Whispers Journey

The Beginning of everything

Hello, my name is Whisper Brooke Wilson. It wasn't always but this is the name I chose the day I gave myself my voice. I have had an amazing few years and it all started one sunny day when I was 12. I was riding home from a friends house as I tried to never be home, the train was blocking the road stopping traffic on both sides, it was stopped on the tracks and there was a boxcar open on both sides so I could see all the way through, I don't know how I knew but I just knew it was waiting for me to get in. I threw my bike in the ditch and climbed in and hid in the back corner where no one could see me p. My heart lurched into my stomach as the train began to move again I thought to myself "how could you be so dumb, what if you get caught? You moms gonna kill you for sure this time." I tried to calm down and thought well the worst that can happen is the cops will pull me out and send me home. I watched my sun soaked city fade away first at a lazy lumber then more quickly, I watched trees still blooming in the early spring air and soon the rocking of the rails put me to sleep. When I woke up we were still moving and I had to go to the bathroom, oh boy why didn't I think of this problem. I was also hungry and thirsty, there was never enough food at my house and I hardly ever asked for food from friends I was too embarrassed. I started panicking wondering what I'd say to police or the engineer when they found me, I wondered how far away from home I was now and how far we'd go before stopping. I decided that I'd NEVER give them my real name or information because underneath all the fear what I really felt was FREE! Tonight I didn't get hit and yelled at for no reason, I didn't have to care for my little brother and be watched in the tub by my moms perverted boyfriend. I was going to be free for as long as I could! I realized that my best defense was silence, if I didn't tell them who I was or where I'd come from they would have a really hard time sending me back to her. As all this swirled in my head I realized the train was slowing down, I saw other train cars as we pulled into a yard or a depot I wasn't sure where I was or what I'd do if they kicked me off the train. I hid deep in a shadowy corner but a flashlight found me and a voice boomed"WHO ARE YOU?!?" I stayed quiet, the mans face softened and he said Well there's a restroom inside and a café your probably in need of both I know I am, I won't hurt you I promise." I had no choice but to trust this man so I came to the door and he lifted me down and said well your just a little mouse of a thing, are you alone? I shook my head yes then looked down at the ground and kicked a rock and followed the man inside. I raced for the bathroom and after 10 minutes I came out and he was sitting at the café with two cups of soda and a burger for me. I smiled and joined him, I squeaked out a thank you and ate the burger in two bites almost. "Wow mouse you better slow down you'll get sick." His name tags read Oliver De'Kent it wasn't a shiny name badge so I knew he wasn't the engineer. "Do you have a name?" I stared at the table and pulled my straw up and down in my drink. "Ok, that's alright you don't have to talk but I hate to tell ya, you can't get back on the train or my boss will flip, I haven't called the police but do you have someone I can call to come get you?" "I spoke just audible "where are we?" "Just outside Big Sky, Montana it's a bit of a ride into town, do you have any money?" Again I looked at the table and now trying not to cry began to worry all over again. "Ok hun, I have a girl your age I'd hate to see her on her own like you are, I can give you some cash but I really think you should talk to a social worker or someone who can help you, you don't have to go back to whatever your running from but it's gonna be rough going on your own. I want you to put this money in your sock and don't ever show off how much you have, count it in the bathroom and only bring out as much as you need. Eat at least once a day and if anyone tries to touch you kick, scram bite whatever you have to do and run. Your strong I can see that, it took guts to do what you did. I gotta get back to work, you can sleep here till morning I'll tell Travis to keep an eye on you but you need to get going wherever you might be going by sunrise cause Roxy the day clerk will call the cops on you, she hates kids and most other people too for that matter. Good luck mouse." I smiled and thanked him and went in the bathroom to see how much he'd pushed into my hand, it was $500, crisp $100 bills, I'd never had that much money and the idea of having it scared me more. I folded the bills and put them in my sock under my foot and then put my shoe  back on and found a long bench to stretch out on. Travis walked by me several times an hour keeping other passengers at bay and then he shook me awake and said "Times up sweetie, gotta go." I got up and groggily asked "which way to town?" He gave me a tourist map of the surrounding are and circled Big Sky "Bout 15/20 miles, you could be there by lunch I bet" The morning air was sharp and cool, I didn't have a jacket so I just pulled my arms in tight and walked. I was always bad at directions so I just pointed myself toward the highway and knew I could find my way along the shoulder. As dawn broke I found a store that looked busy enough for me to go undetected but I knew I was gonna have to lie a lot, say my parents were elsewhere in the store or waiting outside. I found a nice spring jacket, some new tennis shoes and a backpack. I bout some snacks and soda and a notebook and pens, I was gonna keep track of all the people who had been nice to me so I could thank them someday. I parked my shopping cart outside the bathroom and went in and took one of the bills from my sock and tucked the rest back in, I'd also picked out a wristwatch and coin purse for change. I took everything to a busy checkout lane where the kid behind the counter didn't care that I looked too young to be on my own. He rang me up, looked at the $100 suspiciously for a second then decided he didn't care and gave me my change. On the way out I put on my new shoes and tossed my beat up one in the trash, put on my jacket and asked if there were any buses to Big Sky that I could get on. The woman I asked screwed up her face a bit and said well that's only 15 miles away I could give ya a ride. I looked in her rusting blue box van at the 2 snotty nosed toddlers eating gram crackers and juice. I smiled and thanked her. "Where are you parents?" "I live in Big Sky but my friends brought me out with them last night and left me, our phone is cut off right now and I know my mamas gonna be worried" That was way more then I intended to say but it seemed to satisfy her. As we pulled into the city she asked me where I needed to go "Oh I'm gonna be late to school, you can just drop me off out front and I'll call my mama when I get inside" She pulled up outside a large middle school and said "This the one?" I said "yes thank you" and ran for the doors. I ran inside as I heard a bell ring and and a teacher yelled "Come on people let's move, Walk and talk, get goin" I slipped in and went to the bathroom. I had $460 and some change left so I tucked that into my new sneakers and tried to figure out how to escape. I waited until I heard the halls clear and found a door near the gym open so the PE class could go out for morning exercises. 10 more minutes of walking and I was in the downtown district. I found a bench and dug into my snacks and soda watching for strangers as I ate. I'd heard that that there were a lot of bums that were always drunk in big cities and they would try to take your money and hurt you. I took out my notebook and realized I hadn't gotten the woman's name, she'd saved me hours of walking so I just called her Blue Van Angel. I sat tapping my pen and thought "well now what" I was states away from home and no one seemed to really care.