He smiles and waved as his parents leave with packed bags. They close the door and his smile dissipates. As soon as they start the car he bolts. As fast as his feet can go, he runs upstairs. His bag is already packed full. Matches, lighters, wire, clothes, toiletries, bandages, bread, some sandwich meats, pens, hot dogs, a flashlight, gloves, a $30 gift card, and a pair of sneakers tied to the bag. He puts the bag on, and a dark blue fleece blanket over his back and head. He runs downstairs and checks the windows again. Clear, he shuts all the lights off and pulls a small note out of his pocket. The note reads- “I love you, just give me time. I’ll be back. Mom knows why.”

Two days prior he had come home from school to walk in on his mom in bed with his neighbor, Louis McCarthy. His reaction was to leave immediately. He hid in his room until the next day where he confronted her. She had no answer for him. This was the 5th affair his mother has had. He needed space, clarification, time to process.

He left through the back door after locking it from the inside. He walks on the edge of the fence and out the back gate, leading towards the woods. He’s studied a map of his town, so he knows what rivers to follow. As it gets darker he uses his flash light, turning towards the railroad. He follows the rail until he could collect enough metal debris. He walked back into the woods to find a good tree. He finds a fallen tree that is secure on a large oak tree. He clears an area around the tree, and begins to dig a hole with a rock. He fills the hole with twigs, leaves and dry grass. He places the metal debris over the fire pit, back and forth like a rack. He lites the fire and begins to roast the hotdogs. He digs in after wrapping the dog in a slice of bread. As he is distracted the fire lights on the other side of the pit. Debris catches then the grass, all of a sudden the dead tree is lit on fire. He starts to run but the fire spread faster than he knew. Within seconds the forest is on fire. He runs dodging wild animals and large boulders. Suddenly a tree crashes down landing right on him…

“DAVIIEEEEE” “ Wake up bud you got one more month of school left. Let’s goooo!!”

Davie jolts up and gets out of bed. It was a dream, but he truly does share that secret with his mum. Hopefully he’ll gain the courage to talk about it with his dad.