November // n.h

i

               O N E

I stand up and wipe the sand off from the back of my jeans. The wind still messing up my hair and pushing my back. It almost seemed like it wants me to move quicker, like something important is going to happen and I am not the person who will miss it. Like I am the person who is supposed to live that moment without taking it for granted. This is insane, I am going insane. Waking up each night isn’t healthy at all.

Eventually, I do move and right now, I am prepared to talk. Actually I want to let something out of me. My chest is just getting heavier and heavier, it’s making it difficult for me to breathe.

Small town, on one small island that belongs to the Isles of Scilly just around the coast of Cornwall. That’s where my place is; that’s where I belong. Everyone’s a friend and they could read you like an open book but sometimes they rather judge than understand. Although there is a different, bigger problem. We don’t often get the news from the bigger cities. The capital of England or even Cornwall and I find it annoying but sometimes, just sometimes, I get those days that I feel like our town – village I should say – is hidden. I feel like we are something precious and people that know about this place are insiders. Right then and there, I find myself sitting at the beach, watching the clear blue sky and thinking of how charming this place is.

Whenever the time comes, whenever the holidays are just around the corner, all the other teenagers and young adults book tickets and when they can, they fly to London or any other city. Just to feel that little bit of freedom. I prefer to stay here, it’s peaceful and that’s what I need.

There are supermarkets with food and sweets. There are individual sweet shops. On one street we have a hairdresser; on the other street we also have a hairdresser. It seems like one hairdresser is not enough but no one seems to mind. What else is there needed to live?

Honestly, I don’t understand why people actually want to escape this place. It might be little, and the opportunities here are not the best but at the end of the day, all of your friends are here. So why leave them behind?

To me, it just felt like leaving your childhood behind. Leaving a part of yourself to move somewhere new and unknown. I wouldn’t be able to do such a thing. There are pros and cons of each situation and staying in Old Grimsby, would be better for me rather than moving to London or some other place. Danny always wanted to leave. He was always talking about those big cities, the lights surrounding and guiding you. Even if he was just mocking around, I would never move.

I close my eyes lightly, shutting my mind out of the memories that come once more; that flood me again, but this time, I am not asleep. As I try to walk on, someone grabs my shoulders stopping me halfway.

“Whoa, are you alright? You look pale, love.” An unknown thick accent travels to my ears and instead of opening my eyes, I furrow my eyebrows trying to find out where that accent is from. But as nothing comes to my head I open my eyes and notice a blond lad in front of me. His blue irises focused on me, making it a little awkward.

“Um, yeah. I’m alright.”

He smiles and something looks familiar. He looks familiar. I must have seen him somewhere. There’s just no remembrance of where I have seen him. It’s like I’ve seen him through a fog. This thick fog that made everything seem so blurry.

“I… I have to get going.” I utter, passing him by. Without further words, I just walk on still feeling his eyes focused on my back. I noticed something in his eyes when he was looking into mine. Those blue eyes contain something that I can't put my finger on but I understand it beyond doubt. And it scares me.

Shaking my head, I keep on walking. Not focusing on that bloke might be hard. I swear I have seen him somewhere but that memory isn’t clear enough for me to know where I have seen him. His face too familiar to forget. And maybe that is it. Maybe I forgot where I have seen him, but I didn’t forget his face.