The Escapade

The orange sun had peeped into the bus’s windows and kissed Ash’s cheeks. The sky was clear, and the clouds did not block the day’s rays to lighten up the environment. He sat near the window to refreshen his weary and tired soul. Over the events that he had been to, he had reminisced how hard it was to be a dancer. His life orbited only in turnings, slides, circles– he had grown fond of dancing.

 It was his passion, it seemed like he was born out of a love of dancing. His mother, Amy, and his father, Andy, had met during their youthful years in a dance competition. It seems like their genes on dancing had been passed on to their one and only son, Ash. He was having fun with dancing, not until he found it stale and never changing. He found it boring. 

He went away from his hometown to gain some sense of serenity amid his hectic schedule of being a backup dancer. He was planning to see the lighthouse at Geoffrey’s and the replica of the Big Ben of London at Mingles as he wrote it at his checklist-book. Ash never gave notice to his family members to where he was going to nor to his girlfriend. It was never easy– a backup dancer, a sophomore in college, a son, a boyfriend. A twenty-year-old man like him, when having immersed in these situations, will surely blow up. He had to weigh all things flawlessly. If he does a wrong choice, everything will fall like dominoes in a row– everything would ripple catastrophically.

Ash had now decided to have some time for himself. He wanted something new. His life was monotonous with all the dancing and beats. It was time for something natural and invigorating. 

When the bus had stopped to pick-up passengers on the street, an old lady sat beside him and smiled. Ash smirked in return. He sat properly with his back leaned on his seat. The bus he boarded was bound to a lighthouse near the coast. He was yearning to see the “real light of his life.” The bus only had three passengers– him, the old lady beside him, and a priest in front of him. 

Suddenly, the phone he was holding went Ting! His mother had texted him.

“Ash, where are you? We’ve been looking for you. Please do call us back. We miss you, honey,” his mother wrote. Instead of texting back his mother about his plans, he shut off his phone. He wanted isolation. Could he do this if his mother keeps on bothering him?

“Are you running away from your home, young lad?” The lady beside asked him. “I saw you shutting off your phone.”

The question shook his soul. Ash slouched back in his seat. Maybe he really was running away. His motive was to have a peaceful and quiet context. Yet, he did not realize that he was like diffusing himself from the roots of his family.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said while he placed his phone in his backpack. He had only brought with him enough clothes that would sustain him for his two-day plan getaway.  Am I really running away?  He thought. He continued watching the boxes of houses lined the roads.

The bus continued to run smoothly.

“Oh, are you angry with your parents? Or perhaps, did you get a ‘D’ in school?”

He was a consistent dean’s lister in their university. How could he get a “D” at school?

“No,” he chuckled while he transitioned back his gaze at the old lady. “No, not of course. I just wanted to have some time for myself. I just find my life stupid.”

The old lady giggled and said, “You’re just like my granddaughter. She also found her life stupid. She was a backup dancer. She isolated herself in the wrong way.”

She stopped talking for a while. Her tone had shifted dramatically. Her voice went cold. She continued.

“She became depressed and so,” she paused, “she hung herself,” the old lady said as tears ran down from her cheeks.

Ash felt goosebumps. They were the same as the lady’s granddaughter. A backup dancer like him. Both of them felt that life was repetitive and dull, they both have isolated themselves, yet the difference was that he sought peace.

Ash felt sorry for the old lady. He blamed himself for getting the old lady for being emotional. A couple of minutes ago, the old lady was just jolly and shining, but now she went blue and tearful. 

“I’m sorry,” Ash offered his handkerchief. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said sincerely.

The old lady accepted his handkerchief and wiped her tears. “No, it's okay. I’m sorry if I brought this up.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m also a backup dancer at our town’s TV shows.”

“Really?” the lady said while her eyes grew, “What a coincidence!” Her radiance of joy illuminated once more. 

“Yeah. Thank you for telling me this. This will help a lot,” Ash said seriously.

The bus halted at the bus stop. “Lexington!” the bus driver hollered. This was the destination that the old lady was coming for.

“Oh, I’ll stop by here,” the old lady stood. Ash aided the old lady. “Thank you, young lad,” the old lady said. 

While Ash assisted the old lady towards the exit, the old lady whispered in his ear.

“Every day is not a good day, but there is always something good in a day. Remember that young lad.”

The old lady went down. “Thank you for the handkerchief. I’ll keep this,” She said as she strolled away from the bus stop. The priest in his front also went down. Ash numbly returned to his seat with the thought from the lady– Every day is not a good day, but there is always something good in a day. This gave him a lesson to absorb.

