Escaping miracle-1

It’s about 7am when I set out. I am wearing a comfortable pair of sneakers, white shorts, and a Metallica t-shirt which I tied with a rubber band in the back to make it fit. My brunette hair is up in a messy bun to keep it out of my face. It’s the middle of summer, so I know for a fact it will be smoldering hot out here.

I have walked this way before the last time I escaped. Obviously I wasn’t smart enough to do it when he wasn’t home. It was just after a huge fight we had and probably only the third time he hit me. He hit me so hard, it little knocked the breath right out of me. I ran, and trust me, I tried to get as far away as possible. But of course I didn’t, and now here I am, doing the exact same thing over again but smarter.

Hopefully.

The trees are alive and the leaves rustle in the wind as I walk. It’s quiet out here except for the birds chirping and the sound of rushing water from the creek.

I look down at the watch on my wrist. Noon. I have been walking for three hours.

It’s when I hear the crunching leaves that my heart drops. Stopping dead in my tracks, I dart my eyes around me.