Sigh, Alaska: a short story novel

Lee Allen

Lee Allen was a vagabond at heart. From the time she graduated high school, she made it her point to never spend more than two months in any location across the globe. For the most part, she'd been able to maintain that goal. Sometimes she had to stay a little longer than she preferred (though who really minds spending an extra two or three weeks in France or Belize?), and she always made an exception for the Northern Lights Hostel, as she used it for home base during the winter. It had become her home away from the world.

She wasn't really sure when she'd made that decision, to make the hostel her base but she'd been coming back every winter for eight winters now. Sometimes she stayed the whole Winter Collective, but more often than not, she'd stay her two months, leave during the worst of winter and come back just before the spring tourists started to arrive. During the summer she bounced from state to state, country to country, and every winter you could find Lee signing up for Winter Collective.

There was something different about it this year, she thought. It was the beginning of March, and she had stayed through the worst of the winter, which was unusual. Lee couldn't decide what the difference was this year, but for some reason it felt more intense than previous winters. But now, she thought, was the perfect time to leave. It seemed there had been a great exodus of residents during February. Max and Daphne got their own place. Craig O'Reilly had gotten kicked out and poor Seth Hawkins had his heart assaulted by the jezebel Lacy Jones. It was time for Lee Allen to make the next exit.

Lee mostly agreed with Alyssa and Summer that way too much of their entertainment came from the shenanigans of Lacy and Daphne. Lee had a soft part in her heart for Lacy in particular. Mostly it was because it took her most of her twenties to learn about building appropriate boundaries. The first and biggest rule she instated was to never date someone at the same hostel. They could flirt and travel together, but sex was off the table. It was easier to slip away unscathed that way.

She tried offering Lacy a shoulder to cry on after Seth had erupted on her. She thought her own life lessons might have been useful in Lacy's situation. Lee had been sleeping, and was woken up by the commotion, Seth shouting and everyone watching. Lacy stood there, silent, tears streaming down her face and didn't fight back. She just let him yell at her and call her every name in the book. Lacy didn't defend herself, and Lee knew as she watched his slander rip across the vestiges of Lacy's soul that she felt she deserved every word.

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Lacy didn't accept Lee's offer of comfort. Instead of sticking around to hear how the drama unfolded, Lee decided to take a trip. If Lacy didn't want to listen to her, that was fine. The girl would figure out her problems eventually. Lee did, didn't she?

Pulling out her trusty pocket map of the world, Lee looked at all the small red circles on the map that indicated she'd already visited it. The blue circles reminded her that she'd been there more than once.

Looking east on the map, she zeroed in on India. Ah, to experience a fast and rich life that is mired in its own real third world problems, Lee thought. I think I will.

She reached for her computer; she started to research New Delhi and Mumbai. They looked pretty far apart on the map, but missing a trip to a new ocean could only be considered sacrilege. She loved the beach. Lee loved the feeling of sand between her toes, the ocean waves lapping up against her calves as she walked through the break. She never passed up an opportunity to go snorkeling. Lee couldn't understand how everyone else at the hostel didn't mind staying put all winter. There was something to be said about winter sports and the beauty of snow, but by December she was pulling out her hair with boredom. This winter she had a contract to finish out before she left, but now that her contract was over, there was nothing keeping her from purchasing a one way ticket to New Delhi. Well, unless Jeremy wanted her to stay. It'd been a while since they last saw each other, but Lee had more than one itch that needed scratching, and figured it was about time to explore her options a bit further. Even as she dreaded the idea of being settled down, she acknowledged the merit of the idea.

Over the winter, Alyssa had talked to her about maybe getting their own apartment once the summer tourist season was over. Lee wasn't sure if she could swing rent during the months that she would be traveling, but the idea aroused more than a passing fancy. At thirty three years old, living in a hostel was getting a little crowded. Passing through hostels while traveling was one thing, but to call one home no longer held the same appeal it had in the previous years. It seemed Lee was always washing someone else's dishes, and the drama that unfolded during the winter was better than any Latino soap opera she'd ever watched. At any rate, the rampant sex and drinking were not the kind of entertainment she was looking for. Well, not anymore. Lee's mind wondered what living with Jeremy would be like.