The bus continued traveling. Ash brought his backpack to his side and grabbed his phone. He pressed the phone's on button. 

While the cellphone was processing, Ash continued to glance at everything they had ridden past. The green pastures, the children playing on the streets, the birds hovering above in a V-formation– he had now seen how life flows naturally. He had just been too harsh on himself. He always thinks that life will come at handy and will happen the way that we wanted it to be– Every day is not a good day, but there is always something good in a day, he thought.

His phone vibrated numerous times from its notifications– his girlfriend had called him eight times, his mother texted him, his co-dancers also sent messages for him to return for practice. Ash released a heavy sigh and turned his phone again. 

While on the ride, Ash noticed that he was near the beach. The smell of the wind had changed and had grown strong, the roars of the gushing waves can be heard, and the red blinking light of the lighthouse that he wanted to visit was at sight. 

Ash had already put on his bag. After some minutes, the bus stopped.

“Geoffrey’s Lighthouse!” the bus driver clamored.

Ash went down the bus. This is the perfect holiday, he thought. 

He walked by the aisle of the streets. He was finding a motel to stay. He saw several locals of the city and he asked them.

“Happy Holidays.”

“Happy Holidays, too. What can we do for you?” the good-looking chauffeur of a local motorcycle asked.

“Is there a motel here? Like, you know, any place where I can stay for a night?”

“Yep, there is. Just walk straight ahead and turn left. You need to turn right when you see a crossing section. Walk a little bit more, then you can see what you are finding for,” the chauffeur said as if he engineered himself the roads there. He mastered the shortcuts and all other establishments in the streets for he was a chauffeur.

“Is it near Geoffrey’s lighthouse?” Ash asked.

“Yes, it is. The lighthouse is at the back of the motel. The beach is behind the motel.”

“Thank you,” Ash said. 

 Ash followed the directions that the chauffeur had given him, and he found the motel. He checked-in a got a room for himself. He changed his clothes. From a white shirt and a pair of ash-colored jeans, he swapped it with a floral sleeveless shirt and a pair of black shorts. He brought with him his wallet and checklist-book.

The sun had now hidden behind the mountains and the moon rose. Ash visited some fast-food chains and exchanged “happy holidays” with the other locals and tourists. He drank a mug of beer to boost up his spirits and had a skewer as a partner. 

After having his body full, he decided to go to his first anticipated place– the lighthouse. He sprinted towards the ladder going up to the lighthouse. He grabbed every step of the ladder with conviction and determination. He was now about to see and feel the peace and quietness he had longed for. From the problems, concerns, breakups, disappointments– this was now a time for him to renew. When he reached the top, he found that he was the only one who went up. 

Perfect, now I get to enjoy this all by myself, he thought. He walked near the edge of the lighthouse and saw the moon resting on its cradle. He opened his arms to meet the wind as if he were embracing it. 

“I love my life!” Ash shouted at the horizon.

His problems went away with the wind. He had found peace. But he hasn’t found yet quietness. Despite the missing piece he had craved for, he relished the context he was in. 

Consequently, he grabbed his checklist-book and checked the little box beside his first destination. He had found peace. Now, it was time to find quietness.

After having completed his first aspiration, he went down and immediately headed towards his room. He placed his backpack under his bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep. 

The warm sun had awakened him. He turned on his phone and found out that it was already eight in the morning. He immediately rolled out of bed and seized his backpack. He got a new set of clothes, put on his phone and backpack, and went out to the motel’s desk and checked out. 

Before venturing to his second journey, he looked back at the lighthouse and smiled. 

He started strolling and stood at the bus’s stop. He watched his phone and cleared out all the notifications. After waiting for an hour, a bus sojourned at Ash’s front. He read the signage which wrote “Mingles.” The bus en route to his destination had a lot of passengers. He hates riding a vehicle with many passengers.

Another bad day, he thought. Suddenly, the old lady’s message for him crossed his mind again– Every day is not a good day, but there is always something good in a day. 

He settled himself on the bus. Ash got his headphones and cellphone and placed his backpack in the compartment luggage and sat comfortably, even though he still had the uneasiness of the environment around him. He boarded the bus and sat near the window again.

The air-conditioned bus revved up its speed. 

Ash plugged in his headphones to his cellphone and started playing his favorite song by Bruno Mars, “Talking to the Moon,” while he closed his eyes to let every word of the song saturate inside his heart.  

I know you're somewhere out there somewhere far away I want you back, I want you back– Bruno Mars sang. Because of the downcast spirit that the song conveys, Ash felt dejected again. Despite this, he never let the song sway away his glee.

