The tears fell one by one as the voices moved far far away.

     I opened my eyes, taking in all the used tissues beside me. I sat up staring at my perfect bedroom, not a single speck of dust out of place. What happened? Then, everything came back to me; the fighting, the fear, and me crying myself to sleep. I flopped back down on my bed. I dreaded going down the stairs to the nightmare on the first floor. “KAYLA! Come down here, will you?” shouted my dad. I slipped past the paintings of my family portraits and into dark dark world.

     The first thing I saw was the gloom surrounding my parents. “Kayla? we’re going to the mall.” I strained to hear my mom’s soft whispers. At times like this, my parents are never their happy selves. I have to listen to what they need to complain to me, and I need to be extra obedient to make them very happy. My parents can be snappy and grumpy every time there is a problem at work. All you can do is avoid them, but I was getting really sick of it. “Go change.” My mother sighed. I went up the stairs two at a time, as fast as I could go. I switched my pajamas with a simple shirt and a pair of shorts. “God Kayla, it’s the middle of fall, you’re gonna be super cold in those summer shorts.” My mother complained. My mom and dad are so devoted to work that they literally sleep at work. I’m not saying that’s bad, but they get so stressed and they take it out on me. It's a miracle they even have time left for me.

     “It's okay, mom. I’m not gonna be cold in this weather,” I muttered gesturing to the sunshine outside.

     “Fine, but when we go to the mall, I’m gonna buy you sweaters.” My mother argued.

     The minute we stepped out the door, I was blinded by the light.

     It took more than a minute for me to adjust to the bright light. It seemed as if the weather wasn’t cold at all. It was just the stress that iced the house all over.  We trudged to the car, and opened it up.

     It was so quiet in the car that you could hear a pin drop. In the distance, I could make out the bright lights bordering the huge mall. When we parked, I rushed to my favorite shop. I gasped as I saw all the trends I have been missing out on for the last few months. My mother rubbed her temples as I lead her down the aisles. “What are all these summer clothes? It’s almost winter!” My mom cried out.

     “Mom, RELAX.” I sighed.
     “NO! I’m not going to have my own daughter go out into the world wearing shorts and skirts in the middle of FALL!”  My mom argued.
     “Fine! Then I’m not buying anymore clothes!” I snapped.
     I dragged my mom away from the sweaters out into the parking lot and into the car.
     “Drive!” I said.
     I knew that I had embarrassed her and made her angry by the look on her face, all scrunched up in frustration and irritation.

     The minute we got home, my mom turned to me and scowled, “Kayla! You need to have more respect for your own mother! All I have done for you, you repay me with this attitude?”
     “What you have done for me? Really? You’re actually bringing that up?” I snorted.
     “I’m really getting annoyed with this tone of yours, young lady.” My mom said.
     That blew my surface. I can’t believe she said that, what about her attitude?
     “Have you ever asked me how I felt about anything? Have you?” I shouted.
     I roared, “You don’t know anything about me, you guys don’t even try!”

     I rushed to the door opening it with such force that I was afraid it would break. Everything blurred together as I ran as fast as my legs could take me. I tripped on a rock, and as I stood up, my dark brown hair fell, covering half of my tear-stained face and the hatred swirling in my eyes. “Nobody,” I whispered, “can tell me what to do.” I dashed into the forest at the end of the neighborhood even though I heard my name faintly calling me back. I ignored it and ran. At each step my head cleared more and more. I started to smile as the air rushed past me.

     I slowed to a stop in the middle of a circle of trees. I remembered I had my phone with me. I took out my headphones and listened to a song turning up the volume the highest it could go to drown out the other noise. “I know you moved on, I heard you’re doing better without me. Girl this is driving me crazy. Can’t you see what you’re doing to me? She let go. She killed me when she said it was over. Now I’m in the middle of nowhere and got no space to breathe.” I sobbed as the tears started to streak down my face again as I thought about what happened inside the house. In a way, this was the happiest moment of my life. Imperfect. Free.
*****

     I heard sirens of the police cars small against the loud music, but it was there. The rough bark scratched at my skin as I used my feet and legs to pull myself up the biggest tree. I heard footsteps below me. My heart skipped a beat as the crunches came closer. I crouched low, hidden in the leaves. I was high enough that they couldn’t see me when they looked back, but low enough that I could eavesdrop on their conversation. Two men walked into the clearing talking in hushed tones. I struggled to hear their little conversation.

     “Did you see the woman?” the man with brown hair on the left said. “ Her face was almost swelling up because she cried so much, and it's been almost a month.”
     “I know, right?” The man with red hair said, “She was crying about… A girl?”
     “Yup,” he said, “wait, did you hear that?”
     “Hear what?” I could detect a hint of fear in his voice.
     “The crunch of the branches. Careful, someone’s here.”

     I stifled a laugh. They were both looking around cautiously for a monster or something. Time to get down to business. I jumped in a perfect arc down on top of their backs.The men fought like crazy. They tried to kick my stomach but failed. Instead I punched them on their sides making them stoop over in pain. One man reached for a stick to knock me out. He grabbed it and swung it at my face which took me a moment too long to avoid. Its rough bark tore at my face. I was shocked, but I had just enough energy to use my fists to knock them both out. The brown-haired man stopped mid sentence. “Wha..?”

