I made my way down the spiral staircase, the steps shook as I placed my foot on each one. Watching the window panes slip from my view and emerging below the stories almost made me loose my footing.
Mom stood in the doorway, holding my suitcase handle with one hand and clutching the doorknob with the other.
"Ready to go home?" She asked.
I bit my lip. No. "Yes."
Mom smiled and opened the door to the street.
I'd miss this places' warmth. The old colonial building with creaky wooden steps and the smell of honey had made it's home in my mind as a sweet memory. And now it would be a memory forever.
I took one last look at the house before shutting the red door and walking down the porch to the taxi out front.
We hopped inside and I watched as the hill slowly faded away in the distance, the comforting facility sitting on top waving goodbye.
I didn't have happy memories there, the many, many people all sick around me, and hearing them cry out at night made me even more uneasy, however I loved the times when I was out of my mind and laying there without the consciousness to worry. And it all smelled like honey.
As countryside turned to town and then to city, the hours of silence between my mom, the taxi driver and I turned to light conversation as we turned among familiar roads.
New York City circled around us, buildings with memories took shape, and I felt my heart begin to race as the taxi pulled up in front of the familiar apartment building.
"Here we are, Maya. Get unpacked please." Mom spoke with less enthusiasm than before to my surprise.
I nodded and pushed the car door open, tugging my suitcase and opening the door to the apartment lobby.
Up three flights of stairs took a good twenty minutes. I started coughing after the first few which made my mom go into a frenzy and drop her suitcase to make sure I was okay.
She then took both of my suitcases and I had to rest after the first flight and drink some water. Then I crawled up the next few stairs, and eventually made it to our floor.
Into the place we called home and into my room immediately. I laid down on my bed and almost fell asleep from exhaustion.
"Maya, unpack please. Then you can go visit your friends."
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Friends. Things were different now, I suppose.
I rolled off my bed and landed on the floor with a thud. Then, without actually standing, I scooted myself on the carpet to my closet and unzipped my suitcase, dumped the entire content into my laundry hamper, and rolled back to my bed.
"Done." I mumbled to myself, then hoisting myself back up onto my bed only to sit right back up again.
My desk was someplace I never sat at. The chair was uncomfortable, the light was too bright. I piled things there because I only ever sat on my bed for comfort.
On my desk was something I'd forgotten about before my little trip.
I swung my legs around my bed and placed my feet on the floor to look at the book sitting there.
The thing that I had last touched before I left.
-
"Where are we going?" I laughed as Riley's hands pressed against my eyes.
"Trust me. You'll love this." She giggled.
I walked forward hesitantly as I couldn't see where we were going.