I sit by myself talking to the moon. Trying to get to you. In hopes you're on the other side, talking to me too, or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?– now, Bruno Mars got inside Ash’s mind. The melancholic beat of the song had just made him tune in to the song’s lyrics. He had an angel’s voice. He had the looks, the moves, and of course, the voice. Ash just sang loudly but he couldn’t hear his voice because he had set the volume to its optimum decibel. 

When the song went to its instrumental part, he opened his eyes. His eyes widened when he saw that all the passengers on the bus were looking at him. They were listening to him. The passengers applauded at him. Ash’s face turned red because he got embarrassed.

A lady at his age, beside him, smiled and commended at him.

“Nice voice you got there,” she said.

“T..Th...Thank...Thanks..,” Ash said stutteringly. Girls like her were never new to him, but he got shy because he felt embarrassed with all the people’s ears and eyes on him, and even a girl appreciated him! This was what he needed– an appreciation. He already did great things like being a back-up dancer for the famous singer in their town, he won singing contests– but he never received any signs of appreciation even a thumbs up. 

The bus continued to run. He again looked at the window and saw the horizon shining with the sun’s light. He continued watching the beautiful sceneries at his side. The bus he rode will not stop to pick-up passengers since it was fixed to Mingles. This made him cozier since the last time he rode the bus going to Geoffrey’s, the old lady who sat beside him, shook his spirits. Not that he didn’t want anybody talking to him, it's just that he wanted to be alone. He wanted to search for the peace and quietness we had yearned for by himself– independently. He’s like a lone wolf hunting for his lone prey.

After three hours of travel, Ash heard the tolls of the bells– he had reached Mingle's Big Ben replica. The passengers went down, and he left the last so that he can be able to move freely. He got his backpack and went down with a hopeful heart. Ash needed one last thing– quietness. 

When he went down, he noticed the joyous people. 

“Happy Holidays!” a man in a clown’s costume greeted him. He greeted in response. He walked and he just found what he had been looking for– the replica of Big Ben in London. 

The real Big Ben in London measures 96 meters in height and is near the river Thames. The replica in Mingles only measured 70 and was situated at the park near the bus stop. The Big Ben replica was such a breath-taking spot for Ash. There were hundreds of pieces of glasses in each clock dial, the cast-iron girders were just fascinating, the big bells– they felt real, even though they are not real because, of course, this was only a replica. He immediately got out his checklist and pen and scribbled a check mark inside the box that he had set– he had finished his escapade.

He got out his phone and started taking thousands of pictures. He found quietness in there, but not the literal meaning. He found his mind and heart leaping. His life became noisy with rash judgments, unappreciated works, dull faces over and over again. This was the “quiet” that he was looking for. This was the thing that Ash had longed for. 

Carried away by his emotions, he hugged the base of the replica. He did not know that it wasn’t allowed. Suddenly, replicas of the Royal Guards in Mingles reprimanded him. 

“Sir, we’re sorry but this is not allowed,” one of the Royal Guards said.

Ash immediately cut off himself from Big Ben.

“I’m sorry officers,” Ash said.

The Royal Guards then continued roaming around Big Ben to safeguard the safety of the tourist attraction. 

He did notice the time that Big Ben already rang to notice the people that it was already six in the evening. That was the only time that he realized that it was already getting late. He saw the best-selling Steak and Monkfish of the restaurant near the Big Ben. He did not let the opportunity run away from him that he immediately bought one of them and ate it. 

He looked at his phone and saw that it only has 15% of the battery left. Now, the backup dancer had finished his tour to peace and quietness. It was time for him to go home. When he was walking towards the bus stop, he remembered what he will face again– unfinished dance practices and school projects, his son “identity”, his girlfriend. Amid these, he knew that he could take on any challenge as he has already reached the peace and quietness that would strengthen his soul. 

He sat down at the bench of the bus stop and grabbed his phone. He wanted to call his mother. It was only a matter of seconds after he called that his mother picked-up.

“Where were you, Ash? We’re worried about you?”

“Nah, just, you know, roaming up and about. I was looking for something.”

“What were you looking for?”

“Peace and quietness.”

“Oh, and have you found it?”

“Yes, I did,” Ash said when suddenly, a bus had arrived. Some of the passengers waiting boarded first but he climbed up the last. While he was walking, his mother asked him.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. I’m just you know, tired, I guess?” he chuckled.

“Oh, it's just another bad day. There’s nothing good these days.”

Ash just smiled and remembered the old lady’s statement.

“Every day is not a good day, but there is always something good in a day, mom,” he said

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it is true,” her mother said in response.