Finding Truth, Part 5
I sit up in bed and squint from the sunlight. My head is throbbing. I don’t remember going to sleep last night. I was speaking with someone, I think. Or was that a dream?
I smell food. I peek out the doorway and walk down the stairs. Someone prepared a bunch of food and wrapped it up to go. “Hello?” I say. I go from room to room and find no one. Dreams don’t make food so someone was definitely here.
I open the front door and see the usual empty town. I know I was speaking with someone though. I scan the sky for drones–they haven't delivered a package yet. Back inside the living room, a backpack is on the floor next to the couch. It’s heavy and filled with clothes and supplies.
On the table is a map! I’ve only read about them but never actually had one. An “x” is circled with the words, “Yusuf, go to meet up point.” It’s signed “Truth.” Wait, that was his name! The man I met yesterday. I twist the map in different directions trying to get my bearings. Well, I’m not good with maps, but okay, let’s go find Truth. I mean, I’ve been out here alone my whole life and everything just came to me. But how hard can it be to go out into the world?
I get changed and stuff the food and water in the backpack and head out. The map seems to show a desert outside of town that will go on for miles. The mountain peaks come after that. If they are the ones I’m thinking of, I’ve seen the tips of them covered in white during winter.
My only hesitation is that I feel like something was bothering me yesterday. Was it Truth? I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s like retracing your steps to figure out where you left something. Only thing is, I don’t know what I’ve left.
I pass through the neighborhood houses and stores that have always been empty for me. There’s that rusted bicycle lying next to the sign that greets you as you enter the city. “Welcome to Homeland” it reads with what’s left of the bicycle lying on top of the thick stone sign in the ground.
The hike out of town is a bit tiring. Looking back as I make it to the top of the hill, my neighborhood looks so small. I say, “Goodbye, Homeland.” I quickly turn and make my way towards mountains well off into the distance.
–End story (for now)–