Hero's Journey

Reilly McKevitt

Contest #91

29 May 2021

Dedicated to Sasha and her boundless amount of positivity.

Hero's Journey

If my life was a book, it’d be a prequel. Each sentence would be structured out of deranged lies and hopeful falsities, setting myself up for a magical future. But every page would be an eyesore to read, or to even conceive, because the possibility of my goals- or my “call to adventure,” ever occurring are very low on the scale. I live my life as if it’s a prequel. As if one day, my story will emerge with a bright and shiny cover, displayed on the racks of a nearby Barnes & Noble, and emboldened with the stamp of approval: New York Times Bestseller.

But the painful truth is that my life has been built upon a stack of hypotheticals, balancing precariously high up in the sky. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the hypotheticals I’ve forced myself to believe are touching the moon right now. That’s how long the list is. Every early morning car ride to the local, dingy community college, every night washing dishes for minimum wage at the local Thai restaurant, every argument with my parents has to be worth it. Because it’ll set up my “call to adventure.” It’ll set up my “hero’s journey.”

Except everything about that is doubtful. Especially when I’m sitting in the desolate parking lot of a library, far past its closing time. Whatever this was, it was far from developing into a story. 

“Soooo, why are we here again?” I hugged my arms around my chest despite the stifling summer heat. I glanced over at Brynn Lewis, my best friend since the ninth grade, her blond hair tucked in an effortlessly, messy bun.

“Lighten up, Jia.” Brynn huffed, wrestling one of my arms out from my chest. Brynn was confident, calm, and smart. Her life was full of a future. The exact opposite of mine.

“We’re literally in the parking lot of a library,” I said tiredly, “and it’s closed. I just got back from work, and I thought you were going to drop me off…”

I trailed off as Brynn pulled me to the entrance of the library. She turned around, smiling proudly at me. She plucked a bobby pin out of my dark, long hair. “Thanks, I’ll give it back to you in a minute.” Next, she pulled her wallet out of her jean pocket, fishing for her credit card. 

The gears in my head started turning, and panic was caught in my throat. “Why are we breaking into a library? Like, out of all the places in the world to choose from? Not that I’m trying to justify this…” I went silent as I watched Brynn work her magic and then click! The huge glass doors were unlocked. 

“C’mon!” Brynn dragged me in, snorting at my protests. “It’ll be fun. Don’t you love reading?”

I rolled my eyes. Brynn and I had bonded over a particularly nerdy book series when we were both fourteen, but that was the only book series I had ever been remotely interested in. Brynn was the reader. She took all the advanced language arts classes in high school, and was working her ass off in community college to transfer to a big university so she could major in English and literature.

However, despite the fact I hadn’t read a book since the series I once connected over with her, Brynn still believed me to be some sort of book worm. “Sure, sure, Brynn. Now why are we here? This is a crime, remember?”

"Mhm, whatever," Brynn said, her eyes glistening with mischievousness. She was always impulsive. But it added personality to her already outgoing character.

We seated ourselves at an oaken table. "Come on. This can't be the worst thing you've done." Brynn chastised when she noticed my frown.

I couldn't suppress my smile. "Yeah. yeah, you're right. I've had worse worries about my AP Chem class."

I don’t know how long we spent talking, spilling secrets, telling jokes and poring over a collection of books, ranging from Greek Mythology to conspiracy theories, but eventually I fell asleep. Brynn had successfully roped me into coming to a random library in the dead of night. For no reason at all. Or perhaps that’s what I thought. 

But when I woke up that morning, I was confronted by an older, spindly woman. She towered over me, clicking her tongue. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Her hair was gray and dead. As dead as the look in her eyes as she stared at me. My heart seized, and anxiety coursed through my veins.

What happened last night? Where was Brynn? And what the hell am I supposed to tell this woman? Who even was this woman?

I lifted my head groggily. “Oh, uh, sorry.” 

She had a name tag on: Jane. I could only assume she was the librarian.

So, I shifted out of the chair, backing away from her. The religious part of me prayed that she hadn't called the cops on me yet.

“How the hell did you get in?” She spat. 

Before the conversation escalated, I took off running. Out through the library doors, past the still desolate library parking lot. I kept running until I eventually made it home, which happened to be a thrity minute run. I then proceeded to lie to my parents about staying at Brynn’s house, and then up to my room I went.

I called Brynn to no avail. Her phone went straight to voice mail.

My mind was going 100 miles an hour. My heart hammering at an equally fast pace. What had happened last night? I pulled open my book bag, and tucked neatly inside was an unfamiliar book. It was titled Temporary Things. The cover depicted tendrils of smoke, framing a silhouette of a petite girl Slowly, I opened the cover to the first page. And there, written in pencil, was a mysterious message: Don’t go looking for me. I'll be brb.

I didn’t even have to blink to know this was Brynn. But I couldn't comprehend why she would tuck this book in my bag. Or why she would leave me all behind?

My heart clenched, and suspicion and confusion fogged my mind.

The part of me that had yearned for a story, for a call to action, came to life. I had dreamt of this moment for years, hoping for some spontaneous event to turn my world-upside down. But it had always been a beneficial event. This message, scrawled in a random book from my best friend didn't seem good. In fact, it seemed bad. Sinister.

So, here it was. My hero’s journey. But for the first time ever, I didn't know what to do with it.