Meeting the world

Chapter 34

Maya's pov

~

Sometimes, I go the Central Park and I lie down on my special rock and I sleep.

I love Central Park. It's amazing, almost like magic. There's so many people walking in it, yet if you find the right spot, you don't hear anyone. I found that place.

There's a rock shaped like a thumb, and it's so comfortable it's crazy. No one really comes by there, because it's hard to notice. It hides subtly behind a large forest of trees. You have to be looking for it to find it.

Almost everyday I go by that rock, and I rest my back against it, using it like a chair. I close my eyes, and I just imagine. I imagine the perfect world, where Riley and I are best friends, where I have a caring mother and father. I just think sometimes. About Riley, about Lucas and Farkle.

I shouldn't have lied to her. I shouldn't have lied to her in the Christmas letter, the letter that was supposed to be honest and thoughtful. But I didn't want her to worry. I didn't want her to know that the money I used to by her gift wasn't mine. I didn't want her to know that I had no where to live. And I didn't want her to know that I really had no clue where my mother was.

She shouldn't worry. I'm not worth the worry.

***

"Maya!"

I spun around as I saw Riley run towards me. She hugged me so tight it hurt. But in a good way.

"I missed you so much!" She shouted.

I smiled.

"I missed you too Riles."

She was crying.

"Why? Why did you leave?"

I sighed. She would never understand.

"Riley-"

"No. Don't tell me you did it for me. Don't tell me you left to protect me. If you didn't want to hurt me, than you should never have left."

I tried to reply but no words came out. Riley seemed to be getting further and further away and I reached out my hand just as my vision began to blur. I felt a falling sensation and I heard Riley screaming my name, calling out to someone who would never answer.

***

I heard voices. They sounded far away, like some echo. Different shapes and figures floated through my mind, all unfamiliar.

I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I caught a few words here and there.

"Girl..."

"Lost..."

"Rock."

The crescendo of voices become so loud that my head began to hurt.

"Oh my god is she alive?"

"She looks like she hasn't eaten in days!"

"Call mom!"

My head felt like it was about to burst in any second. All the voices in my head seemed like they were trying to escape, pounding against the sides of my skull like prisoners in a jail cell.

STOP! STOP TALKING!

I shouted and shouted, but my screams only faded away and joined all the other voices.

PLEASE!

The voices continued, slowly rising, more and more every second. It became unbearable at some point, but I could do anything. I couldn't move, couldn't talk. It was like I was frozen, completely and utterly stuck in this horrible state of mind. I tried to get out. I tried to move, to speak, to do anything. I couldn't. Was was happening?

I was trapped in my own mind, condemned to listen to my own thoughts and desires pound there way through my head.

So many voices. They were so loud.

Then suddenly everything stopped, and I heard only one voice.