The orangey glow form under your eye lids blinded you alone. You lifted a hand up to shield your eyes from the brilliant sun. You squinted now, trying to get a look around. But it was too bright. You closed your eyes again, trying to think of where you might be or... anything. But nothing came. All you remember is waking up. Here. Under the horrid, blinding sun. Your eyes hurt. Not just from the sun, but from the throbbing headache you had. Whatever happened before this, it was definitely something. Either I had a little too much to drink and is now dealing with the handover or i must have hit my head, explaining the loss of memory. you opened your eyes again, now able to squint. But what you saw was nothing what you expected, not in the slightest. But that was just it. Nothing. You saw nothing. The only thing you could see was the ground and the sky. You looked down to see miles of pale, soft sand, looked to be untouched. Like i have been her for a hot second because there were no foot prints or tire marks of how i could have got here. The the bright blue sky with not one blemish in sight was enough to tell you that you were in the middle of a desert. No clouds, no rain, this also meant, no source of water. you were sitting up now, confused and dazed. You looked around you trying to figure something out. You had so many questions it made your head hurt so much worse now. But that’s when you realized there was patches of dried blood al around you. And on you. Mostly on your baggy, half ripped shirt, you know for sure wasn’t yours. You also wore a pair of shorts. They were tight and really short. Definitely something I would never wear. More questions caved in. Where was the blood form? Is it my blood? You took a breath. You were terrified but you also knew the more you freaked out the faster you would go crazy out here. But instead of sitting here, accomplishing nothing, might as well try to survive. Where ever you are. you stand up, and look around again, trying to find the best possible way to find something. You look deep into the horizon, it was blurry with heat waves but you could just barely make out some sort of structure. You couldn’t tell what it was, but knowing there was no where else to walk, this was your best bet. the sun was not only bright, but incredibly hot. You felt like you couldn’t breathe and all the had evaporated all the water from you. Your mouth was dry, in desperate need of water. As you slowly trudged you way through the thick sand, it got harder ever second to walk. It felt as if you had a thousand pounds on your shoulders. Like you could collapse right here and sleep for a hundred years. As you squinted into the horizon again, it was if the structure hadn’t moved. It was still miles away. You sighed. You even contemplated just staying here, waiting it out until the night. Until is cold and when you have more energy. But your legs didn’t stop taking your forward and so did your curiosity and your determination. after what felt like hours, you could tell the sun would soon dip below the horizon leaving you in the middle of a pitch black desert, with god knows what else out here. But luckily, the structure was definitely getting closer. Maybe another hour. But of course this had to be the longest hour in the world. As the sun got closer to the horizon, you finally reached the structure. You could tell now that it was an old house. Most of the house still stood and widow, and door frames seemed in tact. You slowly made your way into the house. The paint was in bad condition and the cement was badly cracked. Sand filled all of the ground along with piles of dust. It was one big room with another off to the Side, but it was blocked with sand. There was no furniture. Just the structure of the house. As you made your way completely around the house, there was nothing else to be seen. Some might say this was an unsuccessful trip, but something about this house seemed oddly familiar.

normal wasn’t something that anyone experienced anymore. In a world where nuclear war had taken away all of our normal had made our lives... horrifying. In fact, horrifying was the new normal. before war had taken over the world, everyone at least once would think of the world if there ever was an apocalypse. If you would survive, how you had to fight for every scrap of food. And yes, those things might be true, life is hard now, but not nearly as hard as we thought. Just the emotional trauma that the war had put everyone through made life way worse than fighting and killing. People couldn’t care less if they didn’t eat, because the things people have seen and the people they lost made surviving way worse. The suffering and mourning people went through killed people more than trying to survive.
i remember when i lost my little brother. He was all i had. He was blown up by a bomb when the war had first started. It was terrifying and if it wasn’t for him i would be dead. Because I knew that alive or dead he would want me to survive. He was only ten years old. He was everything to me. We didn’t really have a good relationship with our mom so we had to stick together. That was two years ago when life was still normal. And it wasn’t until today when I’ve finally stopped mourning. i woke up and thought to myself, its life or death out here and if i keep on mourning his loss, he’s the one who will kill me. So, today was almost, normal. It was weird. Yes, war still went on and i still had to survive, but without the weight of him on my back, things seemed... better. i also knew that if he was here right now, he would tell me to stop thinking of his death, and instead to think of him as an angel, watching over and protecting me.

You krept through the graveyard. Still lost, the eerie silence sent a shiver down your spine. And the fog that covered the cold, half dead grass didn't help. All of the tomb stones were hard to read and mostly covered by growing vines. As you rounded the next corner, more views krept upon an old bench. And on it, a lady, old and wrinkly whose skin looked decayed and green. She wore a white, silhouette dress that hung down past her feet. Her hair was mostly gone but the last of it hung down her forehead like weak bangs. Her eyes and cheeks were sunken in and the skin around her face looked brittle and thin. You couldn't take your eyes off her as she breathed heavily, and through breaths she said, “you shouldn't be here.”

