The Among

Part 1

Chapter 1:

Trial and Error

Salty tears that fell from the heavens sang a somber tune as a yellow cab pulled up to the driveway in front of an old house. There was a girl who stood impatiently at the doorstep waiting for the last fifteen minutes it took for the taxi driver to get his butt in gear. She let out a sigh as she clenched her bags tightly in her closed fists, an extremely pale and thin girl stood shivering in the cold and damp.

"It's about time," she muttered as the cab driver offered to put her things in the trunk. Her mother who was a middle aged woman with delicate flowing hair who frantically raced after her before she got into the vehicle.

"Flamour," the woman said hesitantly as she drew a soft breath placing small hands on both sides of the girl's shoulders staring deeply into her eyes. "This decision has nothing to do with you, no matter how much you believe you are the cause.....you are not. Things just don't work out we all would like to believe, and if you come live with me, I promise that we can work it out together, there is no reason why you should have to go on the adventure alone."

Flamour bit her lip as her green eyes stared into her mothers, she looked down and shrugged off her mother's hands.

"Let's cut the bullshit, mom. I know what you are trying to do...you are trying to take me away from dad so that you can play devious cards to make him look like the asshole. Well, guess what? You are both wrong. Ever since I was little girl you've always been at each other's throats and I could do nothing about it because I was a minor. But now mother, I am doing something about it...I am taking back my life while I am still young...you and dad can live out your miserable manipulative lives and maybe one day when you both are in the grave, I can forgive you for your ignorance, but for now I am leaving and if you so much try to follow me, I will have you arrested for harassment and neglect, because that's all I have felt through my eighteen years of life," Flamour's words cut through her mother as the woman desperately tried to find her voice. Slowly the woman nodded.

"Fine, fine. I know I messed up, but that doesn't mean I won't stop loving you any less. You are an adult, and you are entitled to your own decisions, but just know if you ever need a place to stay or have whatever is left in that cold and empty heart of yours to forgive me with, maybe in the future we can make amends and start over." Flamour looked at the taxi driver who was revving his engine, impatiently, as she broke away from her mother's glance. She quickly wrapped her mother in a brief hug and the pulled away before getting into the car. The feeling lingered for only a moment as the realization that would be the first and last time she would vowed to ever feel loved again.

If there was anything that Flamour was feeling was the hopeless feeling of regret and a hint of malice towards the way her life turned out. Even at a young age, she blamed herself for everything that went wrong in the home. Being bullied at school didn't add much to the situation either; she felt there was something wrong with her, for being so distant from other people. Caught up in her own little world she never felt the need to connect to anyone and spent most of her time drawing butterflies on herself in various spots of her skin whenever the depression became too much for her.

The girls eyes glazed out the cab window as she fixated on the glass hardly noticing the taxi cab driver glancing so often in the mirror. He was a middle-aged light toned Middle-Eastern man with a very crisp and foreign accent. His eyes sparkled with a sense of friendliness--as he continued his focus on the slippery road ahead.

"Penny for your thoughts, miss?" he asked softly.

Flamour continued to stare out her side of the window before making a remark. She felt a churn of an icy cold effect rumble in her stomach as she slowly began to open her mouth to speak, but then shut it, withdrawing her urge to say something she would regret.

"No," she said simply, "my thought's are worth more than you make in an average salary,"

The taxi driver shifted in his seat slightly as he gripped the steering wheel with two hands and nodded his head in defeat.

"Fair enough, sorry I asked," he spoke softly before shutting the divider that separated him from the cold-heart girl that he was servicing.

The young petite girl continued to stare out the window with a vacant expression on her face. The rain had slowed down to a light mist as the cab rendered idle during the experience of a red light. Flamour sighed as she glanced down at her phone which had notified her about breaking news. She scanned the phones screen as her eyes lit up with delight.

"Aurora Borealis to be seen all over the world starting at four PM," she mouthed the words as she felt a slight tinge of comfort in her chest. The Aurora Borealis was the one thing she had always wanted to see in her life. Browsing through pictures, watching video clips, and researching the atmosphere's light display was the one of few things that intrigued her. The taxi resumed its departure towards the girl's destination as she continued to stare out the window. Beyond the rain pellets that clung to the transparent texture, was something peculiar that caught Flamour's eye: an American kestrel hawk followed the cab within close proximity. Whenever the cab stopped at a stop sign, or began to yield to a yellow light, the hawk would perch close by as if it were looking for something. Flamour watched the as the small bird continued to follow her cab until the vehicle finally stopped and pulled into an airport terminal. The cab drive slid open the divider and turned around.

"Your fair is Thirty-two, fifty," he said softly.

Flamour looked at him and then dug in her pocket and pulled out two twenty dollar bills.

"Keep the change," she smirked a devious grin as she exited the vehicle, waiting for the cab driver to pop the trunk. As soon as the trunk was lifted she grabbed her suitcase and tail of the vehicle and headed into the terminal, her grand adventure away from home was just a three hour flight away.