Autumn

5: Where they went

Autumn blinked sleepily at Theodore. She was slumped on the grass, poised like a wilted flower. When she was wide awake, she was full of life, full of ambition, full of spontaneity. But seeing her float on the edge of her dreams showed her in such a vulnerable state that it almost felt like an invasion of privacy to watch.

"Theodore."

"Yes?"

"I'm tired."

His stomach involuntarily twisted into a pretzel. Autumn was ready to leave. She was exhausted. And even though it was selfish of him, he didn't want her to go. Not yet.

"Autumn?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go on an adventure."

Autumn lifted her heavy head and gazed at him dreamily. She plucked Theodore's words out from the air like daisies and created a bouquet of excitement. Slowly, her eyes opened, her lips twitching into a lopsided grin. His suggestion flooded through her veins, warmed her body, gave her the promise of temporary escape.

"Okay," she said. "Where will we go?"

His heart galloped. "To the edge of the earth."

Autumn's smile grew. "Better take the car."

Theodore pulled her up and raced towards his house to steal the keys to the Corolla. His heart was pounding as he made his way back out onto the driveway. Together, they got inside the car. It smelled like cheap air freshener, the aroma of citrus weak to the senses. The engine groaned to life, protesting the rude awakening, but Theodore ignored the noise and drove.

The car was a mess. The engine was louder than the Metro Goldwyn Mayer lion, the air conditioning was busted, and the tank was running out of gas. But Autumn didn't mind. She just switched on the radio and turned it all the way up. The knob was stuck to a single station and a simple guitar melody drifted through the small space of the car. It made Theodore's heart beat in time with the song.

Autumn then reached over and manually wound down the window, letting the warm air rush past and tangle her hair. She began belting out random lyrics, her voice competing with each strum. Her singing was terrible, but it made her smile. Theodore wanted nothing more than to make her smile.

As they turned onto the highway, they sped up. Autumn's voice got louder, until she was merely screeching different sounds into the night air. She was a disturbance to the tranquil evening. Theodore wouldn't have been surprised if she split the sky in half.

They never did make it to the edge of the earth. They did, however, stop for ice-cream. And in Theodore's opinion, this was still a success, especially when he saw the smile Autumn gave him when he remembered her favourite flavour.