With a deep breath I took, my worries went away. Today was the day I was going to allow my life to change forever. The change I needed was way beyond the city limits of this poor town. I still don't know the name of it, but that didn't matter anymore. I never liked it here, the rumors from people were insane, appalling, even. With each item I packed, I packed a piece of me with it. My jacket was my pride. My toothbrush was my respect. The picture of my family was my heart. The heart that made my life so bad. They were the reason I was leaving.
I looked over at my clock. 2 in the morning, the perfect time to leave. With that, I grabbed my things, looked around the room one last time and made an exit to enter my new life. Sneakily, I made my way downstairs to go to the train station. It was a short walk, a short reflective walk. I arrived, got my ticket and waited for my train.
While waiting, I thought, long and hard. What was I about to do? Would I regret it? No, I had to. I can't live this life anymore. I can't continue to be hurt by my whole heart, the people I knew and trusted. My thoughts were soon interrupted due to the call for my train. I got up, walking to the platform. The train approached and slowly came to a halt. The doors to my future opened, I was the first one to board. There were more than enough empty seats. I sat by myself, hopefully, no one else would be next to me. I spoke too soon when a man, about in his mid-twenties, sat next to me. He had brown hair with a beanie covering it. He had tight jeans with a red shirt on. He was tan, tall, and handsome. He looked over at me and smiled.
There were no words spoken between us while people were boarding, very few people at that. It wasn't long before I was on my way to London. I sat in silence, once again, thinking about what my life is going to be like now. My thoughts were interrupted again, by the man next to me.
"So, what's bringing you to London?" He asked.
"Too many things," I said looking over at him, my tone saying that I didn't want to talk at the moment.
"Well, you have a reason, I want to hear your story, you seem like a person who would have an interesting one."
"Why would I tell a stranger my story?" I laughed.
"You're right about that. Hello, I'm Alexander."
"Stacy," I spoke, sounding unsure.
"Now, that I'm not a stranger, you can tell me your story."
I rolled my eyes and began.
"It was my family. I was always the child that never got attention. But, when I did, it was either really positive, because of good grades, or something of that nature. Or, it was really negative because I did something horrible. I loved my family though. They were my whole heart. I looked up to my mom and dad like they were God. I thought nothing could change my opinion of them. They never did me, or my six other siblings wrong. It was perfect." I took a long pause. I wasn't ready to talk about this, especially to someone I don't know. I played the whole moment in my mind. I could still feel the pain I felt. The pain that I caused according to everyone else. The moment my life changed. Forever. I felt the tears come to my eyes. They were hot, about to roll down my cheeks. "Do I have to continue?" I asked, the tears spilling over in the process.
"No, no, of course not." He said, wrapping his arm around me, trying to comfort me, failing of course.
I took a minute to calm myself. Get my mind off of the event that caused these emotions. It didn't take long to find my voice again.
"So what about you? I want to know your story," I said.
Alexander looked at me like I was crazy as if it weren't my right to be asking. I quickly looked away from him, feeling embarrassed that I even asked. There was a brief moment of silence. Not awkward at all.
"I'm what I like to call, a permanent train traveler. I don't have an address, I don't have a true family, I don't have the normal life things. I don't even have a real job or a high school degree. I'm only 22 years old, this is my life and I love it. I travel from place to place, taking photos of the unknown. Whatever I can picture, I take it. I've been all over the world. India, China, America, Brazil, France, Cuba, Norway, Scotland, which is my favorite place to go. I take pictures of people, things, places, anything that has a story. Just like you. Everyone and everything has a story.I want to try and find these stories so I can let them be heard. Not heard through words though," He held up his camera, "But by a photograph."
He smiled. I felt as if I heard the meaning of his life, which was a perfect way to live it.
"How long do you plan to stay?" I asked.
"Until I can't stay anymore. It could be 3 days, it could be 3 years. God only knows."
"Why don't we stay together? I don't know anyone there. I'm a big artist, we can collaborate in a way. It would be fun."
He smiled. I knew that was a yes.
A new friend. I wouldn't be my self through this change that I was now nervous about. I knew this was just the beginning though, there was so much more ahead of me.
"You seem as if you're running away from something. Your family, your problems, you're leaving your life behind. I was you four years ago. I was lost. I didn't have anyone." He vocalized. He started to reach around in his pockets for something, something important.
"My dad wrote me this the day that he died from cancer in 2011. He was my number one supporter until he fell ill. I was a good kid, I was smart and had dreams for the future. He told me to read this anytime I needed it. I think you need this right about now."
Alexander handed me a note that was old from age, it was written only six years ago, but you could tell it had been handled many times. There were a few stains on it, a bit wrinkled up to. You could tell it had been balled up once or twice. I opened it up revealing some of the most beautiful handwriting I had ever seen in my life. There was much planning into this. I looked over at Alexander who was resting his eyes. I was nervous to read this. I did it anyway. My eyes started to move across the page as I read the following:
Dear my sweet son, Alexander Johnson III,
As I lay here wondering how much longer I have, I know you are doing whatever you need to do to be successful. If it's writing a book or playing football, I know you're doing it well. You have your hopes and dreams all in line. You know what you have to do, it's just sometimes you're too lazy to do it. If I could only get out of this bed... But who am I to control your life? It's not mine, It's yours. I want to see you graduate high school and be that film major that you wanted to be since you could walk. There is a reason you're not in any of the home movies, you were filming them all. I don't care what you need to do. If you need to go to the next town over and it will make your dream a reality, then do it. Go to outer space if you need to, I don't care. And if you ever feel the need to give up, and you've absolutely said that you can't do it anymore, then quit, as long as it makes you happy. Take a break and travel the world, take a break and lay in bed for a whole week without showering, just do you. You're the son I always wanted. You have the dreams. You have the potential. And when I'm gone, just remember that I will look down on you to give you that pat on the back.
Congratulations my son, you're on your way to amazing things.
Love,
You're supporting father,
Alexander Johnson II
I looked over at Alexander who had a smile on his face.
"There's always more to the story than what is told," He muttered.
