Renewed
...
The car sped along at a quick pace. She could see the airport in the distance. That was what was scaring her so absolutely. She checked her bag once again for food, money, and her beloved pencil and diary, which she'd written her life story in. One day it would matter to someone somewhere, but for now, it was her own book of herself. She zipped the bag shut and hugged it tightly to her chest, smiling.
"Honey," her mother began from the seat beside her. Her concentration on the road, she spoke out of the side of her mouth, almost, the sound trickling to her in small waves. "You know you have nowhere to go, right?" She sighed softly, almost undetectable. "When you land, where will you go? Who will take you in?"
She sighed and closed her eyes. Her mind scattered, she opened her eyes and answered, "I'm already enrolled in a top-rated school.." She paused as her mother scoffed and commented, "ritzy rich-person school that we couldn't afford normally.."
She went on, "I'll figure out living when I arrive. I have money, and a mind.." She spoke, not believing her own words. What would she do when the plane touched the ground in Tokyo? The airport should be huge - How will she find her way out without anyone to meet her there? Her plan was flawed, but she went along with her own insane idea, at her own pace. Her mother assumed she had it all figured out , but she didn't, and she likely never would…Maybe she'd just live under her desk.
The car seemed to speed up as she realized the flaws of this plan.
…...
The airport smelled of old people, and greasy fried snacks which she'd gotten used to in her time in America. She was hardcore, to the bone, American, she had to admit. She walked the halls, pulling her suitcase along with her, with her seemingly teary-eyed mother. When she saw a small magazine shop with a candy selection at the counter in the airport, she pulled out a couple dollars and said to her mother, "Give me a second. There's something I've got to do." Her mother looked confused, until she saw her daughter walk towards the candy counter determinedly.
She left America with her suitcase, her diary, her courage, and a package of classic Necco wafers that she wouldn't eat until she reached Japan with them. Sadly, her comfort at the moment was a simple package of candies. The fact she got to watch her last American sunset from the plane, in the skies of Portland, Oregon, was comforting too. She drifted off to sleep after watching the sun fall behind the Oregon horizon, and placing the candies in her bag.