Her messed up freedom; His caged perfection

5

~HER PERSPECTIVE~

"Hurry, Alex.. they'll be home any minute now" I said in a harsh, yet hushed voice. Like a yell, but a whisper. 

He nodded and continued to shove canned food, fruit, vegetables, water bottles and the occasional spoon or fork inside the black backpack I gave to him, while I rushed to my bedroom to retrieve some spare clothes and sweaters for myself and Alex, and the little money I had left. $179 should get us some food and a ride to a town far enough away from our awful lives we will soon call the past. 

We were running away. 

Alexander and Autumn.

Two kids, barely 17, both with pasts almost unspeakable, yet that didn't stop them from sharing with only each other their deepest thoughts, feelings and desires, and their pasts were not about to stop them from reaching their supposably better futures. 

I looked around my bedroom for the last time before grabbing my backpack and taping the note on the fridge. As we heard a car door close from outside, me and Alex had escaped out of the back door and over the backyard fence where the train track started. I looked over at the beautiful boys face and he looked back at mine before we grabbed each others hands and ran together down the railway tracks for what may be our last few hours in town. 

Though I could tell we were both nervous, maybe even terrified, we were excited that we may finally be able to get out of this town. Excited that we may finally be able to be free.

~HIS PERSPECTIVE~

6 months ago, a girl named Autumn came across a boy called Alexander, me. Undeniably, both were broken. Undeniable, both were lost in a world that was cruel and unfair to them. Undeniable, both craved an escape. 

So me and Autumn packed a backpack each and got on a train to another town far away from where our pasts lay. We got to this strange new town that was much bigger then any other place we've ever known. We didn't let this place scare us simply because it was 'new'. Because 'new' was better then anything else I've ever known. That night we shared a tin of spaghetti and slept on the cold, rough concrete of the train station knowing that unless we chose to think we were in a bad situation, it was getting better. We fell asleep in our sweaters close together to keep warm, knowing that tomorrow has the potential to be better. Tomorrow could be the best day of our lives, but we will never know unless we hold on long enough to experience every minute until we die.

The very next day, we went hunting for ways to earn money. We ignored the looks that the men in tidy suits and the women with neat haircuts and fancy dresses gave us. We ignored the looks that kids our age gave us as they drove by in their shiny cars and branded shoes. Its not that we were overly different from everyone else, but people could tell that we weren't from the big city. Autumn and I were quite okay with that.

By the end of the day, a kind woman called Ms Bethany let Autumn work in her bakery and 3 men let me serve drinks in a hotel bar just across the road. We each suggested to work 6 to 10 hours a day for $10 an hour, which surprised our employers considering we offered to be working in hours kids our age were supposed to be going to school, but they gladly agreed. 

If I may do some quick math, together me and Autumn were making about $140 a day, and after a couple weeks we were able to sleep somewhere other than the train station concrete.

6 months ago, we had nothing.

And it felt like finally we were making something of ourselves. 

"Autumn! You coming?!" I called from across the street as we both stepped out of separate shops; the bakery she loved to work at, and the music filled hotel restaurant that I would gladly return to the next day. 

"Jeez Alex, give me a sec!!" She said as I did mini warm ups from across the road, giggling as she rushed to say goodbye to Ms Bethany. Before I could be warned, she turned to face me and shouted "READYSETGO!!" Before racing ahead towards our usual hang out place. "NOT FAIR!" I shouted, racing after my best friend through the busy streets of this big city we've grown to love. Even now we got looks from the more 'fancy' people as we called them, but still, we didn't care. We had each other and that's all we ever wanted and more back when we lived with our 'parents'. 

It only took us 5 minutes of running before we made it to the train tracks that were just to the side of the huge city, and after bickering for a while over who got their first, we agreed we tied.. again...

We came here all the time at around sunset, just to reflect on how much everything has changed. Trust me, a lot has changed. I have a job, food, money and Autumn. In the end, we saved each other from a fate we choose not to think about.

I promise our story does not end here, but it is safe to say that finally, after so long, the strange, beautiful girl covered in freckles and the pale boy with curly brown hair were free.

//we're free//

~~~

Even I, the author, have a past. 

And I'm sure you, the reader, have a past to.

And I would be lying if I said I haven't been reminded of my past experiences throughout my present life, and for some, past experiences can come back to haunt you.

~~~

~ Yours Truly ~