Broken Blue Balloons (Islamic Story) ON HOLD

Watertown, TN

Chapter

It was different. That was my first reaction. Watertown was so different, as if they did their best to not be like the rest of the country. It was historic. You could see that they held their history in their arms, protecting them from the modern world. Everything was purposely antique. Buildings were old yet cozy. It makes you think of the History classes where the teacher tells about how the people lives, what kind of houses they had and how they tried to survive. I felt like I was walking through a different age. Old trains were taking people to the city of music, where they all have the same dreams. I smiled when I saw the rails that caught my attention. It was so different, I couldn't match a color to it. The weather was chilly. It was cold, but not that cold. The color of the air was a little grey, amazingly suiting the environment. Fall surely did a great job here.

I was lost. I looked at the map trying to figure out where I was but I couldn't understand a single thing. I was near the woods and there was no house or shop nearby where I could go. I looked around, trying to find someone but there was no one. I wasn't scared though, since my surroundings were very beautiful. I looked in my booklet trying to figure out by the questions where I was.

"You're lost too?" I heard from behind me and I jumped, letting out a short scream. I turned around, feeling relieved when I saw the familiar face before I put my hand on my chest. I tried to control my breathing since I got really scared.

"You knew that I hate it when people creep up to me and scare me like that" I said to him, feeling annoyed since he did this a few times before too. Noah just rolled his eyes.

"Which version have you?" He asked me. I looked at the cover of my booklet.

"Three, you?" I asked him.

"Me too" he said, looking around.

"How did you get lost? Weren't you walking with the group?" I asked him, knowing that he would stick by the rest.

"I was at first, but they didn't want to finish the questions and I need a good grade for this" he said, looking at the map. Grade? What grade?

"Do we get a note for this?" I asked him. He looked up at me as if I had grown a second head.

"Didn't you know? We get to do an exam where they will ask some of these questions and if you get the answers here, you will be able to do the test well. You can take your answers to the test too" he said but I couldn't believe it. I would've heard if it was like that.

"They explained it on the bus. You were asleep" he said when he saw my confusion.

"Come on, lets go this way" he said, already starting to walk. I followed him, looking around since it was so beautiful. Simple, old but beautiful.

"Do you still get letters?" He asked out of nowhere. I looked at him but he was looking straight. We were passing a little church and there was no one around. I read the name and saw that it was the first baptist church. I didn't know but I was glad that I saw it. Firsts are always different, always dominant. No matter what good takes it place, nothing can beat the first.

"Haven't gotten anything these few weeks" I said, feeling a little relieved since they were messing with my mind. He was quiet after that and we walked in peace, even though there was an uncomfortable tension in the air. It was because the last time we spoke wasn't exactly a good conversation.

"This way" he said, turning to left when I was still walking forward. I hadn't seen him turn.

"Noah, can I ask you a question?" I asked him, dying to know it. I wanted to ask it before but since we didn't talk, I couldn't. He looked at me for a second before he nodded.

"Who do you live with?" I asked him, since there was no one when I took him to his house after the party. He looked at me again before he turned to the other side.

"Alone" he said softly. I was silent for a second. I knew his mother had passed away, but his father?

"Not a part of my life, never been" he said before I even said anything. I looked at him but he was avoiding my eyes.

"Do you miss your mother?" I asked him. I knew he was close with his mother, I mean, he never told me but I knew he was.

"It has just been so lonely without her" he said in a tone that I was unfamiliar with. It was soft yet full of hurt. It was hard, trying to come over as strong, yet it was soft, letting the sweet sorrow reach me.

"I can understand" I said. His facial expression turned into angry and he looked at me as if I had said something bad. He stopped walking and turned towards me. We were on the middle of the road but since there wasn't any car passing us, there was no problem.

"How? How can you understand when both of your parents are alive and well? Don't be ungrateful. See, this is what's wrong with people like you. You have never experienced your parents dying or walking away out of your life yet you act like you understand people like me" he told me. Ouch, that did hurt even though it wasn't true.

"You need to work on your judging skills, it's getting more ridiculous each time" I said softly, trying to be water when he was fire. That didn't mean that I wasn't going to stand up for myself.

"I may have parents, but they have never walked out of my life. You wanna know why? Since they haven't been walking in my life, there is no way they could walk out of it. My parents are hardly around Noah, yet they are controlling and judging everything I do. I can't be myself nor can I make my own decisions. I can't speak about the things that I like or don't. I can't have meaningful conversations and sharing thoughts since the only thing they care about is a good reputation and me coming home with diplomas even though they wouldn't congratulate me when I got a good grade. They don't ask how I have been or how school is going. They don't ask if I have friends or not. As you said I have my parents, but they are as good as gone too" I said, walking away since I couldn't stand looking in his eyes anymore. They were changing emotion constantly and I had a hard time keeping up with it. I started spotting a few houses and knew that the center of the town was near approaching me. Us, I mean, since Noah walked up to me and followed me in silence.

"Why?" He asked me. I looked at him, trying to understand what he meant.

"Why are they ignoring you?" He asked, using the word I had been searching for. I looked away, around, so I wouldn't have to look in his eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe it is because I'm different than them. I have different aims and like to do things a different way. I used to stand up for what I believed in but I was getting so much back that I decided to stay silent. I was just invisible even though I was shouting loudly" I said, regretting for opening up to him since I knew how he really felt about me but I couldn't stop myself. I didn't have anyone to talk this with and I had been holding in for so long that it just came out without realising.

"And why does Black hate you so much?" He asked me. I looked at him, raising my eyebrow.

"I should ask you. You are the one who has been around him more" I said, still feeling annoyed by him beings friends with my brother.

"We don't talk about family issues, or any issues at all" he replied.

"I don't know why he hates me. Its not like my parents gave me more attention than him. I really don't know, but it has been like that for as long as I can remember" I said, spotting a few shops that were closed. I was tired, more of thinking. We passed a little cafe that looked cozy yet masculine, reminding me of the past even though I wasn't there, and Noah stopped me.

"Come on, lets eat something" he said, walking towards the cafe with me following him.

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Random Interesting Fact: I really want to visit Watertown someday.