Gypsy~S.M.

Good-byes

Not sure if this will be any good. Publishing just this part and seeing if I will continue. Any comments or suggests welcome.

The young girl sits at her desk staring out the window. The sky is a muddled bluish-gray and everything is wet with dew. She looks at the letters that are stacked in front of her-5 in total that are addressed to the only people she cares about in life. Well, the only people that care back. It makes her a little sad that she doesn't have more people to let know that she's leaving. Yet, the 5 that will miss her may not take it well. She knows if she dwells on it too long she'll lose her nerve and never leave. She stands up and looks around her plain room once more thinking about taking more trinkets and clothes. But that goes  against the idea of what she has planned. To live a gypsy's life  you only need essentials at least that's how she thinks about it in her head. She only knows about gypsies from movies and tv shows. Like her favorite show Hemlock Grove.  At only 20, she's sure that everything she knows about them is probably  all wrong. But its the idea of just going from place to place and living free that calls to her. She just doesn't want to feel trapped anymore. With a sigh, she continues to scan the room. There are no photos of family or friends on the faded purple walls. Just one poster of Shawn Mendes stares back at her. She walks over to it and runs her hand over his face. It's from a magazine and a few years old. She smiles at him and whispers, "Bye confidante. You were the best listener I could ask for." She closes her eyes and thinks of the countless times she stormed into her room ranting to paper Shawn about her day.  It was crazy talking to a picture, but it somehow helped. Just like his music did. She has a wide variety of taste in music like her Dad and something about Shawn's lyrics and voice always touched her. Oh and he is incredibly cute. Finally she scoops up the letters in her hand bejeweled with silver rings and a henna tattoo thats fading. She grabs her old faded black backpack- that has frayed patches of unicorns and owls plastered all over it-and tosses the bulging bag over her shoulder. She walks out of the room quickly before she can change her mind.
Her first stop is her younger sister's bedroom. Elena is at school and her room feels so still without her enthusiastic  energy in it. She walks to the small bed and lays the letter with Elena written on the front next to the pillow. Jude looks around the room and smiles. Her 14 year old sister isn't the typical teen. Her room consists of test tubes and thick books on chemistry and other sciences Jude doesn't understand. She runs her finger across the dresser mirror where pictures of her and her sister smile back at her. Elena is the only thing that makes her hesitate. In the end, she knows that Elena will be all right. She is going to graduate early. Yeah, her sister is that smart, at 16 she'll probably be going to an Ivy League school. Her little sister is so much more mature than she is anyway. Elena knows how badly Jude wants to leave and though she has talked her out of it several times in the last year-this time she really needs to go. Jude hopes that Elena will accept it and still love her. She gives a quick pet to Elena's giant panda by the door and exits. The next stop is to her aunt Elizabeth's room. The room is dark and smells of fresh laundry. Aunt Liz is in the shower and her unmade bed is the only place Jude can think to leave the letter. The rest of the room is so cluttered it is a hoarder's paradise. She sighs as she puts the letter on the bed knowing that her Aunt may not see it today or even tomorrow. She works two shifts and sometimes falls asleep on the sofa. Inside the letter to her aunt also holds $400 to help with some bills and in case Elena needs anything. Though she knows the whole 400 will end up being saved away for Elena. Her aunt has never asked for money or help despite Jude working at a bakery since graduation a couple of years ago.  Jude would still offer or buy groceries, but in the end appreciated her aunt for doing it all herself. Aunt Liz had taken care of them for 3 years. Yet, Jude couldn't say she has a good relationship with her aunt. They barely speak to each other unless there is a true necessity to do so. In fact for the longest times she thought she was invisible to her. Aunt Liz dotes on Elena and that makes Jude happy so she never makes a big deal out of it. Jude has never cried or sought out more attention. Deep down she knows the reason and it was confirmed one night a couple of years ago when she found her aunt crying as she held a picture of Elena and Jude's mother. Astoria died in a car accident with their father Jesus. A drunk driver had run them off the road as they were rushing to see Jude in a play. Elena was sick that day and stayed home with the babysitter. Elizabeth and Astoria were very close sisters. Elizabeth was trying to be a actress in New York, but was really just a waitress hoping for a big break when her sister died.  Their family was originally from Romania. Astoria and Elizabeth were born in America to immigrant parents that both died before Jude was born. The day that Elizabeth came for the funeral, she was taken a back at how much Jude looked like Astoria. She hadn't seen her sister or her nieces in four years though they talked daily. Elizabeth held so much guilt for not visiting more. With no other family, she had to take responsibility for the girls. So Jude knew and understood why Elizabeth had a hard time with her. She is a constant reminder of the sister her aunt lost. Everyone has always told Jude that she looks exactly like her mother. Jude is beautiful with olive skin and long curly raven hair. She has eyes so dark brown people often commented they were black. But it was the exotic look of her eyes that was the most noticed. They are almond shaped-the outer edges turn up slightly with long thick lashes. On the other hand, Elena looks just like their father. She has a slightly darker complexion with big, round light brown eyes. Her hair is just as curly but chocolate brown. Jesus was Mexican- American and spent his whole life in Texas. Jude often wondered how a simple southern boy won over her sophisticated city girl of a mother. She chuckles to herself remembering her mother explain it. She and Aunt Elizabeth grew up in Manhattan, but Astoria couldn't wait to leave. She applied to colleges in almost every southern state. She wanted hot weather and distance from the haunting memories of losing her parents to a boating accident the summer before. She chose UTSA, because of the beauty of the city. Strolling the River Walk was Astoria's favorite thing to do. She fell in love with San Antonio and it's deeply rooted Hispanic culture.  Her mother met her father one day in class as they were partnered together for a project. "He was such a science nerd," Jude's mom would say, "and I was just trying to pass so I let him do all the work." "Yeah, she would just bring me food and clean my dorm room while I worked. I fell in love instantly," Jesus would say smiling brightly. Of course it didnt hurt that he was devastatingly handsome her mother would often say. The sound of the shower turning off breaks Jude from her trip down memory lane. She leaves the room and walks down to the kitchen looking at everything as if trying to memorize all she can before she leaves. She just wants to soak up the last time she'll see this tiny apartment. With a final small smile she opens the back door and walks out quietly into the humid morning.