure you are on the bus before 20 minutes is up." "20 minutes," she thought to herself, "only 20 minutes to decide the course of her life." She pulled out her mirror and checked her reflection, smoothing her hair and preparing herself. She stepped off the bus and walked into the station, unsure of what to expect. The sight that greets her is nothing like anything she imagined in the thousands of scenarios she ran through. Hanging across the terminal wall is a banner that says, "Welcome Home!" The terminal contains all her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Most importantly, in the middle stand her parents with their arms open. Tears began streaming down her face as all the emotions she had held in for years overflowed. She starts to stutter her rehearsed speech, "Dad, I'm sorry..." but her dad interrupts her, "Hush child, there will be time for that later. For now, we have a party to get to." She went with her family, with a wide smile spread across her face, thinking, "I'm finally home at last!"