a life unlived

the road

...and the bus drove off.

there were many things that had gone wrong in riley's life. in fact, she'd written a list on a small, partially damp sticky note. it read,

a list of my problems.
• the stupid move!!!
• meg replacing me
• school sucks
• i'm all alone

it probably seems trivial to you. minor problems in a young girls life which she'd probably forget about after a few years. well, to riley, she felt those reasons were reason enough to leave; and leave she did. those reasons led her to the seat too big for her, on a bus much bigger, in a world too large for her to comprehend.

bzz bzz. bzz bzz. her phone silently vibrated in her pocket. this felt extra weird because of the bus vibrations mixing with it. have you ever noticed that? such a strange feeling.

she picked up her phone.

absent mindedly, she pressed the off button, which denied the call from her father. she thought to herself that maybe her father was calling because she hadn't responded to her mothers calls. her mind briefly stopped upon a thought,

"maybe i should call back?"

this thought sequence was then sharply interrupted by an older woman sat in the row opposite. she was wearing typical grandma clothes - a pink button up coat complimented by light purple flowers. she looked nice in it, though that grey knee length skirt didn't do her any good. she had a rather dark complexion and her silver hair coiled like a spring. riley noted how shiny her skin was, with light bouncing off even at such a late hour.

"sweetheart?" the woman voiced.

"hm?" response riley as she fidgeted with her fingers.
she was clearly nervous and understandably so. nobody wants a stranger to talk to them when they're doing something they're not really meant to do.

"are you alright over there, dear? you seem far too young to be travelling alone." she exclaimed, seemingly from a place of deep concern.

riley's eyes widened. being questioned this soon? the bus had only been driving for ten minutes. "i-i'm fine- thank you." riley had a tendency to stutter when she was shaken up a little.

"well, alright then," her delicate mouth shaped itself into an endearing smile. "i'll be here if you need anything. just ask."

with the conversation at a close, riley quickly focused her attention on the bus window. a nice distraction to de-stress. she knew the journey wouldn't be easy but she hadn't fully comprehended it. after all, it was an overwhelming situation for an eleven year old; running away from home on a long bus drive to minnesota. she had brought a colouring book in her bag to pass the time, hoping to make it less boring (or nerve racking).

she settled into her seat. this was going to be a long bus ride. a 28 hour bus ride, not including pit stops.

this is where her journey begins.