Runaway(ON HOLD)

4

     This little pattern continued on for the next few weeks.  Harry would completely disappear during the day, and then reappear when the stars came out to play.  Aunty continued going to work, drinking her special juice, and sleeping.  And I continued going to school, being a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and not trying to be a pizza. 

     Speaking of which, Aunty had somehow not noticed that half her pantry is missing.  And when I say half her pantry is missing, I mean it.  Harry's a bottomless pit.  One time I brought him three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a bag of marshmellows, two cans of Sprite, three apples, and a whole box of Twinkies.  He ate all of it without even blinking an eye! I had to bring it all out in three different trips because I couldn't carry it all in just two hands.  I don't even know where all that food goes, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to.

     Anyway, I would go out every night and just talk with him.  It was nice to actually have a human being as a friend.  I mean, Mr. Tree was nice and everything, but I liked having someone actually respond to me rather than just sit there and look tall.

     Harry never talked about his past or why he ran away, and I never asked him.  I don't understand why that's so hard for people to do.  Sure, I was really curious about him, but if he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to talk about it.  End of discussion.

     I was thinking about this one night about a week after Harry had his buffet.  I was lying on the ground when he finished his meal and he decided to join me on his back, the conversation lulling for a bit.

     "You know, I think the world would be a much happier place if everyone just left everyone alone and allowed them to do whatever makes them happy and not push them," I blurted out, my face screwed up in concentration.

     "Yeah, but it would also be a very lonely place," Harry pointed out, pulling his arm up to rest his head on the back of his hand as he studied the black sky.

     "What's wrong with being lonely?  You ran away to be alone, didn't you?"

     Harry snorted.  "Good point, kid.  Where's all this coming from, anyway?"

     I shrugged.  "I was just thinking that people should mind their own business and stuff."

     "You know what I think?  I think that that should be the slogan for the world.  'Welcome to Earth.  Mind your own business and stuff.'"

     I grinned.  "I think that that would be perfect."

     "Autumn!  Where the hell did all the bread go?!" Aunty screeched the next morning, and I froze, halfway down the stairs.

     "Uhh, what are you talking about?"  I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as I stepped down and turned to enter the kitchen.

     "I'm talking about the fact that almost this whole loaf of bread is gone and I just went to the store a few days ago!" she yelled, shaking the loaf of bread at me.  Her face was beet red and her eyes were bulging.

     "Oh.  Uh . . .I've been sort of making myself sandwiches when I get hungry at night," I said quietly, shuffing my feet and subconsciously glancing out the small window towards the empty field with Mr. Tree rising high in the sky.

     "Damn it, Autumn!  You can't keep eating all this food!  I work so damn hard to stock this pantry and you plow through it like you're a teenage boy," Aunty threw the loaf back into the pantry carelessly.  She glanced at the clock above the stove, cursed under her breath, and threw a few coins at me.  "You'll have to buy your lunch today.  I'm late for work, and you're going to be late for the bus.  Go!  I'll see you tonight."

     She rushed out the door in a flurry, leaving me standing in the kitchen in my pajamas with a relieved look on my face and six quarters in my hand.

     "Hello?" I answered the home phone after it's third ring.

     "Hey, Autumn.  It's Aunty.  I've gotta stay at work for a while, so you're gonna have to make your own dinner, okay?" 

     "Okay," I said, twirling my blue crayon absentmindedly.

     "And don't use a lot of food.  We're running low as it is," Aunty snapped.  "And stop eating midnight snacks."

     "Okay," I said again.  I've learned that if you remain emotionless with Aunty, it gets harder and harder for her to yell at you.

     She just sighed on the other end.  "I'll be back at around 11:30.  You better be in bed by then, or else you'll be in big trouble, you hear?"

     "Yup."

     "Alright.  Bye."  Aunty hung up before I could respond, but that was okay.  I was distracted by a familiar face outside the window.

     Setting down the phone and my crayon, I ran outside.  The sun was beginning to set as I rounded the corner of the house and made my way through the overgrown weeds, a huge grin on my face.

     Hi, Harry!" I squealed, and hopped on him, wrapping my thin arms around torso.

     "Whoa!  Hey, kid," Harry chuckled, surprised by the sudden excitement, before picking me up with his strong arms and whirling me around once.

     When he set me back down, I coughed and took a few steps back, crinkling my nose.  "Good lord, Harold!  You smell nasty."

     Harry just shrugged, a smirk settling on his lips and his eyes glinting in the setting sun.  "What can I say? I'm a runaway; where am I supposed to shower?"

     "Why don't you just take a shower here?" I suggested.

     "What about your aunt?"

     "She's working late tonight.  C'mon, you smell like garbage.  I'll even throw your clothes in the wash," I said, turning around and marching back towards the house before Harry could even respond.  I stepped out of the empty lot on to the driveway first to make sure no one was outside, before motioning for Harry to come.