one thirty eight in the morning

the pre-journey journey

where r u?

i'm on my way, wbu

me too. see u soon.

my knees shook, every little shift of my bones seemingly echoed throughout the quiet house. every creaky stair and every door i squeezed myself through, every sound i caused seemed to amplify. i turned my phone off, making sure i take every precaution as i snuck downstairs to the guest bedroom.

since my bedroom was on the third floor and i had no trees to climb onto or ropes to climb down from, i decided to settle for the less extremely dangerous option. i closed the door behind me, holding my breath as i heard the deafening squeak of the door. i could only imagine my mother squirming in her sleep, a sixth sense that her daughter was up to no good. i could envision my older sister hearing about my endeavors and rushing to tell my disappointed parents. i could already hear their lectures.

i muffled my sigh and opened the window, the soft summer breeze hit me, waking me up from my no doubt  unlikely visions. after all, only the unprepared get caught. and i, was armed with everything i needed: an excuse and an excellent poker face. i slid the screen window up, and after a few embarrassing fumbles, climbed out the window with some ease. i landed on my feet with a quiet oomph, probably very close to silent to the unassuming ears. but to me, it was as if i just rang the door bell. closing the window, and forcing myself to face the darkness, i ran.

•

almost there

are u texting while driving again?!

...no

i rolled my eyes and leaned back on the tree a few blocks from my house. the grass was slightly wet from who-knows-what but i sat down anyway, covering myself from the street a few feet away. see? prepared. the occasional car would drive by and i forced myself to swallow the fear that it was perhaps my parents who were looking for me. they are asleep. the idea that it was also a blood thirsty killer looking for teenagers who snuck out also crossed my mind a couple of times. or perhaps the police because my older sister called after realizing it was not me in my bed- rather an old basketball and throw pillows. i took a shaky breath. this was always the hardest part.

please be here soon.