Into the Twist

Chapter 5

I slowly blinked my eyes open; my eyelashes brushed against my face.  I slowly took a deep breath and inhaled the cool air. Strands of my golden hair hung by my lips and curled around my chest. My eyes finally cleared up, and I suddenly saw a breathtaking sunrise. I squinted at the bright orange sun as its rays danced upon the treetops. The sky built a rainbow from the horizon as if it was magic. My lips widened into a smile. “What a wonderful way to start the morning,” I thought to myself.

I rubbed my eyes and took another glance around me, still lying in my dark grey sleeping bag. I was in a parking lot, built up by grey cement. Its walls crumbled, exposing me to the overgrown forest.  Some parts were covered in faded graffiti, and many areas had weeds poking out of the ground. It wasn’t paradise, but it was home. It was the place called home for fourteen years. It was the home I have been accustomed to, safe from the rest of the world.

 I glanced back at the sunrise to see the forest ablaze by its lights. There were layers of thick forest trees, only some fully bloomed. A twisted, branchy forest loomed ahead. Still drowsy, I pushed off my thick, traded army sleeping bag and moved my hair out of my face. The chilled cement floor stung my feet, and a quick gust of wind sent a shivers down my spine. The air seemed to contradict itself.  One moment the warmness of spring encircled me, the next, the cold wind prayed for me to stay in bed.

“Come on sleeping beauty, get ready!” yelled what sounded like Matilda a few stories up.

With a tired voice, I yelled back, “I’m coming!”

I swiftly pulled on a pair of ripped denim jeans, a black tank top and some wore down combat boots. All of my clothes perfectly clung to my body. With a flick of my hair, I ran to a thin room, carved with stairs. Step after step, I ran up a dark, sheer staircase that led up to the sixth level.

After running up three flights of stairs, I caught my breath. The howling wind played with my hair.  I stood at the very top of the parking lot. The roof was the only part of the building that wasn’t fully damaged. It gave us a good height advantage just in case house crashers or attackers approached. The quick wind cluttered my hair on my face. Frustrated,  I swiftly pulled it back into a ponytail.

I wasn’t the only one up there; In front of me stood my gang. However, I wouldn’t call it a gang, more of a group. If you didn’t have anyone to stick to you’d be a goner in minutes. Matilda, Fawn and Fern, or blue, pink and green as I liked to call them, were my family. Not by blood, but I still entrusted my life with them. They all had their own set of personalities and characteristics. In the end, they always cared for me. They weren’t like other people, I can tell.  They even had a very specific color that they liked to wear, if they could get their hands on it.

Matilda turned to me as she spoke, “So, you’re finally up, sleepyhead.”

“I didn’t sleep that long,” I responded.

“Look, it’s finally your turn at the market, shorty. Don’t be slow” Fern teased at me.

“I know that, and I am not short! I’m only fourteen, and you’re twenty-six!” I snapped back.

She replied very boringly, “Yeah, whatever shorty you better go.”

Fawn broke the sudden silence, “Amora, sweetheart, here’s an apple for breakfast, and be safe ok?”

“Thank you,” I said giving Fawn a reassuring smile.  

I approached the dark, grey stairs. Once I stepped down the crumbly stairs, darkness enclosed me. Only the small peeps and cracks let in some light. The stairs spiraled down, lower and lower. At the end, I saw an outburst of sunshine and quickened my pace. I stepped out of the twisting staircase.  I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light to take another step forward.