Run Away

(I would have posted this yesterday, but our internet was being finicky again.  And it's been kind of hectic lately with the snow melting and everything flooding.  God has been good to us this year and our little "holler" hasn't been too bad as far as torrents of water goes.)

Hey all!  I'm entering Hannah's writing prompt contest over at A Southern Girl's Life.   I chose Writing Prompt #2 and Picture #2.   (My fellow To Kill a Mockingbird fans, you'll appreciate this. :) )

*Writing Prompt #2*

*via Pinterest* 

*Picture #2*
*via Pinterest*

Running away isn't nearly as easy as they say.

I stood, alone, waiting at the empty subway platform.  Wind rushed wildly through the tunnel, causing a chill to creep up my spine.  I shivered.  My heavy coat and scarf might be able to shield me a from the wind a little, but they couldn't protect me from the coldness of my own actions.  Was I really about to leave everything?

My knees felt suddenly weak as I thought about the enormity of my decision.  I put one foot in front of the other, trying to make it to the bench.  My footsteps echoed in the empty station.

I sat down.  The two sides of me were arguing. "I am running away.  I've come this far." But it's not too late to go right back the way you came. "I'm leaving, never looking back."  You're not Lot's wife, you know, you won't turn into a pillar of salt if you turn around.  "I have to leave." Why? "Why not? I'm eighteen -- plenty old enough."

"Couldn't help but notice you seem a little shaken up," This voice had not come from my head.  I turned, startled, to see a man sitting to my right.  He was tall, with strong shoulders that dropped a little, as though he were tired.  Large black glasses framed his eyes under his dark, prominent eyebrows.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Atticus," he said.  The name sounded familiar.  "And you are, young lady?"

"Jess,"  I lied.  My voice had cracked; he knew I was lying.  Neither of us spoke for a moment.

"So... Jess... how's life?"  Not "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night" or "Where are you going"?  But somehow it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm visiting a cousin in Tennessee," I said.  Another lie.  I had a feeling he knew it, too.

"Family emergency?"

"Not really..."

He nodded.

"So do you want to tell me what's really going on?"  He definitely knew.  I swallowed hard.

"I'm... I'm running away,"

He nodded again. "Obviously.  But on what grounds?"

"My aunt Molly... she's an ogre.  She's got my whole life planned out for me.  She's making me go to college, but I just... I..."

"You don't want to?"

"I want to run a restaurant." I blurted.

"Have you told her?"

"No, because I know she'll laugh."

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

The screech of brakes bringing the subway to a halt made me glance away.  At the same time, someone was coming down the steps very quickly.  Something told me it was Aunt Molly, and that if I was going to do something, I'd better do it fast.

I turned to ask Atticus what that meant, but I never got the chance.  He was gone.   In his place on the wooden bench was a battered, dog-eared book.  I picked it up. To Kill a Mockingbird.  I smiled-- but was I losing my mind?

Slipping it into my satchel, I stood up.  The doors of the subway would close any second.  Aunt Molly was still a good distance away.  If I hurried, it wasn't too late to escape.

Maybe Atticus had been real, and maybe he hadn't.  Regardless, his words still rang through my head.  I looked at Aunt Molly's tearful face as she rushed toward me.  I knew then:  I couldn't run away.  I would take Atticus' advice, and give Aunt Molly a chance 

The subway doors closed with a his was Aunt Molly covered the last few yards between us.   She wrapped her arms around me, and I melted into her embrace.

After all, running away is overrated.