For My Sake

I remember like yesterday a mundane life, an ignorance to maturity. I remember like yesterday a full belly and plenty of sleep. I remember like yesterday a rising sun promising a new day. I remember like yesterday a world of beauty. I remember like yesterday the living.

“Charlie, you better hurry your ass up. We'll get caught in the horde if we don't keep moving.”

I remember like yesterday casual walks through town. I remember like yesterday a lighter backpack, a lighter soul. I remember like yesterday a satisfied thirst.

“That should do for supplies. Charlie, we have to go now.”

I remember like yesterday a disregard for urgency. I remember like yesterday a life without fear.

The doors to the small market rattled. I looked back at Penelope, her face hardened from behind the black scarf covering her mouth and nose. She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up so now I could just barely make out her eyes. I slung my backpack onto my shoulders, bringing my hood up too. We slipped out the back door, checked the alleyway, and then ran. We turned right and used the stacked garbage cans to climb up to the roof of a building. From there, we could relax, having the upper ground. We just had to be careful not to slip.

I remember like yesterday a whole other meaning to falling. I remember like yesterday running through alleyways a different thing. I remember like yesterday having to pay for your goods instead of stuffing them into your bag until you can barely zip it up.

Unable to help myself, I looked down at the winding streets. Penelope pulled me by my shoulder in the other direction, but not before my eyes landed on them. A shudder slithered its way down my spine, cold and haunting. I wish it didn't have to be this way, hit and running for survival, market after market, house after house.

Penelope pulled me again, surprising me, and I lost my footing. I slid down the roof on my back, scrambling to find something to hold on to. My body flung itself over the edge, but luckily, I was able to grab a loose gutter, holding onto it for dear life. Literally. Two or three of them were walking in the alley below, unaware that I was there. If I had fallen, I would've been toast.

Penelope grabbed the back of my sweatshirt, yanking me back onto the roof. She smacked the back of my head, a glare narrowing her eyes. “Pay attention, yeah?” She whispered harshly from behind her scarf. I could only nod, in a daze. “Come on,” she urged, gently nudging me to the connecting roof on our left. “We're almost there. The others are waiting for us. I think Dan wants to leave today.” She stopped so she could jump a fair distance to a lower roof. On the horizon I could see the river, blue and glistening. From here, it looked like the normal world. The one I remembered and longed for. “I don't really blame him,” Penelope continued as we ran across the roof. “This place is becoming too dangerous. Especially with Rory in the group now. We got the gas now to do it, too.”

I remember like yesterday complaining about the rising gas prices. I remember like yesterday worrying about the dangers a kid could get into merely a bruise or a broken bone.
Finally, we reached out destination. Penelope climbed down the side of a brick building and I followed closely behind her. Dan burst out of the RV door to meet us. Penelope wasn't even winded as all three of us piled back into the vehicle, but I was exhausted.

“The group decided it was best to move out today,” Dan explained, already seated in the driver's seat.

I nodded my agreement, dumping my bag on a table, booths on either side of it. I ruffled Rory's brown hair, shaggy now from the lack of a hair cut. He looked up from his coloring and smiled at me.

“Did you see any of them?” He asked me, his voice quiet.

“Yeah,” I said, sitting in a booth opposite him and looking out the window. The river from here looked so beautiful. “Don't worry, though, bud. Penelope and I were safe.”

Rory's mother, Madelyn, smiled appreciatively at me from her spot on the floor. She was crossed legged and looking at a map, a marker in her hand. I noticed the numerous amount of red circles on the map, shaking my head.

“I'm gonna take a nap, alright?”

Rory nodded, already coloring again. “Ok, Charlie.”

I made my way to the back, plopping on one of the beds. The RV lurched into drive and I sighed, throwing an arm over my eyes.

I remember like yesterday never having to feel this kind of exhaustion. I remember like yesterday the dead... that stayed dead.