The Perspective of a Blackbird

Chapter 5

I think back to when I departed from Calabasas, California four years ago.

When Stella left with no warning Evelyn was absolutely ignorant. She disapproved of her from the start, mainly because of the fact that I had a girlfriend. Evelyn believed that she was the cause of my sudden change of mindset. When I left 19 hours after her, on February 8, she didn't try to stop me. Then again, I didn't give her a chance to. She didn't realize either of use was gone for another 3 weeks after.

I took my credit card and left. Walked to the bank, took out a large sum of cash, and then bought a one-way ticket to Thessaloniki, Greece. I stayed there for 72 days, maintaining an online job centered in America.

And then I went to New York;

then drove to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota;

and then Augusta, Maine;

Quitman, Arkansas;

Broussard. Louisiana;

Palm Beach, Florida;

Forks, Washington;

Halfmoon, Montana;

Banff, Alberta, Canada;

Saint-Ouen, Paris, France;

Kaysersberg, Alsace, France;

Harbouey, Further-Et-Moselle, France;

Greenwich, London, United Kingdom;

Tromso, Norway;

Kemi, Finland;

Hallormsstaoaskogur, Iceland;

Scamia, Skane, Sweden;

Athens, Greece;

Benasque, Pyrenees Mountains, Spain;

Bockenheim, Frankfurt, Germany;

Wola, Warsaw, Poland;

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Perm, Russia;

Aden, Yemen;

Vatican City, Rome, Italy;

Fongafale, Tuvalu;

Medina, Arabia;

De Aar, South Africa;

Hayakawa, Yamanashi, Japan;

Beijing, China;

Seaside, Oregon.

And through all my travels I passed through so many other locations. Like Austria, Peru, Sierra Leone, Guinea, China, Thailand, Ireland, and New Zealand. Passed, but did not stay.

Yet, Evelyn did not contact me once in the past four years. Didn't even try to find me, as far as I'm aware. As a child, I wasn't even close to my brother. However, my sister, Constance, and I were inseparable. But she got married two years ago and no one messaged me then. I found out through the internet.

Which all leads me to believe there's some other reason my mother wants me home. And knowing her as well as I do, it can't be good.

I exit the email and struggle to focus on the waiter that just arrived. I pack my order away, too distracted to eat, and focus on the heat that's blasting out of the vents.

Before I leave, I purchase a plane ticket from the Winnipeg Jasper Armstrong Richardson International Airport to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The plane departs at 1:00 pm tomorrow, the 27th of March, and is intended to arrive at 4:45 pm. From there, I'll likely take an Uber to the family home in Calabasas, arriving at approximately 5:50.

I send a brief email to my mother.

I'll arrive at 6:00 pm tomorrow. I expect compensation for my travel expenses.

Even though I have enough savings to buy the ticket without much worry, that money is intended for my journeys and not for flying around at the behest of my family.

The book I was going to purchase gets forgotten in the whirlwind of thoughts. After thanking the storekeeper, I head out with plans to rid of my rental car.