"Audrey, once you are finished with your plate, would you place it in the sink and come outside with me?" Mary called from the front door.

Hurriedly, I placed my plate in the sink and slipped on my sneakers near the door to meet Mary outside. Cool, harsh wind whipped my hair around and pushed the front door closed with a bang. "I didn't want you to feel trapped inside here, so I got you this. You can ride wherever you want to, you're 16, I trust you. I hope you like it, Audrey." Mary smiled once again, pulling a mint green bike from around the side of the house. 

I gasped, it was beautiful. After taking care of Alice for so long I never had the chance to explore or ride a bike around town. "Go ahead, I know you want to take it for a ride Audrey." The plastered smile never left her face. Maybe she was just genuinely happy, I don't know. My brain buzzed with excitement, I couldn't wait to ride it all around wherever I wanted to go. Without responding to Mary I hopped on the bike, ignoring the chilly wind making my eyes water. I hopped the wheels onto the pavement and headed towards the local park. The cool, fresh scent of leaves and grass filled my nostrils. I was floating, or so I thought I was. I felt free. It was an escape, riding a bike. It is like speeding away from whatever problems you have in life. You are carried by the wind, your life whizzing beside you.

When human life approached me I slowed down. I hadn't realized how fast I was going until I almost ran into a puppy scampering around the pavement. I coasted into the park then jumped off the seat to sit on a bench for a bit. A familiar book lay on the bench I was approaching. I had read it before, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. It lay open, face down on the bench, like someone had just abandoned it recently. I picked it up and began reading where the previous reader had left off. 

"Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they'll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back."

Slightly ironic, isn't it?

I began reading, enjoying my time alone. A large gust of chilly wind blew my tousled blonde hair around my head and children giggled in the distance. A girl and a boy with a bike. The girl, running in a calf length pink dress with a bow that matched attached to her curls, chased after the boy on the bike, her hand on the back of the seat the whole time. I smiled to myself. They were happy children, enjoying eachother's company. As I glanced down at my book to begin reading again, a yelp came from the direction of the children. The boy lay on the pavement with the bike fallen in the grass. The girl is running to his side, pulling small papers from her pocket. Bandaids. She knelt down to him and patched him up. Young love, so tender and soft. If only I could have a love like the one of the two children. A love that would help patch me back together and kneel down to help me up. Is this coming off in a cheesy way?