One Day

Deep brown eyes stare out at the horizon, the golden skies stretching on for miles across the open prairie. The trees sway in the wind as the dawn rolls on like the tide, sending the black scurrying for cover in the distance behind. The signpost that passes bears the name of a town not too far away, advertising a rest stop and restaurant combo, as well as hotel rooms and great tourist destinations; the ideal town for most to settle, but for this occupant, it is little more than a halfway point on the journey to freedom. Shifting in the seat, the woman with red hair, her roots brown as they chase the color away, sits up straighter in the small seat, pulling the Skullcandy headphones from her ears. During the night, the Harry Potter book on tape had finished, and silence had reigned, but in her exhausted state, her body had failed to react. For the first time in her memory, however, she'd slept through the night without fear of what might happen the next day. Would her mother bang on her door and yell that she needed help with the dogs, or that she had, once again, done something wrong, and she was selfish and lazy because, NOW, her mother had to do it... even though she HAD done it, just in her own way? Would her father message her from work and tell her that her mother was in a bad mood, or come home and start slamming doors, screaming and yelling behind it? WOuld her mother, once again, tell her what a selfish person she was, and that she hated her? When was the other shoe going to fall? When would her sanity finally break and carry her to a place she would never be able to escape from? Or worse... when would the day come that she would finally snap and end up taking one of two lives; her mother's, or her own? This night had proven to be one of the hardest but the most rewarding. Every cell in her body told her to turn back; to get off at the next stop and go back home, tell them she'd made a mistake and she was sorry, that she would never do it again if they only loved her. However, she knew there was never going back. Yes, there would be pain at losing their respect, at losing their love. There would be angry words and tears, but the benefits of what she was going to do outweighed every thought that played through her head, those words nothing more than damage done after 30 years of brainwash, scapegoat, and narcissistic intention pushed through on her by her own mother. She could relax. She could breathe. She could live. The woman next to her gave her a small, knowing smile, almost as if she could see behind the innocent brown eyes that gazed back, and see the world of hell that she was leaving behind. She could also see that the woman wanted to speak, to find out her story and see if her suspicions weren't correct, but not wanting to frighten her, or make her uncomfortable. Behind those hazel eyes, she could see a wealth of knowledge, but also a sweet figure who only wanted to do good in the world. They reflected everything she hoped to be one day, that she could now strive for because she'd taken one that one fateful step and reclaimed her life for her own. Over the speakers, the bus driver announced their stop, the small town coming into view. His voice broke the spell of the older woman's gaze, and her own turned back to the disappearing fields. There was a transfer station here, and she would be taking the next bus towards Salem, a new haven for the frightened girl who fought and survived to escape. A job had been promised by a lovely shop owner, and lodgings were being found for her at a local inn until a permanent solution could be found. To that woman, she owed her very life. One email, an application from a distance. One phone call, an hour long discussion, and the woman had jumped into action. She had friends in all the right places, family who had seen girls at the hands of people like her mother, and worked hard to make a better life for them. A new identity, a new look, a new home; all of these prospects awaited her. As they'd said, she only had to find her courage, and it would be for the better. She'd never be found, they'd said, and they were right. The woman with the hazel eyes was her guardian angel, and she'd more than made sure they couldn't be traced. Stepping off the bus, she followed in the woman's wake, never releasing the hand that held hers in its gentle grip. Trust.. absolute trust. This was what it truly meant to trust and love. Not empty promises and hollowed words. Not threats and screams that came with the nightfall. No bargains, no quid pro quo. Just one person helping another. She'd give it back someday. For now, she was honored to be the recipient. As the wheels of the next bus set into motion, her stomach released its tension and she fell back into a gentle sleep, free in the knowledge of what awaited her. This was her time to shine. She hoped her friends would understand, and support her decision to run. She'd tell them when the danger past, and hope against all odds they could forgive her. She loved them, so dearly. And her girlfriend... would she understand too? The past would always haunt her, but now she had a future, and it was brighter than every dawn before it, and shone twice as beautiful as the moon. When all was lost, she found her voice, and it now sang from the rooftops. Forever had finally come, and she was proud. Written while listening to: Angel's Fall by Breaking Benjamin.