One day

ℐ ᎶUℰЅЅ ℐT ℰℕDЅ ℋℰℛℰ

"Maddie, do you want to miss your flight?"

My mom has been yelling at me to get in the car for the last 15 minutes but I hesitate to move. I look back for the last time at my city, absorbing the smell of the early morning dew. All the sounds and places haunting my memories creep into reality and put my senses in a disquiet state. I see the early morning drunks swaying to an unknown beat, yelling at each other just to hug it out seconds apart. The looming buildings that held so many people for years, who barely say hello or give you a second glance. I look up at the starless sky filled with a black emptiness with a slight trickle of yellow at its border. I remember the stench of Time Square's hot dog carts (a little too well for my taste), but oh the lights! The glimmer and sparkle of Time Square in the Big Apple made you feel part of something bigger, like all those lights were meant just for you. The blinking billboards and the tourists snapping pictures left and right, the office workers shoving you out of the way busy looking at their phones going to a very important meeting. In most neighborhoods, though the lights aren't always on, the majority of lights turn on with beautiful synchronization. I used to love to sit on my window sill and look up at the lights turning on, one by one. I sigh and shake off the memories, rolling my luggage to the back of the car. Our car was a taxi, or at least it used to be. One of our neighbors lent it to us for a while while they went out of the country but he ended up deciding to retire and move altogether so he ended up leaving us with a traditional black and yellow NYC cab, not one of those new green ones. We took off the stickers and i put them up on the walls in my room. My dad removed the divider that separates the taxi driver from the passengers, pulled off the yellow stained seat covers and cleaned up the inside leaving it like a regular car- except for the yellow outside of course. It was great but due to the color of the car people kept trying to pull us over, and even climbed in our backseat while we were parked. We decided to add two black stripes to the front hood of the car turning it into our very own bumblebee from the Transformers movies. I finally put my belongings in the back, close it with a slam and slide into the back seat. I lean my head against the seat and put in my earbuds humming to my OWATM (obsessed with at the moment) playlist.

*buzz, buzz*

My phone has been vibrating non-stop since I woke up but I'm afraid to pick it up, I'm not very good at good-byes. I take a breath and peeked at the words,

'Just a peek don't respond' I tell myself

I smile as I dig my phone out of my pocket knowing exactly who it is.

Miketheknight: Hey, did you leave yet?

Mike, always staying up late to say our goodbyes I should respond after all, it would be rude not to. Right?

spoopykitty: I just got in the car, I'm kinda nervous

Miketheknight: It's just a flight, you've been flying since you were 1, right?

spoopykitty: yeah but I always know I'm coming back, now... Well

Miketheknight: Now don't turn all depressed on me now I'll be all sad, just keep in touch and it'll be alright ok?

I can't help but chuckle at his response, I'll miss him tons and I can't help but wonder if I'll ever see him again. He's my best friend- but also a little something more.