Away, Were Bound Away

She stares out the window as the summer rolls by without her. This is the summer of frantic packing, last minuet confessions, and parties. One last effort to make as many mistakes as possible before packing up the old minivan and leaving this small town behind. Everyone is excited to leave, rushing toward the future so fast they trip and stumble, all but her.

           She sits quietly in her spot on the couch, only the softest blankets and pillows were allowed to make up her makeshift nest. An abandoned book in hand as music played sweetly into her ears from her cheep headphones that were one tug away from snapping the chopper wire within. They worked well enough to block out the deceitful siren call of independence, tuition and board, the open road, and the pull of a big city. The thrill of adventure came with a hefty price, college loans, youthful ignorance, or having to start over in a big city all alone. Where was the fun in that? She would much rather sit in the comfort of her own home, unlike her honorary sister.

           Unlike her, her friend was always looking for an adventure. A scholarship was her ticket to the big city, room and all. The private institution promised new horizons and opportunities. Her friend was bold and outspoken, honest, and clear, while she was not. They were as different as night and day and yet the years they had spent together was now over a decade. She could still remember the first time they had meet.

           Their teacher from Sunday School had encouraged them to go outside and make new friends, telling two sisters with straight brown hair that were around her age, a small blond girl with icy blue eyes, and herself to play together. The woman’s good intentions were immediately ruined when the two sisters demanded to play hide and seek. Running around the side of the building she hid within the brush and waited for the two sisters to come looking for her and the blond girl, unaware that she was being watched from beneath the bridge, further into the garden. So, she sat and waited, and waited, and waited some more. But no one came.

           Once she was fed up sitting in the dirt all alone she got up and peaked around the corner of the building too see what was taking the seekers so long. Apparently they were much to concerned with playing on the churches humble playground than looking for their forced playmates. Fighting back tears as her face flushed with embarrassment, she considered going inside to find the book she brought when a short hissing noise caught her attention. It took hearing the noise a few times to figure out where it was coming from.

           Movement from under the bridge caught her eye, glancing toward the playground once more she went closer to investigate. Within the darkness was a pair of icy blue eyes, accompanied by blond hair. The girl from before was crouched in the darkness and gesturing for her to come closer. Without thinking she obeyed, the girl quickly made room for her.

           “I was watching them the whole time.” The blond girl hushed toward her, just as cross with the situation as she was. “They just told us to hide and then went to the playground.” She huffed. “I’m Mary.” She introduced herself after a moment.

           “I’m Autumn.” She responded quickly, happy to have some company, but there was a plan already forming within her mind. “Let’s stay here until the teacher comes back to get us.” The plan was a simple one, stay until the teacher came looking for them. Then they would tattle on the terrible duo. She watched as Mary’s eyes turn from thoughtful to mischievous, she didn’t need any convincing, she was in. Now, they had to wait.

           To fill the silence of their new waiting game they began to compare notes. Mary lived with horsed and chickens on the edge of town, Autumn lived with her mother in a small house in the quiet part of town. Autumn and Mary bother loved horses, dogs, books, and cartoons. They spun stories of fantasy and grandeur, and before they knew it the teacher was making her rounds, gathering the children under her watch. Eventually she found them crouched under the bridge and began to scold them for it.

           “Be careful,” She told them. “what if I didn’t find you?”

           “But we were playing hide and seek this whole time. They haven’t found us yet.” Autumn had said fainting innocence with sad and disappointed undertones. It worked; the teacher’s face went from guilty to well placed disappointment. She quickly ushered them out from under the bridge and called out to the sisters who were still on the playground. They all got a stern talking too, the sisters got a lecture about how unkind their behavior was toward the duo and that she was very disappointed in them while Mary and Autumn were told not to hide underneath the bridge anymore. No parents were called, and the dirt stains were well worth the look on the sisters faces when they showed up with the teacher in tow. Most importantly the teacher learned a valuable lesion that day, don’t force children into pity playdates, little did that woman know that she had set in motion a partnership that would last for over a decade.

           But now the years of childhood were coming to pass, and everyone expected them to grow up and move on. So there Autumn sat on her couch near the window in her childhood home waiting for that old dark blue minivan to come around the corner of her neighborhood. Mary was coming over during Spring Break, after she had visited her family of course, she was bringing snacks and Autumn had a Netflix account. They did this every time when Mary came back from the city, seeing each other and telling stories as if nothing had changed. It didn’t matter that in a few weeks or a few months she would be miles away and the only way they got to talk was over the phone. A piece of themselves would always belong to the other, a piece that would fit perfectly into place only when they were together.