You can run but you can't hide

From a shadow that's stuck to your side

Where you go, it goes

When you hide, it knows

Don't you know how a deal works

There is always a price that comes with the perks

You wanted the sun, you wanted to be warm

But what comes with the sun? Your shadowed form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving

Jules stared out the window and immediately took comfort in the forest she had been so accustomed to. By tomorrow, she will no longer be able to enjoy the view of the beautiful gigantic sequoia trees that surrounded her house. It was going to be especially hard to say goodbye to her angel oak tree. In times of boredom or hardships, the tree whose branches that stretched in what seemed to be an infinite amount of different directions was her comfort. She would only have to walk less than fifteen minutes into the forest to find her moss covered friend. All her life she took comfort in the forest that had been her second home so saying goodbye broke her heart.

When her mother was offered a decent paying job at a bakery in a town three hours away called Dalmellington, Jules didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she would get to start fresh in a new town and leave the one that outcasted her. On the other hand, she would have to leave all she has ever known behind. Ever since she could remember, everyone in Reville Oaks would avoid her and her mother. They would always gossip about Jules and her mother doing witchcraft but she never understood why. She didn't even know what witchcraft really even was.

Whenever she asked her mother about the unusual treatment they got from everyone her mother would always answer the same thing--that people made rumors about others to make themselves feel better. No matter the reason, Jules knew that they weren't wanted in this town and after enduring nine years of being outcasted, it was time for them to move out.

The thing that made her the most nervous was going to a new school. She had been homeschooled for almost all her life. She didn't even know what to expect at a real school. She also had no idea on how to make new friends. The only friends she ever had were the flowers that bloomed during spring, the ants that made hills in her backyard, and the finches that nested on her favorite angel oak tree.

The most she would ever interact with those in her town was when she went to Church with her mother. But even there people would refuse to make eye contact or acknowledge them. Jules feared that if she made one wrong move they would be outcasted once again at their new town.

Jules thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt her mother gently brush her hair with hands that had become very dry and wrinkly from being overworked in the kitchen. Although no one in Reville Oaks liked them, everyone couldn't resist her mother's cooking. If there was one thing her mother could do, it was bake any dish into a mouthwatering masterpiece.

"Everything is going to be okay baby girl. Don't look so stressed. Moving to a new place is exciting. Think of all the new friends you'll make."

Jules looked at her mother and smiled. If there was one thing that was stable in her life it was the bond she had with her mother. It was them two against the world. When they were together, everything felt bearable.

"Hey, if it cheers you up buttercup, I get my first pay check from the bakery after my first week working. That means I'll actually have enough money to buy a decent gift for my little girl who won't be so little no longer. Eighteen is a big deal you know. You'll finally be considered an adult."

An adult.

Jules thought that sounded more scary than exciting. Suddenly, the right side of her neck began to become incredibly itchy. As strangely as it appeared, it disappeared once she scratched it for a few seconds. However, her confusion did not last for long when her mother's voice once again rang in her ears.

"But don't you go thinking that when you become an adult you can do all you want. I won't allow it. Just because I'll be busy in the bakery now doesn't mean you can sneak out when you want. Boys in our new apartment is out of the question you hear. Boys in general is out of the question. Remember honey that all boys are bad and you don't need them to be happy in your life. I just can't imagine what I would--"

"Mother," Jules interrupted before her mother forgot how to breath and freaked out the cab driver. "Don't worry. You raised me well and I do not intend to do whatever the Bible tells me not to."

Her mother patted her head.

"Oh you're right. I'm being silly. I know my sweet girl will do none of the Devil's work. Now, I must ask the most important question. Do you know what you want for your birthday dear?"

Jules shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know yet. I have my books and I have you. What more could I ask for?"

Her mother patted her head once again.

"God has blessed me with such a humble child. However, this present is more for me than it is for you. Let me buy my daughter one very nice gift so I can feel like I'm a worthy mother. I've given you pies for your birthday for how long now? Thirteen years?"

"Momma, I love your cherry pies. I think they're priceless."

"Now just stop bickering against me and let me spoil you just this once. We still got a week before your birthday so you still have some time to think about it."

Jules knew her mother was too stubborn to change her mind.

The strange itch on her neck appeared again when Jules began thinking about her eighteenth birthday. Perhaps it was a nervous itch.

Jules looked outside the cab's back window and saw the forest become smaller and smaller. The trees no longer looked as beautiful and her tiny town somehow managed to become tinier. She took one last glance before taking a deep breath and turning back towards the front of the car.

She had many new things coming her way. She had to let go of the past to embrace the new and unknown.

If only it was possible for the past to let go of her. Then maybe Dalmellington wouldn't have been the cage the dove was unknowingly flying back into where the starving tiger had been asleep in for years and was about to wake up even more hungry then he was before.