The Ultimate Rescue

Chapter XXIX

MACKENZIE

Music: Dawn ~A New Morning~ from Super Mario Galaxy

Three days ago, I was stuck both in captivity and on the run from my illuminati "family". I've been struggling with abandoning the memories, thoughts, and associations with them ever since Mia's family adopted me. Every time I thought I was done with them, they'd come back. Now, with the last official member out of the picture (and the rest executed by the US military), I finally have some closure in my life. I can say, for real this time, that I'm done with the illuminati and anything that has to do with them. No more fretting about my childhood. No more haunting memories of spy training. No more "Smith" as a past surname for me. From now on, I am just Mackenzie. Simple, cheerleader, chorister, lovable Mackenzie.

And I plan to make the most out of every second of my life from this day forward.

When I wake up two mornings after the end of the illuminati's brief reign, I don't check my phone, go back to sleep, or go watch TV like a lot of people my age do. I walk straight over to my bedroom window and look outside. It's a lovely Sunday morning for mid September. A bright blue sky with no clouds, a shining sun that seems to glimmer all over the land, bright green grass, and a perfect temperature with that autumn breeze.

In this day and age, we live in a world filled with naive people. A majority of our world's population goes through life on a day-by-day basis, or sometimes even a second-by-second basis. They use each day, each hour, each minute, and even each second in any way they can. The problem lies in how they use their time. People spend too much time trying to busy themselves and not stopping to pay attention to the world around them. God has given us such a beautiful planet (albeit with some societal and environmental issues, but that's besides the point), and we don't take advantage of it or thank him enough for it. We just go through life only thinking about what's next on our agenda, or what our next task is, or where we have to go next. Next, next, next. Just focus on the now.

This is a lesson I've gathered from the year and a half I've spent with Mia's family, and from all the adventures I've been on. I've had so many experiences, met so many people (good and bad), and prevailed through so many challenges that I see life differently than the average high school girl. A lot of students get stressed over a test that they think will be hard or an evening spent committing time to an activity, and I've stared death in the face on multiple occasions. I'm not saying they don't have it bad, but the facts don't lie.

I walk over to my dresser to put on some clothes, since I've been in my PJs all weekend and want to change. I choose a nice pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Nothing fancy. I don't need to be over-the-top with style, and I don't need to primp and pamper myself with makeup to feel happy about my appearance. The simple joys of this life are good enough for me. When I've finished changing, I look into my bedroom mirror and smile.

I'm starting my day off right today.

I walk out of my bedroom, being quiet as to not wake up my parents or Mia. I stroll down the stairs at a brisk pace, and make my way to the front door. I eventually plan on making myself a nice breakfast to give me a nice kick-start to my morning, but right now, I need fresh air just for the feeling of it. I open the door, walk outside, and take a seat on the steps of my front porch. The breeze feels just as good as before. The apocalyptic world is no more, and in its place, a quiet, traditional, suburban neighborhood. People get in their cars and drive to work, and some children are playing in the front yard in the house across the street from ours. It's perfect, and just what I want to see after the stress and horrors of three days ago.

"Hey, mind if I sit next to you?" I turn around to see Mia, still in her pajamas, standing outside with me. I didn't even hear the door open, so either she must've been really quiet or I was too zoned out.