Bright Shadows

I expected to see all his friends gathered around, In front of the bedroom door, but when they heard me coming, they scattered…Good. I was at a bathroom right across the hall. As soon as I got in, I locked the door, and laid my back against it.

The bathroom had, like the rest of the house, logged walls. There was the old Louie, a white sink with a mirror above it, on its shelf were tiny ghost statues, & a white bathtub against the wall with no curtain... what caught my eye was the small window right upon the tub. I dropped the sheet that was wrapped around me on the floor, and changed into the clothes Balz had gotten for me.

It was a black T-Shirt size Extra-Large with a Misfits logo on the front. The boxers were a loose medium sized, Black & white plaid, Joe Boxer brand. Not something I would've preferred to wear while getting ready for an escape, but it'll do.

I made slow steps towards the tub, as I went there, I caught movement besides me. I glanced and it was the mirror...I paused. That IS a mirror, right? I stared at it, and walked closer for a better view.

I narrowed my eyes. ''Is that me?'' I whispered. I touched my face with caution. I gasped. My face looked thinner with delicate cheekbones. I always had baby fat cheeks, my dad used to tease me with the nickname ''Tweedy bird'' because of it...I touched my lips gently, they seemed fuller.

My dark green eyes had longer eyelashes. And I was much, much paler now. When's the last time I gotten sun? I felt a light touch on my back, it was my hair braid… I quickly undid the braid I didn't even know I had, and let my dark curly hair fall in place… Last time I saw it, it only passed my ears by a couple of inches, now my hair has passed my shoulders.

I tried pulling on it to see if it were some wig or something.. Oww...Nope,Nope,It's real.

My eyes went wide. I looked…grown… I looked so much like my mom when she was young, I mean, I should know, I have an 80's picture of her under my pillow back at San Patricio... but I also looked like, Well, Me. Just…Bigger? ''No way'' I said.

Someone knocked, and I jumped. ''You ok in there?'' It was Chris.

''Um, Yeah, Just fine. I'll be out in a minute'' Literally. I gave one more glance at the mirror, and shook my head in disbelief. What's happened to me? ..I went towards the tub, and put one foot on its edge. I reached up, and held on to the windows handle to help pull myself up. I pushed off the ground with my other foot, and stood on top of the tub.

I laid my hand on the wall to steady myself, and tried to lift the windows handle up, but my foot slipped for a moment, and knocked down a bottle of shampoo that was nearby. Chris knocked on the door again. ''Are you going to take a bath?'' I got the handle up, and gently pushed open the window.

''Yes, I am. Mind giving me some space? '' I said, breathing heavily. I had a good grip on the windows edge while standing on the tip of my toes. I got my upper arms outside, so I put my feet on the wall, and climbed. So far, my head and arms were out now, great! I looked down, and saw the ground about 8 feet high. Not great!

A knock again ''is there a problem turning on the water?'' He asked. I couldn't answer him, my face was outside, He'd of heard me more distant. I climbed myself up on the wall again, and embraced for the fall.

''UUFF!'' I did loudly when I fell on my shoulder. I heard the knocking from here ''Hello? Hellooo? What's going on in there? I'll open this door if you don't tell me what's going on.'' He said. Knocking over, and over.

I got up, rubbed my shoulder, & swept off the dirt from my side ''See ya, suckers'' I said and ran off through the trees. I have no idea where I'm going. Doesn't matter. Just got to get far from here. If he wasn't going to let me leave, Then I had to find a way out before it's too late….Too late for what? I don't really know... I've been lost the entire day.

I was barefooted. I felt every pebble, rock, leaf, and twigs there was. 'Ouch!'' My feet were mushy from all the mud, and water puddles I've stepped on. I think I knew what forest this was… The air was chilly, Insects were ringing, Coqui frogs singed. I was in a rainforest called Harrisburg. It had to be it. My ''home'' was a couple of streets away from here. I could see these mountains out the windows of the orphanage.

But even if I did knew what forest this was, that wasn't really going to help me right now. These mountains are huge, I could be anywhere in them…For all I know, I could be heading the wrong direction.

What I have to find is a trail. If I find a trail, then I can follow it all the way to its exit. Tourist come here to hike. But they close down the entrances at night. It's way too dangerous to be here at dark. So I had to hurry, and watch out for slippery steps. The last thing I needed was a broken arm or leg in the middle of the forest.

I stopped for a moment, and looked back. No sign of anyone. Good. I took a moment to catch my breath, & I heard a distant sound of water splashing. Thank god. I'm so dehydrated right now. I followed the sound of the water through the trees, and the sound was getting louder, and louder as I got closer. I was stepping on hard rocks now. The sun hit my face, & right ahead, was the waterfall.

So high up, with its stream falling off the cliff. It looked amazing. I would've love to have time to sit back, and enjoy its beauty. But right now, I was escaping an unknown log house with unknown people in it who just might be looking for me, and not ever let me go… Yeah,Maybe some other time I could come.

I had to jump on one rock to another to get to the waterfalls pool… I got to a big boulder,and i sat behind it.If anyone was behind me they wouldn't be able to see me.They'd have to stand in front of me were i could see them to spot me..

The splashing was so loud,yet serene all at once.

I cupped my hands together, picked up the water, and drank. The water was freezing cold, but that didn't stop me. I drank as much as I could. I wetted my face, hair, and arms. The feeling of pure water straight from the source on your skin is just incredible. I laid my back on the boulder, closed my eyes and enjoyed the sun on me.

What would I give just to be safe in my parents arms in the house they raised me in, instead of running from strangers in a forest? Some kids just don't know how lucky they have it...I sighed. Love your parents to the fullest, you never know what could happen.

I heard leaves ruffling up above, I opened my eyes and saw movement up in the tree. I got to my feet, and raised my hand over my eyes to block the sun. What's moving the trees like that? I know there's no monkeys in Puerto Rico.

Suddenly, a guy with no shirt drops from the tree branch, and into the waterfalls pool. I froze, dripping wet from the water he splashed .He rose from the water, flipping his honey blond hair back, and laughed with amusement. ''Whoooo! '' He shouted. He then looked at me with a big smile, flashing all his teeth. A teenage boy just came up beside me, and sat on one of the rocks looking at the guy in the water. ''I think I should go now'' I said. ''Have fun''' and flashed them a quick nervous smile, but when I tried to walk away. The boy got up from the rock, and grabbed my wrist. I looked at him, and he shook his head. I gulped.