Travel Memoir

“For a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection on her glowing face; her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened - then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk.”

I closed the door, and I held that piece of jewelry in my hand for twenty-six hours, all the way down to my new home in Florida. I remember stepping out of the truck into the warm, stifling air. I inhaled deeply and thought to myself, this is it, this is where my new life begins. This is where I show my family that I am strong, I’ll show them that nothing can break me down now. I was alone in the beginning part of my new life. It taught me strength I didn’t know I had. People just need to hope and believe that old relationships can kindle back together, which they did when we were able to move back home to CT. Having to change everything so quickly at such a young age made me realize that everything really does happen for a reason and life will fall back into place when you just have a little hope and understanding. I grew up to be the woman I am today because of learning what reality can be, having to mature at such a young age, and in being one structure that helped to hold my family together through this difficult time. The hard times were a learning point that created the beautiful and meaningful things I have in my life today and I would not go back and change anything that has

     The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my

As day creeps into the night my thoughts return to her, the memories we have made in the moments as few as they are already seems like it has been longer than what is. The beauty that is instilled within in her is more precious than a porcelain doll. Yet unbreakable by the events of the past that has shaken her to her roots. She still stands strong as the mighty redwoods. No disease from a man will ever bring her down. Many has tried n many has failed with the only success had was by her becoming stronger. She is like a never ending bloom of a rose.

She touched the little box inside her pocket and smiled. She remembered all the adventurous days she spent with her chivalrous husband. She recalled traveling around the world, going to stunning, beautiful places. She remembered all the days they spent exploring new cities, trying new restaurants, and creating memories. Her husband passed away 6 months ago, and the pain was as fresh as the day it happened. He had been her best friend, her support, and her lifeline for 25 years. They built a beautiful life together, always traveling from city to city to find out what the world had to offer.

I went to Burger King with three friends. We walked a long way then I

Geographically and culturally speaking, I know a lot about the world, even the ones I haven’t been to if that’s possible. Traveling however is an ultimate dream of mine, I know you learn a lot by travelling the world but haven’t had the financial means to do so. I’m hoping I achieve that dream soon because I hear its best to travel in your 20’s. I know some things about (Maryland that’s where my home is.) I live closer to Washington DC so I know a lot about the tourist locations, like the national mall, the capital, the pentagon and a lot of the museums and galleries.

There are days in which I feel as though I never want to leave, and days in which I feel I am already gone. Today, I am gone. There is no polite way to be human, really, and so I’ve given up on the quest for unconditional optimism. There is no constant glow radiating from my pores, the kind that women are somehow supposed to conjure up as their contribution to the world. My freckled, goose bumped legs are planted intently on splintered wood. I have a view of the next rundown building on the next barren lot, paint chipped not with nostalgia but with force. I often look past it, to what may follow, but not today. Today I welcome the sunken view with poor posture and tired brow. Cigarette butts surround my coffee mug in a sort of pathetic way. In my cold fingers, a black ballpoint pen, I haven’t yet put it down to rest. My hands shake; they always shake, now. I’m staring at a blank page, not romantically blank, like that of a stilled Arizona morning or like the gray harbor before the sailors rise but like that of our mother’s stare or the empty space in between my breaths at night. The pages are always blank, now.

Almost three years ago, Lauren sat down at the edge of the bed her beloved father was lying in. She was surrounded by her aunt and step mom. Lauren was not prepared to hear what was going to be said, her father had been sick for a couple of weeks. He 'd been coughing and had little energy, but she realized how busy her life was that she barely noticed any of it. She had, had many problems at school and other issues around her that made her lose focus of the ones that mattered the most.

They had been together for twenty-five years. He remembered the day he had first seen her. A beautiful young girl, with strawberry blonde hair that flowed down her back in waves. Freckles spotted her face and brought out the hazel in her eyes. A soft white skirt that swished when she moved. She was gorgeous, sitting among the flowers while the other girls played and danced with each other. She sat, staring at the clouds. He had been to nervous to speak to her, so he turned in the opposite direction, tripped, and fell in a puddle of mud. When he looked up, the other children were laughing at him, but she hadn't even noticed.

I won’t forget what happened first. It really didn’t seem real that we were moving until the sign went up in the yard. I spent plenty of time just sitting and staring at it wishing that it was only my imagination, but no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I knew I was only being wistful and chasing after a wish that would never come true. “18 days. Our house sold in 18 days, quicker than expected” I muttered to myself. Everything seemed like a blur after that, with only twelve days left of summer I tried to make it my best. I tried to make myself enjoy it and to be happy about the move, but there was nothing to be glad about. When you leave the only life you’ve ever know it’s hard to act like everything is fine. With only one short month until we moved out and started a new journey, summer was coming to an end.

It was a type of day where the sky didn't match the climate. The sky was bright blue like a silk blue dress without the presence of a cloud within sight. The nearly bare trees shook only slightly, like a lonely park swing, with every reoccuring gust that passed through them. The wind was crisp, yet possessed a sharp unforgiving bitter cold covering me such as a plastic wrap, chilling me wherever possible nearly to the bone. I took little hops down the old concrete steps to where they were little less than my height. Then whilst holding the comforting and seemingly everlasting hand of my mother, I proceeded with her to the car and we drove off.

It was a gloomy day. The sky was filled with dark ominous clouds, which only made things seem even duller than they already were. Emily was walking home from school. Emily had no friends, no one to talked to her. The sad silence of the atmosphere symbolized the pain in her heart. She was in a place where nothing mattered to her. The only thing she wanted was her loved ones, which had left her in this cruel world, to return to her. Her mom, dad, and younger brother had all died in a car accident. She was the only one left. Whenever she thought about that dreadful event, she felt something piercing her heart.

“This is the end” she sobbed as her bottom lip twitched. After two years and ten months, she no longer wants me in her life. It should have been a rainy night as we stood in the middle of a dark alleyway on the way back to her parents’ house. I stare at her like my soul was just taken out of my body and take a deep, quivering breath. I turned cold, like my heart stopped pumping warm blood around my veins and instead thrust ice-cold toxic water as it burns my insides.

The Saturday morning, when I did cleaning I saw a very beautiful box lay on my closet. I knew what is inside it, it is a neck chain John gave to me when we were together. I opened the box and brought the chain out; I started to remember old things…… It was also a Saturday, I went out the house in desperate search of deserted paths, beautiful trees, the smell of grass, the sounds of the sleepy city and something that would make me smile. Autumn was already in the air and I was thinking about how cruel was the world and how impossible was to be happy in it. It is not that I was broken hearted by I thought that my patience has come to its end. I looked at the sky and set at a bench, which was John and I usually set and talked dreams together. My eye got indistinct and tears flowed along my canthus. I looked up the sky, it was cloudy and gloomy, the cloud looked thick, gray, and muddy. I could not see where did the sun was, maybe the sun is afraid of the cold. Without the sun, the city was like the old tree that has lost its soul did not have any vigor.