     As I treated my wounds, I got a better look at them. They were not men, but only boys who probably were like a few years older than I am.
     When they woke up a few hours later, they noticed immediately that they could not move one bit. Their eyes shifted down to the ropes.
     “Aaaahhhh, get me out of here, Mark!”
     “If you look at me, I’m tied too, you idiot!”
     I snickered. I haven’t seen another human since a month ago.
     “Gentlemen?” I interrupted.
     “Ah! Ghost! Get me out of here!”
     “What ghost?” I whispered as I showed myself.
     “ Wait, Aren’t you the girl who went missing?” Mark asked me curiously.
“Isn’t she the girl who went missing?” He asked his companion when I didn’t answer. I learned that “Mark” was more courageous than I thought as I flicked my eyes to the other side. From my experience, whenever I knocked a person out, they never had the courage to even talk back to me. I gawked at the boy, with red hair, who was trying to cut the ropes with his teeth whispering, “ghost” each time he failed. His hair was messed up, and in my opinion, he was the one that looked liked the ghost.
     “What are you doing here in the middle of the malignant forest?” I interrogated Mark.
     “Why are you in this forest?” He asked me.
     “Why are you answering my question with another question?” I grunted.
     “Because I’m curious. Of all the places to run away to, you come to this miserable forest. Why?”
     “Because I wanted learn to survive on my own without help. Cure my soul each day from all the perfection.”
     He pointed to my phone. “Does that even work out here? Even if it does, you know that they can track it right?”
     “Yes, I know, but I can’t just throw it away. It’s like 300 bucks.” I answered.
     “That’s not the real reason, is it?” Mark urged me.
     “Maybe not.” I reckoned.
     “Are you going to tell us, or what?” He demanded after I didn’t provide any more information.
     I stayed silent pondering his question. “Maybe later when I can trust you. What’s his name, Mark?” I crowed.
     “How do you know my name? That doesn’t matter now. That’s Carter.” nodding his head toward the red-haired boy. Carter lifted his head at the mention of his name. His eyes widened as he saw my appearance of sport shorts, a plain t-shirt, with a cape draped over my shoulders. He stared at my misty gray eyes and long, silky, hair.
     “Who are you?” He whispered.
     Mark sighed. “That’s the missing girl, you fool! Were you even listening to our conversation?”
     I lowered my body to the ropes. The ropes snapped when I sawed through them with my pocketknife. Carter jumped up and ran through the trees, away from the clearing.
     “Where’s he going?” I exclaimed.
     “Idk. Anyway, I’m decided to help you.” He said.
     “Dude! You know that the clearing is the middle of the forest, right?” Does Carter know? He might get lost and die!” I gasped.
     “WHAT! Carter! Carter, can you hear me? Come back!” He called out to the darkness in front of him.
     “I’m going in.” He told me when nobody answered.
     “No! I’ll go in because I know what the danger and the way around the forest more than you.” I argued. I walked one step at a time, closer to the dark world. I stopped one inch away from the trees. How long I stood there, I don’t know. Then, I heard faint footsteps and cars screeching to a stop. I turned shocked, and climbed up the tree next to me. I can’t believe it. It was only a moment before that Carter ran out of the clearing or maybe it had been half an hour, but he can’t have gotten out that fast!  I CAN’T believe he sold me out like that for some reward. Well, we did just meet, and I did knock him out, BUT STILL! He knew I was running away, and if I hadn’t turn myself in for a month it’s actually common sense that I don’t want to go back yet.
     “Kayla? Your name is Kayla, right? What’s going on? Why did you rush up the tree like that?” Mark whined from somewhere below me.
     “Stop whining and shhh! Carter somehow found his way through the forest and got the cops!” I hissed.  I leaped down from the branch, landing in a hunting position. I grabbed Mark by the wrist; I pulled him to my tree, the tallest and widest tree of the clearing.
     “Can you climb a tree?” I muttered
     “Wait,” Mark wheezed, “I’m not one of those athletic people! But, I think I can...”
     I shoved him toward the tree and huffed, “CLIMB!”
     “Ok, ok jeez.” He started up the tree and got to the lowest branch.
     “Climb higher!” I half-screamed as I pulled myself up to the second branch.
     “Woah, you’re good at this.” Mark complimented as he, too, climbed onto the second branch. I grabbed him by the shoulder and forced my hand on his mouth to shush him as the voices got closer and closer.
     “You know, I think this is the clearing the boy was talking about, but where is the boy that he said was in danger?”
     Mark and I looked at each other in surprise. Danger?
     “I don’t know, do you think this is it?”
     “Look around the clearing. If you find anything tell me, got it?”
     “Sure.”
     I thought that all I have done until now would be all nullified as Mark and I sat not even daring to breathe as we stared down at the cops.
     “I think I found some tracks, Susan!”
     “Really? Where are you, James?”
     I’m here by the big tree. I found a handkerchief. It looks like something a girl would carry around.”
     Shoot, my handkerchief probably fell when I started climbing. I wanted to hit myself in the head for being so stupid, but I couldn’t risk making the sound.
     “Then, the boy was right. Search around the tree and look up.”
     After what seemed like eternity,
     “Nothing! No more clues here!”
     “Not here either!”
     When they left, I decided I could trust Mark because he could have just turned me in for the reward.
     “Hey, I was wondering all this time, why are you out here for so long? I mean, um, why not go back now? If you were trying to teach your parents a lesson, you sure did succeed.” Mark asked.
     “I don’t know, maybe it is time to go back. It’s just that I’m done with being the perfect daughter of the perfect family.” I said quietly turning my back to him.
     “Really? You were perfect? It is time to go home. I mean you’ve been away for more than a month now.” Mark agreed.
     “No, it has only been exactly a month.” I perfected him.
     “Whatever.” Mark rolled his eyes.
I turned toward the opening. Mom, dad, I’m coming home.