“Who are you?” she asked. Her face and her words were laced with confusion and concern. Emotions ran through your heart. Do you reveal your true identity? Or do you run away like all of your other problems in your life. You knew the right choice. You knew you aunt was right. ‘Your not running from your problems, you're just delaying the inevitable.’ her voice and wise word were true. There was not running from the problems, you're just delaying them. You sighed. There's no reason to hide it now. “Answer me!” she exclaimed. Your heart pounded. This was it. After all the years of hiding the truth. It felt wrong to expose myself. But your heart knew it was right. She was your love and lying to her about where you've been most of the time was heartbreaking. I cant delay this anymore. You stared into her beautiful green eyes. “Tell me. I wont be mad. Whoever you are.” she whispered. You glanced around making sure no one was with you in this alley. It was completely empty, just a few trash cans scattered around. You raised your hand to the end of the mask on your neck. Slowly, you lifted the mask, peeling it all the way off of your head. You dropped your head in shame. Moments passed without her saying a word. I wasn't surprised. The first time I knew I was the super hero. I didn't even believe it. More moments passed before she took a hand and lifted my chin until I was staring at her. And she smiled.

Dusk had now settled upon the city. People started making their way home as I was just now waking up. It was 9 o’clock PM. Just on time. This was it. The day that you would never forget. The day you would steal the most priceless gem from a museum that cost more than 200 million dollars. If I got. I mean when i get my hands on this, i won't ever have to work a day more in my life. You packed your bag for departure, as your mother entered your room. You quickly hid the bag. Of course like every night, she came to say good night and that she was going to bed. You said your goodnights as she went to her room. To never come out until the next morning. You looked at the clock again. 9:35. It was completely dark now. No life in the town to be seen. Your apartment that was in the big town of new york, sat on the third floor. Of the complex. Which means you will take the balcony to the streets. Then you would make your way to the museum where you would steal the newly priceless gem that sat front and center of the museum. Of new york for that matter. As you grabbed your bag, you climbed through the window onto the balcony trying to make the least amount of noise you possibly could. As you made your way down each flight of stairs, the street lights illuminated the streets below. They set an orange hue on the buildings as you made your way down one street and to the next. And before you knew it, the museum sat before you. It is closed now. You made your plan to get there during closed hours while you were on a school field trip to the same museum. There was a backdoor that led to a staff only room. There were no cameras or alarms that could go off. As you made your way to the back, you took out a key. One that you had stolen from a staff member when you were on the field trip. As you silently made your way into the room, a screen appeared on the far wall. As you rehearsed, you punched in the code, disabling all cameras, and motion sensors. All you needed to do was get that gem and go. After doing so, you entered the museum. You never saw the museum after closing. It was kind of odd. It was dead silent and almost pitch black, the only thing lighting it up was the street lights from outside. As you quickly made your way to the center room. The gem catches your eye. It sparkled in the dim light. Its beautiful blue color, making your mouth water. This was it. After this i wont ever have to see a day of work ever again. Slowly you got to the gem and plucked it from its display

Running through those halls felt like I was breaking free. Breaking free from the chains of hell. As I ran the cold grey concrete hitting my feet every time they fell, they chased me. The guards, the nurses, even the head master. Everyone. As I ran full speed ahead to the huge metal door that only blocked me from the outside, rooms flashed passed me. Other kids were in some watching me as I was making my final escape. Their faces said it all. It was mostly shock but some excitement as this was the only crazy thing that has ever happened to them. As I kept sprinting down the hall the door that stood at the end I could tell was double my size and bolts lined the edges. A key card slot fell right above the handle. And a small window right in the center. Slowly but surely as you made your way closer to the door, everybody chasing you became smaller as you were finally moving ahead. I suddenly stopped as the door was now just feet away. I looked down to see the key card draped around my neck, dangling over your hospital gown. I ripped the card from my neck as I quickly inserted the card with no hesitation. This was it. My time to escape. To live free away from these bars of hell. I placed my hand onto the handle of the door and turned around. The group of people were still making my way closer to me as the suddenly stopped. Realizing they couldn’t catch me. The head master was in the front. His hands were on his knees and he was bent over like a dog. Begging for water. It looked like they all haven’t had to run like that before. The master looked up at me. And through puffs he said, “don’t do this”. I chuckled as if that was going to change my mind. I quickly turned the handle to the door and swung it open. The door was heavier than I expected but slowly I got the door completely open. A whoosh of fresh air hit my face. It felt like nothing I have ever felt before. Not like the artificial air condition air that I was breathing. The first thing I noticed was the view. The facility was on a hill and I could see land stretch on for miles. Rolling hills that covered the west land and a dense forest covering the east. The sky was a bright blue color without a cloud in sight. And the sun lit up the land. A warm haze settled upon my face. Like the sun was giving you a warm welcome to the new world. You looked down to the ground to see long, green grass that stretched down the hill. You slowly planted your feet into the warm grass. A smile kept upon my face. I bend over to feel it. And you finally knew you were free.

Every time I mess up, it feels like I’m setting another fire on my dignity. On my soul. On everything. It makes me feel like I can’t do anything right with parents like mine. A bad score on a test or hitting the wrong note on the piano. It can be anything at anytime. And I can feel it. See it. See the flame all around me like in inside of a burning house walking through the smoke trying to break free of the flame of failure. It’s unbearable. I wish I could just run away forever. So I never have to worry so I never have to feel the pain I do everyday. Not only the mental pain but the physical pain too. The pain of my fingers stretching to each note on the piano or the cramps in my hands as I write letter after letter. And the mental pain. The pain my parents put on me to do good every single day. When I know deep down that I will never be as good as they want me to. But as everyday comes and as everyday goes I always remember that someday in the future I will move out. Drop out of collage and become one of those granola hippy girls that live off the tree nuts and granola bars. Someday.