This Town Called Nowhere

Chapter 16: Small Steps, Bad Steps

16

Her hair is dancing inside the vehicle as she gains speed through the almost empty road. She's turned on the radio and it comes on blaring a lively song from a long time ago. Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. I know some lyrics so I sing along with her. She looks at me surprised. I smile when she does. I turn to the road when she does. I bang my head to the song when she does.

I've scarcely been outside my whole life. But now I'm here, yet again, with Artemis. We're going to the ends of the earth, and there's no stopping us.

No stopping us.

Something stops us.

We both laugh when we are stopped by an old lady who is crossing the street. The song is ending and Artemis bursts to a hefty laughter. "That's ironic."

I grin. "Pretty ironic," I agree with her.

The old lady is with her walker on the pedestrian, taking tiny steps forward. It's taking a lot of time for her to get across. I count the seconds. Five seconds per tiny step. I turn to Artemis and she inclines her head to the side. Getting out of the Chevy, she heads straight to the woman and lends her a hand. I watch her assist the lady until they're both on the other side of the highway.

Artemis leans her head down to the woman when she says something to her. Artemis smiles and nods. She bows her head to the lady before she runs towards the vehicle and settles back behind the wheel.

Pushing the gas pedal, she glances at me and grin. "The thing I really like about old people is that they're wise. Don't you think, Armstrong?"

I look at her. I don't know a lot about old people. I've never encountered one up close before. But now I'm curious. "What did she tell you?"

"You're doing the right thing, my child, go on, live your life. You deserve it so much—Something like that, it sounds good."

Because it is.

She is.

She does.

I am watching her greet the community people with perpetual enthusiasm. They're all smiles looking at her. Something in the way they treat her makes me think that she's done this before.

I am watching her clean the filthy alleyways in a suburb area of Blue Ridge Valley. She brought me here to help, but I couldn't seem to move my feet. My voice is stuck in my throat. I am immobile, frozen, speechless.

This is the important thing she is talking about. This is the important thing. What she did to the old lady was an important thing too. I shouldn't feel like this. I shouldn't envy her because she's done so much things that matter when I'm locking myself inside the book. Also, it's my fault. I choose to lock myself inside the book, and if what she's doing and what that woman said affected me that much, that only means one thing, I'm slowly unlocking myself out of the book.

I want to do the right thing. I want to do important things like Artemis. I want to deserve my life. The problem is, I don't know how and where to start.

I am sitting on the sidewalk. My eyes are looking down on my hands. I can do better than this, I think to myself.

I can do better than this.

"Hey."

I look up and see her walking towards me. Artemis has change into blue coveralls, and her hair is tied up to a ponytail. The crescent swings to and fro below her ear. Her eyes are lighting question marks with each step she takes. She's done this countless times before, I hear one of the people say. I didn't. Not once. Not ever. I look down on my hands again. They've done nothing but unimportant things. We're so different.