Chapter: 1
On a cold winter evening a boy and his mother are heading to a store in another town. At this store they are hoping to find a suit for the young man's wedding.
"Are you excited for the wedding!" Said my mother. After glaring at the back of her head for a moment I sighed and responded, "Obviously not?" ... "I mean c'mon I barely even know her!" "Don't be ridiculous, this is good for our family. Besides, she's a really nice girl. I'm sure you'll get along." She said adjusting her grip on the steering wheel while shooting me a dirty look in the rear-view mirror. "You're one to talk, you actually knew dad before you got married!" I shouted leaning back in my seat and folding my arms. "Don't give me that attitude! I will turn this car around!" She yelled practically strangling the steering wheel. "I would actually like that very much thank you!" I spat back, rolling my eyes. My mom just gritted her teeth and laid back in her seat. We spent the rest of the ride in tense silence.
As we approached the shop my mother became increasingly irritated while left with her own thoughts in the silence. Finally, she spoke as we pulled into the parking lot, "Gosh why do you have to be so difficult! Listen here, you're going to go into that store, pick out a nice suit and you're going to behave and stop complaining!" She yelled while shoving open her car door. I chose to stay silent because any response would only provoke her even more. "Good lord you don't know how badly I want to smack this child right now." He gritted her teeth while slamming the car door shut. I cautiously followed my mother into the store.
I was greeted with an overly excited customer service voice welcoming us to the store. My mom asked for me to try on some of their suits. "Are you guys going to a family member's wedding? Would you like some help picking out a dress as well?" Asked the employee in an attempt to fill the awkward silence as she led us to a fitting room. "No that's alright, I already have a dress but thank you for offering!" My mom responded in an eerily friendly voice. At the fitting rooms the employee instructed my mother and I to wait while she gathered a few suits that fit my mother's descriptions. After trying on a couple suits I decided to just go with the one my mom liked best. Seeing myself wearing a suit reminded me too much of the fact that in a few weeks I would have to marry some random girl I barely even knew. I tried my best to avoid looking in my reflection and judged which suit to pick based mainly on my mother's reactions.
As the weeks flew by and my wedding day approached, I became increasingly more frustrated, at my family and also at myself. On one hand I didn't want to disappoint my family and on the other hand I wanted to be able to live my life the way I wanted to. These thoughts followed me and kept nagging me until eventually it was the night before my wedding, and I had to decide.
I wasn't able to sleep. The choice I had to make was the only thing I was able to think about. While I was deep in thought I heard a soft knock on my door. "Who is it?" I said pushing my hair off of my face. My little sister Jacky pushed open the door slightly. "You know today I was talking about you with mom." She spoke softly while coming over and sitting next to me. "She told me that someday I'm going to have to get married just like you…" She turned to face me, but I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes. She hopped off of my bed and began to leave my room. "I'm sorry..." was the only thing I could bring myself to say before she left because I knew that this was going to be the last time I'd see her for a while.
I began to start packing all the things I thought I would need and before I left for good, I took some paper and a pen and wrote a letter to Jacky. I didn't have much time so all I could give her was my phone number, for when it was her turn to leave. I waited a bit then slipped it into the pocket of the overalls that were hanging on her closet door. I snuck downstairs and slipped out of the back door and bolted. I ran as far as I could get, and I stopped under a bridge as the sun began to rise. I was so exhausted that as soon as I sat down, I passed out.
I awoke to the sound of approaching footsteps and realized I had slept all day. "What's a kid like you doing down here?" I stood quickly and met an old man's eyes. He was standing with an umbrella and a bag of what seemed to be old food from a restaurant. "C'mon let's get you someplace warm" he said gesturing to the umbrella. I was too tired and hungry to be suspicious, so I ducked under his umbrella and followed him back to an old diner.