Chapter 3
Safira
“Safira! Come upstairs!” Lisa’s voice grated my nerves as she called down to me. It was late afternoon, and most of the household should be back by now. I grudgingly got up and made my way to the living room upstairs, wondering what she wanted. When I arrived, the rest of the family was already there, and Lisa seemed to be holding back her excitement.
“We have something to celebrate today.” Lisa stated, and that got everyone’s attention. I stood completely still, almost in shock. Had they finally remembered my birthday? Maybe I’d been underestimating them. Lisa clapped her hands together. “Everyone, go take a look outside.” She smiled smugly as her kids ran to the door. “You too, Safira! Go on!” she said, shooing me along. I walked outside, with Lisa and Ralph right behind us. My mouth dropped open.
There was a shiny car in the driveway, with a big red bow on it. I could only stand there in awe. Lisa walked up with a pair of car keys in her hands. Each of the older family members already had a car, even Jeremy who was still a high schooler. But this was a nice car - it looked brand new. I turned to Lisa, my heart beating. I had no idea what to say.
“I think we need to acknowledge someone today.” She said as she walked up. I swallowed, but then Lisa walked past me, heading straight toward Hailey. “Hailey here has just finished her second to last semester at college, with a three-point GPA!” Lisa exclaimed as she handed the keys to my cousin.
Hailey started shrieking, jumping up and down as she hugged her mom. I stood there stunned, my heart racing at what I had just witnessed. “Hey, I want her old car then! It’s not fair she gets a new one!” Jeremy whined as Ralph walked over to congratulate his daughter. I stood there, not sure what to do. I didn’t have a car at all. I took the bus everywhere, even to the grocery store. Lisa turned to look at me.
“Safira, aren't you happy for your cousin?” She frowned as if I was being rude. Me .
I looked at them all, then the emotions I’d been bottling inside of me for most of my life finally boiled over. “Are you kidding me?” I yelled, feeling the years of their cumulative actions overwhelm me. “Did you really think I would be happy? It’s my birthday! I got nothing!” I yelled, and Ralph’s face started to turn angry as Lisa looked shocked. Ralph pointed his finger at me as he started yelling.
“Listen here, young lady, you do not get to ruin our special moment on our property!” He practically howled at me. “It’s Hailey’s achievement, not yours!” He continued as Lisa shook her head at me.
“How can you act this way? After everything we’ve done for you. So ungrateful.” She commented as she hugged Hailey, looking at her husband as if I was something to be ashamed of. I couldn’t take it anymore. I ran inside, then down to my room and grabbed a duffel bag, throwing in clothes and several blankets. I needed to get away from them. After I quickly grabbed a few necessities, I ordered a rideshare, knowing exactly the place I wanted to go to cool off. I hadn’t been back in forever, but it was far away from all this, far away from all of them.
I waited until the car pulled up, then ran outside, passing by everyone as they huddled around Hailey’s new car. “Hey! I need a word with you!” Lisa shouted as I went up to the waiting car and opened the door, ignoring her. I knew I’d be in big trouble later, but I couldn’t face them now. Not when I was still shaking with emotion. The driver pulled away, and I didn’t even bother to look back. No doubt the family would spend the rest of the night alternating between gushing over Hailey’s new car and complaining about how ungrateful I was. I sat back into the car’s seat, letting out a long, low breath. The driver looked back at me.
“Are you sure this is where you want me to drop you?” He asked, and I just nodded. I knew I didn’t look like I had enough camping supplies, but I didn’t need a tent. A blanket, some clothes, and some protein bars were all I really needed. That, and the peace and tranquility that the forest offered.
He dropped me off at the road leading up to the campsite. It was almost dusk, but I made my way up the trail and to an area where I saw plenty of other people who had their tents set up already. I was probably going to be the only person sleeping with no shelter above me, but that was all right. The weather was nice, and I had such great memories attached to this area that I could spend all night sleeping under the stars and all it would bring me was peace. I set my things down and walked about, retracing some of my steps from the last time I was here. The area looked the same as I remembered, with green pine trees, sloping hills, and the vast sky above. I sat down, spread out my blanket and thought about life. How it had been so far, and where I was headed. And I got caught up in my memories. Memories of my family, the things that happened to change the course of my life, and the few moments where I found reasons to go on.
As the night stretched on, I lay down on my back and reached for my necklace, rubbing the metal charm and thinking of my parents. They would want me to be happy, not living in the purgatory I’d been trudging through since they’d been gone. I remembered that one perfect day I’d spent with my friends, the boys who hadn’t judged me at all, who told me I was fun, interesting and supported me when I let my tears come through.
My eyes grew heavy and I curled onto my side, wishing that I could see them again now that we were grown. I was sure they would be just as kind as they were when we’d met. I wished to be somewhere new, where every day could be as amazing as that one so many summers ago, when I felt like I belonged. With a deep sigh and my mind swirling with memories, I drifted off.