Death In A Mile

Chapter 7: A Shared Wish

I was halfway home and I couldn't take my mind off Spark's weird actions towards me. It sounded like he didn't want to be here in this village anymore, and I didn't blame him.

Finally I arrived at my shack of a home and I found Madi laying on my bed patiently. "Took you long enough," she snarled jokingly.

"I wasn't gone that long," I responded.

"What happened?" She asked, and I was afraid to tell her.

"Oh nothing much." I knew I was going to have to kick her out because you know, Quinton's orders.

"Oh come on, something had to have happened." She knew me to well.

"Okay I'll tell you." She perked up in excitement. "Quinton, our leader, is mad that I stayed up too late last night."

"But you acted like it was no big deal," she interrupted.

"I didn't think it was, but he and Jason apparently thought so." She didn't say anything just sat there and looked confused.

"Jason was the one who told Quinton first thing in the morning that I stayed up past curfew. Apparently now I am being punished for it."

"What is your punishment?" Her eyes were steady and looked like they were ready to endure anything I might say.

"He said I couldn't have people at my house anymore because he thinks sleepovers were the problem." Her heart disagreed with her expression and her endurance failed.

"Well for how long?" She asked.

"He didn't say, he just said that people couldn't visit here for more than 10 minutes."

"Oh... So does this mean that-"

"Yes, it does." I didn't let her finish.

"B-but, I need to stay here, and you agreed," she sensitively said like a little, helpless girl.

"I know I agreed-" I couldn't finish my sentence. She was giving me the "I'm-helpless-please-don't-do-this" kind of look with a little bit of the stereotypical puppy dog eyes mixed in as well. I bit, I couldn't see her sad, it tore me apart.

At this point I sat next to her on the bed and comforted her. "You know what?" I said.

"What?" She responded eagerly.

"I guess we could work something out. I mean, no one has to know you are staying here," I suckered. Excitement rose through her faced and instantly brightened her eyes.

"Yay!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!" She gave me a big hug while still sitting on the bed.

"I love you so much," she yelled.

"I love you too," I responded. I know she only said this as in the "I love you as a friend" sort of thing, but for me, it meant a lot more. After a while the hug broke and without drawing any attention, we packed her stuff from her house and moved it into mine.

A few hours past and we finished rearranging. It was tiring, but we managed to move her bed in through the front door and against the wall next to mine, like an L shape.

Then a thought whispered to me, and wouldn't stop. It was saying that I had unfinished buisiness with Spark, or something of the sort. Whisper whisper whisper, a sensation that I never wanted to feel again. Finally I agreed to the insignifigant whisper that had annoyed me to the edge. I told Madi I'd be back in a few hours, and she didn't want to be left alone. With a little convincing she said yes and I left.

The walk to Spark's was met with the sense of alertness, as well as rehearsal thoughts. "What should I say? How should I start the conversation?"

I was met with a swift opening door opened by none other than Spark. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Nothing, just want to talk," I responded. He agreed with a nod and showed me up the stairs. When you get upstairs there is a corridor with 4 rooms, his was the last on the right. On the left wall was another staircase leading to the top floor. We walked into his dirty room and I beat him to the chair, as he sat down on his bed.

"Okay spill it," Spark started. It seemed as if he would start crying like he had never been in trouble before, but I knew he wasn't going to.

"You said you wanted to escape earlier? Escape where?" I asked.

"I never said that, what are you talking about?" Either he legitimately didn't remember or is just plain lying.

"What do you have short term memory loss or something?"

He looked at his popcorn roof illuminated by the sunlight outside, then peered down at me once more.

"Look, what I said didn't mean anything, I was just angry at Leader Quinton." I didn't believe him.

"What if I told you I wanted to leave too?" I said, breaking the silence. He looked at me like he never had before, almost in relief.

"Really?" He was at a loss for words, and I couldn't blame him, I wouldn't know what to say either.

"Yes really," I responded. "Haven't you ever wondered what is out there, and if there is something else?"

"No, all I want is to leave."

"How can you just want to leave without questioning what it is you might see first?" Surely he would question or at least think about what he might get himself into.

"That doesn't make sense to me," he said.

"Okay whatever," I responded. I didn't feel like arguing what went on in his mind. "So, now what?"

"Well I have things to lose here, leaving is impractical," he said. Spark was right, we had things to lose, but I didn't give up there.

"Spark," I started. With my gaze I assured him I was going to change his mind. "You are right, we have things to lose and people to miss, but this village hasn't had something worth of progress happen in years. So by not taking the sacrifice to leave, you are sacrificing the greater good of the people. Progress needs to be done one way or another, we can't just sit here and live the same life over an over until life pans out" I wasn't finished as he interupted.

"You mean, we have to risk our lives for people living in harmony?"

"It's not harmony Spark, it's living in fear masked as harmony."

He looked down and folded his hands with his thumbs extended, hitting them back and fourth.

"Okay, I get your point," he finally said. "But I am not going. I have to take care of my family, and if this stops you from going then great, but if it doesn't; good luck on finding whatever you want to find."

I felt as if he didn't fully understand why I wanted to leave, and if I were to argue more it would seem insensitive to the well being of his family, so I stopped talking and concluded.

"Thanks Spark, but I am going, it is in my fate and in the best interest of Minitan." He gave me the 'whatever you say' kind of smile with curled in lips and highlighted dimples. He respected my choice, although he did not agree. The sentiment of your family was an important part of a man, a part I had to let go a long time ago.