He had to get out of the house. Grabbing his vest, he went downstairs and quickly put on his dark sneakers. ”Where are you going?” asked his mom, eyebrow raised.” You look grim in those. Try some color on for a change, that would be nice.” “It doesn’t matter, Mom.” he muttered, bitter. “Listen here youn-” she started, but he had already left the living room, slamming the door behind him shut. Struggling, he got out of the house, slamming yet again another door, and wandered off to the terribly calm streets of the neighborhood. Gosh, it was always so calm, and usually he liked it that way, but at this moment…he wished it wasn’t, that would distract him from what he was going through. This feeling of…being in the danger zone, of being threatened, of having your life at stake, on the verge of being ruined, destroyed. It was stupid, absurd, unbelievably absurd. How? How could he let THAT slip? Where did he go wrong? “In being a part of it”, he thought. He also felt anger, towards himself, towards the technology of our time. He needed a change of air, something that could make him forget about it, all of it. He needed a ticket for a one-way trip to unconsciousness, a safe area where he could hide from the monster that was preying on him. He needed to feel secure, or to not feel at all, both options were equally tempting. And so, he headed to the one place he could find what could free him. Salvation was a few streets away, and his old friend had a couple needles worth of it. The fastest way to the destination was through a couple of dark passages who have known better times, when people would take them daily, when they weren’t completely covered in parasitic plants. At the end of the second one, he stopped at the sound of a quiet ripple coming from between the branches of a nearby orange tree. He looked up to see a small bird nest, where hungry little birds were being fed by their mother. Failing to find meaning to this sight, he let his eyes draft to the now dimming clear sky, as if seeking aid from a higher, celestial force, almost praying. Nothing happened. He didn’t expect much from above anyway. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the final street to the door behind which he will presumably find peace. Ringing the bell made an awful noise he could not stand, so he chose to knock. One time. Two times. Three times. “HEY DUDE! OPEN UP!” he shouted. “Go away!” said a voice from the house. “Come on man!” he let out, desperate. “I just need you to hook me up one more time!” “I said: GO. AWAY.” The voice screamed at him. “Want me to spell it out for you? G-O space A-W-” “I ALMOST GOT CAUGHT DUDE” He cried, interrupting him. ”SO YOU’RE EITHER GOING TO OPEN THIS DAMNED DOOR OR I WILL FORCE IT OPEN MYSLEF!”. He stayed silent for a moment. He could not take it anymore. Leaning on the door, a few tears started rolling softly from his eyes, following the curve of his cheeks and dropping onto the old, frayed doormat reading “WELCOME HOME!”. He heard the lock turn and looked up to find his friend’s troubled face, peeking from inside. “P-Please?” he sobbed. Without a word, the host grabbed the crying kid’s arm and dragged him into the hall. “You better not make me regret this.” he whispered. He peeked one more time at the empty street, making sure that no one caught a sight of his friend in need. He locked the door.
