Traveling on a Dream

I Wonder (Departure

Sarah James was strong, and she was brave. All her life was spent on a farm, waking up at dawn and falling asleep when the fireflies twinkled like stars. The bright-eyed blonde had packed and repacked continuously in anticipation of her flight. This would be the last morning she shared with her mother and father, the previous breakfast, and the last time she would ride in her dad's green truck.

The bright-eyed blonde woke up early. Scratch that. She had difficulty falling asleep because she was so excited, but when the sun rose, she felt renewed and buzzing with energy. Instead of bouncing down the stairs like she always would each morning, she took a chance and slid down the banister. Throwing her arms in the air, she giggled.

"Someone's happy," her mother laughed and set the plate of pancakes on the kitchen table.

"I'm going to see my brother! It's been a year," Sarah twirled around with a big smile. "I wonder what kind of shows or movies he's acted in."

"He shouldn't have left." Her father grumbled, straightening out the newspaper. His salt-and-pepper hair has yet to fall out, and his skin is leathery from the sun. "And you were supposed to gather eggs from the chicken coop. Just because you're flying across the country doesn't mean you can skip out on your chores."

Her smile faltered, and she traced the edge of her chair with her fingertips. She bowed her head, and her wavy blonde locks curtained her face, which burned with shame. Despite her excitement, she was right about not neglecting her chores.

"Oh, Patrick, give her some leniency."

"I wasn't aware you knew that word." Her father snorted, poking fun at his wife.

The chair legs scraped against the floor as she pulled it out to sit down. Anxiously, she tucked strands of her hair behind her ears. Her mother's homemade pancakes were her favorite, but she felt she didn't deserve them.

"Eat up, dear." Her mother sat across from her father. The butter knife grated against the ceramic plate as she cut through the stack of pancakes.

Picking up her fork and her knife, she hesitated. The metal was cold against her palm. If she had forgotten to get the eggs from the chicken coop, what if she forgot all sorts of things in Los Angeles? What if she needed to remember the essentials she needed to pack? Slowly, she stabbed her fork into the pancakes and cut off a chunk of the rounded corner. Stuck in her thoughts, she completely disregarded that there was no syrup on her breakfast. Sarah watched her father reach across the table and grab the syrup. The viscous liquid dripped over her mother's lovingly made breakfast, and as if she was in a trance, she watched as it dribbled down the side of the pancake stack. Her mouth was watering, but was she worthy enough to eat? Did she truly deserve it?

"Sweetheart?" Her mother knit her brows in confusion. Her smile creased the corners of her mouth. Sarah's mother was a gorgeous woman that aged like fine wine.

"I'm fine." The blonde quickly shook her head, her curls falling over her shoulders. Picking up her silverware, she took a bite to satiate her mother.

Breakfast finished quickly because she needed to escape from her father as fast as she could. Isolating herself upstairs in her room, she put tape on the old radio on her dresser and sat cross-legged on her bed to rip apart the clothes she packed in her suitcase. ABBA Gold was her favorite cassette tape. Humming along to the music as she took all her clothes out to re-pack them in her suitcase again, she sang along under her breath. If her brother could make it as an actor, she couldn't help but wonder what it would take to be a singer. Although she wanted more than anything to travel around the world and immerse herself in the various cultures, it would be nice to have something that tethered her for a while. In the mornings, when she went around the farm saying hello to all the animals and collecting the eggs from the chickens, she would sing as she greeted them with a big smile. In a way, it kept her happy and sane. Life on the farm was blending after Lucas went to Los Angeles. The monotony of everyday life started making her lose her mind, but she had her escape.