Fireflies

Chapter 9: Lost & Found

Aryah

June 4th

I couldn't close my eyes. Despite the plush seating, tinted windows and air conditioning I couldn't close my eyes. I was lucky enough to have grabbed a seat by myself in the back but what if the guy two rows ahead of me was some kind of cannibal who would wanted to cut my head off and eat my brains?

See...This is why I hated Christopher. He filled my head with this type of nonsense and made me paranoid about life...

Standing outside of the bus with Dad and Chris, he'd said, "Good luck being a young female traveling along to West Bubble Fu-"

"Christopher!" My dad snapped. "Watch your mouth and Ari honey..." he said turning to me, "You're going to be fine. It's not like you haven't travelled alone before. Don't listen to your brother. Just be alert and aware of your surroundings. You have your phone. If anything goes wrong call the police. Okay?"

I gulped and nodded.

Now sitting here I could feel a slight panic rising within me. What if this was just some big mistake? Who was I to think I could this on my own? Who was I to think I could be adventurous and bold?

What would Hadi do? What would she say? She would say something similar to what she had said before we parted ways outside of the gates of Windhym:

"Aryah, I thought about this all last night and now I can see that you need to take this trip. So, not like you needed it, you have my permission and support. Here."

"What's this?" I asked.

"I know you probably did your research and all that, but it's different traveling alone. So i've taken the liberty to list my family and family friends along the way to your grandma's. Whenever you need a homey place to stay you can reach out to any of these people and they'd be more than willing to take you in and/or show you around. Okay? I know you want to be independent but promise me you'll  use this resource."

I stared at her in awe. She probably spent the whole night putting this together. Wow. I nodded my head vigorously and pulled her into a wild hug. I held her tight.

Within our embrace, she spoke softly:

"You have a bold spirit. Don't doubt it. Trust your instincts. Be brave and call/text me after every stop. It's going to be great. I can feel it. You're going to come back a changed woman. I love you, girl. You know that?"

I did know - always and forever. We were best friends for life.

And just like that, with that memory embedded in my mind, a hope blossomed something fierce in my heart. Maybe I could get away with my plan. I mean my parents weren't communicating with one another. My mother would never call my grandmother because they have their issues and my dad just felt awkward around Grams. So that meant that they would all communicate through me. Perfect.

The plan was for me to get off at the Greenly station in SC, which was the halfway point to my Grams' house, book a hotel for one night and explore the amazing city. I even wanted to see if I could visit and take another tour of the McDurmott campus. During the application season I'd only gotten to see it in the winter. It would be nice to see the campus during the summer.

Grams knew to expect me but I never told her when I'd make it there. So all would work out.

Content with my reasoning, I sought comfort through my Ipod. Placing the buds into my ears I clicked shuffle and leaned my head against the cool surface of the window. It was going to be a long trip. 12 hours to be exact. I had to call my dad as soon as I arrived.