Centuries

Eliza Parker

I throw my long, wavy blonde hair up in a messy ponytail before slipping on my tennis shoes and rushing out the door.

My breath comes out in little cloudy puffs and I stick my ear buds in, preparing myself. Today is cool and damp with morning dew adorning everything in sight. Letting out a deep breath, I push off with my feet, running at a fairly quick pace.

My music fills my head, drowning out everything around me. The world becomes a blur as I zone out, my body running on autopilot.

I zoom through my little hometown, turning left and right before I finally come to a stop. My lungs claw at my rib cage, dying for air. My throat burns and my shoulders heave as I pant. I stand there, staring at the town, the sun glowing orange across the land. From where I stand at the top of a cliff overlooking Sanatona, I can see every last inch of the place I call home.

Sitting down, I scoot to the edge and let my feet dangle off the giant cliff. I soak in the morning sun as my aching muscles take a break, when I notice something stirring in the usually calm town.

A loud black car is zooming around on one of the dirt roads on the outskirts of Sanatona. I watch the foreign vehicle as he swerves recklessly and most obviously speeding. He follows the dirt road into the town and speeds down the main road before turning into the gates of the abandoned mansion.

It's said that a man persuaded women to stay with him and every single one of them died. Some say he was a screwed up serial killer, others say he was a creature of the night.

Small towns, I tell ya. Almost every rumored story has some sort of mythical creature. I roll my eyes at the absurdness. Sighing, I decide I'd better head back, my parent's will be up soon. Once I stand up I briefly stretch out my limbs before starting a slow jog home.

When I step through the threshold and close the door behind me, I pull out my headphones.

"Eliza?" My mother calls from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" I reply back, slipping my shoes off and kicking them out of the way.

"Did you hear me? I said you best not leave your shoes in the entry way again. Your father almost tripped over them the other day," She replies.

"Well maybe if he wasn't running late to work everyday," I mumble picking up my shoes and heading upstairs. When I come back down I notice my mom is making pancakes. Uh oh.

"What's the occasion?" I question, plopping down into one of the kitchen chairs.

"What do you mean, dear?" My mom's voice comes out a little squeaky as she attempts to play innocent.

"Here," She slides a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of me.

"Thanks," I nod before grabbing the syrup and dousing the fluffy goodness on my plate. Picking up my fork, I feel my mouth water, and I shovel a big bite into my mouth.

"So I was thinking we could go to the mall today," My mom speaks up. And there it is. Quickly finishing my bite, I swallow rather roughly.

"Why?" I can't help but ask. My mom never wants to spend time with me.

"I just thought it'd be fun," My mom shrugs. "I'll buy you what ever you want."

Which translate to, she will judge and ridicule everything I pick out and I'll leave with a bag of nun clothes.

"Sure," I sigh, taking another bite of my now tasteless pancake.

"Eliza Belle! What do you think you're doing?" I freeze, my mouth open and holding another bite to my mouth.