Seven thousand sixty-five people draw breath in the small town of Wetumpka, Alabama. Seven thousand sixty-five plus one now that I have arrived. This is the town where HGTV did their short-lived series of 'Home Town Takeover' and where the "Big Fish movie" is set.
Wetumpka is located atop a 4.7-mile-diameter crater that is thought to be 85 million years old. These are the things I was aware of before my 30-year-old self relocated to care for my mother and attempt to mend our frail connection. I left my friends, my career, and the beach that I called home for ten years
I lived with her for about three months. The moment I leaped out of my window, like a thief in the night, with my tiny dog Anubis strapped to my hip. I took his leash and made a harness that supported his weight under his belly. There's a box of Lo Mein in my messenger bag. I landed in a prickly bush and ensured Anubis took no damage by holding my jacket around his body. My mother's screeches followed me so close I was sure she scurried out the window after me. I sprinted to the corner, lifted the black iron gate, and ran down the driveway as fast as my feet could take us to the dark woods.
When my foot touched the forest's edge, it felt like the vines grew fast on undeveloped land, down the trees, and across the ground; the only sounds were that of the woods. Crickets chirp, leaves are in the wind, and an owl who's in the distance. The long pines and sourwoods grabbed my hair as my feet took me deeper into the forest. Coyotes came out of the darkness to circle. The vines began to trip me at every step. It felt like nature attacked me because I was a bad daughter who could not save her. The forest was going to eat Anubis and me alive. Finally, after stumbling for the hundredth time, I collapsed among the forest's dead leaves, moss, and vines and cried. I cried for my mother, whose mind is too warped after being abused by her family. I cried for the childhood my mother, and I lost because no one wanted to help her, and I ended up in the system. Finally, I cried the simple fact that my heart hurt so much.
The coyotes sat near, never growling or snapping. They listened to my cries and screams; I wanted to give up; I didn't want to be in a world where my mother hated me anymore. After my eyes cried their last tear, I stayed on the forest ground, examining the night sky for answers. I remembered being in a similar setting once when I was a little girl, and somehow I made it through that. I felt a pull in my stomach telling me to get up. I gazed at the coyotes, who were already standing up and waiting. Yearning to find help, I shook off the leaves in my hair and decided to get down the mountain into town,
The forest was more forgiving this time when I started my journey, the vines did not trip, and the trees did not grab. The coyotes were still there, but it was like they were herding me. Walking too long in one direction, the coyotes would jump in front of me, not allowing me to pass. Time was meaningless, my body was fatigued, and every step pulled me closer to town but further from my mind.
I sat down the lo main as an offering to the coyotes when I started to see the lights of the town. The relief I had took my breath away as I fell down the last little bit of the hill. Mud caked my pants, and leaves stuck in my hair. The coyotes stayed at the forest's edge, howled, then turned and returned to the dark woods. It felt like I was saying bye to old friends.
The woman I made contact with helped us for the night. In the morning, while a friend and I were driving by the woods to get clothes, I realized how treacherous the area I walked through was. There were dips and dives where I could have been trapped for days. A deep, fast-current creek that partially ran underground should have been the death of me. So many things could've happened but didn't.
If you had asked me in those first three months, I would have told you that this move to Alabama was the worst mistake on the planet. I had no friends. My mom's mental health declined so much that she would be scared when I woke her up. In her mind, she didn't know who I was. However, after that night in the woods, fate decided to make plans. I got a promotion at work, found my soul sister, and found love in a man I never expected. My mom doesn't always know who I am, but we have a system so I won't have to flee at night. I didn't heal in the way I thought I would. I don't have a typical Mom that loves me unconditionally, but I have a support system that does love me. They love me enough that even though my mom doesn't always know who I am. I can show her the love she should have gotten when she was a child, and maybe in our next life, we can try to be mother and daughter again.
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Stort Stories
Short Story(How I heald)- A short story about a girl who goes through the woods to find herself (If only they stayed)- A Short story about a girl who losses her parents in a fire with a twist.
