Fragments - Flash Anthology

Twenty-Four

"We just have to go that way," I said, pointing across Toni's chest and out the passenger window. "South."

She looked at me with a face, though I couldn't confirm exactly which one. I only knew because she replied, saying, "Sounds promising."

The suburbs east of Seattle were strange. They probably still are, though I haven't been in years.

Anyway, this was when I used to live up north of Seattle and when my best friends were living in Renton, which is to the east of downtown. We went to Bellevue to window-shop and eat Mexican food for lunch, and then we decided to go back using the side-roads. Given the horrible backup on the highway, it seemed like the right choice.

Yet, somewhere in Factoria, we were lost.

Nicky spoke up from the back. "I bet it would have been faster on 405."

"Right?"

I disagreed. I was hopeful and confident. I knew which way to head. I could point my finger to their homes in Renton. Of course, there were piles of rocks and trees strewn about in hills and valleys all about, blocking a straight path for anything without wings. It wasn't like I could actually see their houses from the barren streets of Factoria. But I knew where to go.

So, I got back onto the road and tried some more.

Factoria was in the middle of everywhere, between busy towns where the likes of Microsoft and Amazon were located. Despite this, Factoria was basically a ghost town. There were malls, homes, apartments, businesses, and so on. Just, there were hardly any cars on the streets, and no people walking about. The feeling of knowing why no one ever drove through to avoid traffic on 405 crept into my thoughts. I turned onto another road, then found a number I knew and turned again. But, it suddenly stopped a minute later. I turned onto a road I didn't know as it slowly bent around a tall, woody hill.

Five minutes later, Nicky asked, "Weren't we just around here?"

"No," I said, "we can't be."

"There's that Target again. Over there."

I shook my head and sighed with a cynical smile. There were too many roads that curved around and around and went nowhere useful. Maybe it was time to take the highway? But, I would lose the thirty minutes we had already committed to avoiding the jam on 405. "Okay, this might be a bit of an adventure." I had to admit what was happening at this point, though I tried to laugh it off so it didn't sound so bad.

Toni looked out the window and stated plainly, "Adventures can be fun."

Five minutes later, we had to turn around.

Five minutes later, again, we went back the way we came.

The car was quiet at this point. I stayed focused, stubborn to the cause. Toni took out her iPod and plugged it into the stereo.

It took another forty to get to Nicky's place. Toni spent the time skipping songs on her iPod, giving us a soundtrack of fun distractions to forget just how lost we had become. Nicky kept quiet in the back, chatting with Toni in the front occasionally. They both just let me be while I did everything I could to make it back. And yet, despite knowing exactly which direction to go in, I took about every road I could find before getting onto one that actually left Factoria and took us south.

But, at least we made it. And, even though it was a bit failed, I still think it was far more interesting and enjoyable than crawling along a busy highway.

To say that it was faster, though . . . that remains open to debate.