Reminiscing

Azalea

The SUV bounced down the dark road as I stared out hte window, frowning at the forest around us.  I sat in the back, my backpack sitting forgotten on my lap as I contemplated what had gotten me to this point.

Just last month I'd been at work waiting tables when my mom called.  I shrugged it off at first, firguring she just needed me to pick something up on my way home.  But then my mom kept calling.  So I finally answered.

"What's so important that-"

"Run," my mom said, sounding scared and frantic.  "Run and don't stop.  You know what to do," she said before hanging up.

Shit, I thought, wiping my now sweaty palms on my faded and torn jeans.  I walked quickly to the front, looking around for my boss.  

"I quit," I said, handing my apron to him before heading out the door.  He called out to me, but I didn't have time to waste.  I jumped in my beige Honda Civic and pulled out of the parking lot at top speed.

I knew that meant that my father had tracked me down again.  For the last 5 years we'd been on the run, never settling anywhere for long, moving every few months.  I ended up finishing high school online a year early.  

I drove through the night, only stopping for gas and a bathroom break.  As dawn approached, I pulled over and and parked in a rest area right over the Oklahoma Texas border.  I didn't know what they would do with me- I knew that it was me that they were really after.  I leaned my seat back so I could rest a few hours beofre hitting the road and heading on to Arrowhead, Oklahoma. 

The nightmares started as soon as I fell asleep.  I was back in our home in Charlotte.  I hadn't been feeling well that day and had woke from a nap with a high fever.  My mom had been worried as nothing seemed to help - no medicine, not even an ice bath.  I had felt a strong desire to go outside and had fought with my mom about it.  Finally, she gave in and led me onto the back porch.  I walked out into the yard and laid on the cool grass, staring up at the sky.  

I was suddenly wracked with pain so intense it took my breath away and I was barely able to even whimper.  My mom ran out to me and held me, crying, unsure of what was going on.  My bones began to crack and I felt like she was dying.  My mom pulled away as my body began to grow and rearrange until a beautiful silver and red wolf lay there. 

I was confused and relieved and exhausted all at the same time.  I sat up and looked at myself, noting I wasn't much bigger than the wolves I'd seen at the zoo, but my fur was long and practically glowed in the moonlight.  I wobbled on shaky legs at first, unsure of myself in my new form.  I moved towards my mom slowly and licked the tears from her check before running off towards the woods behind our house.  I had spent that night running the same paths in the woods that I usually did, just this time on 4 feet instead of 2.   The sight and smells and tastes of things so very different and yet so familiar. 

Finally as dawn set in, i had made my way back to my house and found my mom asleep on a chair on the back porch.  I shifted back and quietly crept inside, not wanting to wake my mom.  I managed to put on my pajamas before passing out on my bed.

My mom shook me awake what felt like only minutes after I had fallen asleep.  

"Azalea. Wake up now! We have to go.  Wake up!"

I blinked sleepily at my mom, trying to get my bearings.  "What's going on? What time is it?"

"You've been asleep since yesterday, but we have to go now.  We have to hurry before your father gets here," my mom replied, rushing around my room, throwing things into boxes.

I had been still half asleep, but sat up putting my feet on the ground.  My mom tossed some clothes at me before stating, "You've got 5 minutes before we go," and then left the room.

I got dressed quickly, noticing that my room was almost empty, all of my favorite things now gone. 

"Mom, what the -" I started, walking into the living room.  My mom cut me off.

"I'll explain on the way.  Let's go."  I helped my mom load the last few boxes in the car and then we were off.

Once we hit the highway, my mom started talking.  She told me that when I had changed and ran, she had called my father and asked if he knew what was going on.  She had been worried about me and didn't know who else to turn to.  At first my father didn't believe her, but when she explained how horrible it was to watch me shift and the sound of my bones breaking, his tone turned serious.  He told her that he was coming to take his daughter home with him, that I would only be safe with him now.

My mom knew that I would never accept that, but she would give me a choice.  We had met his wife once and that was more than enough.  We had left them both behind 3 years ago.  She said it sounded like he lived with some sort of cult and that if that's what I wanted she would take her there. I agreed with her  - I had felt the hatred rolling off of my step mother the one and only time we had met.  I had been close to my dad until then - but he made the decision to push us away.  I would not be going with him now nor ever.

And so we ran.  Moving cities every few months. My mom explained that my dad had a lot of reach and money and kept sending people after us.