This work is inspired by a YouTube video posted by oliviaalee, posted December 5, 2020.
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"Are you ready?" he whispered, shifting the satchel I had hastily packed over his shoulder.
"Ready," I whispered back, shrugging on my jacket and tugging the hood to conceal my hair.
He offered me his hand as I stepped up onto my windowsill, expertly balanced on the protruding bricks and climbing ivy of my home. I took it, reaching for the thick vines I had scaled since my childhood, knowing that this would be the last time. As we nearly reached the bottom, I felt the telltale drops of rain splash on my skin, thunder rumbling across the stormy grey sky at the same time I heard the creak of my bedroom door open through my still-open window.
"Run!" I grabbed his hand, and we began running through the garden, through the fields, and into the woods as the rain poured in earnest all around us. The shouts that seemed so close faded away into distant echoes as the trees nestled us away from view and shielded our forms from the onslaught of rain. I shivered, clothes soaked through, and he pulled me into his arms, affectionately kissing the top of my head. I sighed in contentment, feeling the thudding of his heart as we held each other in newfound freedom, guarded by the trees and rain.