I keep running and running from the hurt. My heart pounds in my chest as my sweat mixes with the rain. My feet slap against the wet pavement and kick up splashes of water. I stop and look up at the sky and try to wipe the moisture from my brow. I lay in the road with my arms stretching to the seemingly endless gray sky. I scream to the clouds and let the rain wash away my tears. I cry and cry and scream into the wind, wishing that God would answer me. The universe hates me, of that I am sure. Every time that something great happens, something awful comes along to crush my spirit. My desperate cries are met with a flash of bright blue lightning. I'm not sure why, but my tears suddenly stop. I slowly stand up and stare at the now lightening sky and ask God one last time, "Why?" As I whisper the word the wind takes it away. It is as if I never said anything at all.
I walk as far away from my home as I can. My feet ache and my stomach burns with hunger. I push thoughts of food and rest to the back of my mind as I trudge further away from home. Memories of my father fill my mind. My heart stings as I remember his harsh words and condescending tone. I remember how I could never please him no matter how hard i tried. Hatred fills my body. I hate my father. He never defended me, he never spoke highly of me, and he most certainly never loved me. No matter how many times he said he loved me, I knew he was lying. He tried to be a good father, but he failed miserably. I hope the worst fate falls upon him. He did this to me. He killed my spirit and told me to get out of his sight. So here I am, at the base of the longest mountain range in the world. I start to climb. I don't have gear. I just need to get to the other side to the city of Trof Daulerdela. My mother lives there and I haven't seen her in two years. She keeps calling me and asking me to live with her, and now I'm taking her up on the offer without my father finding out. The range is long but it is short. It's more like a range of hills. It won't be hard to get to the city, it'll just take some time. I have a backpack with my water, food, and clothes in it. My climb takes two days and I sleep on rocks. I finally reach the city and head toward my mother's house. People in the streets keep giving me awkward glances. I realize I must look like a goat that just had a mud bath and rolled around in grass. When I reach my mother's house, she isn't there. I ask the neighbors about her, and I find that she is dead. I sink to the floor and cry. My gentle mother is dead and I can't do anything about it. I suddenly realize why my father has been so harsh lately. He knew she was dead and he didn't know how to tell me. I know I love him, even if I hate some of the things he does. A kindly woman drives me home and I don't say a word to my father. I take a bath and change my clothes and go straight to my bedroom and cry. I will always be alone, I'll never marry, I have no friends, and my father will never love me like I have loved him in the past. So I sit. And I cry. And I am alone. But maybe I'm not really alone, because as I fall asleep, my mother fills my mind as I hear her say, "I love you, Lily."