A Dancer's Devotion, Part III

After a relatively uneventful day at school - besides the ever-present internal nagging for change - Lucy decided to do something different. Instead of going straight to the studio, she felt like walking home.

She took a long, winding route. Just outside of her suburban area lay deep woods, where's she's never been. Lucy, aching for any change she could find, took the risk and walked down the trail into the forest.

Right away, she felt a little out of place. Her flats weren't meant for hiking and her purple NorthFace stood out amidst the green backdrop. Still, Lucy walked on, not even pausing when she heard the unfamiliar sounds of nature - birds chirping, quick footsteps on the leaves, a snapping branch here and there. She let herself get wrapped up in the sounds.

Lucy's thoughts drifted quietly. I wonder if anyone noticed I'm not at the studio. Where does this trail go? I'm kind of hungry; do I still have that granola bar in my backpack?

She sat down on a rock next to her backpack. Lucy dug past the cell phone, wallet, keys, dance schedule, until she finally hit the plastic-y wrapper of the granola bar. She pulled her water bottle out of the side pocket, too, and had a mini picnic - just her and the trees. Lucy checked her phone - 7:00.

How had she not noticed how dark it had gotten? She quickly zipped up her backpack and stood up. She walked until she could hear cars zooming by and then oriented herself. Pointing herself towards home, Lucy speedwalked the whole way, through the door, and upstairs into her room. Her heart was pounding.

She ran downstairs to tell her parents that she was late because she decided to take a "personal day." Because Lucy was never late, her parents brushed it off and asked if she was hungry, since she missed dinner.

Lucy grabbed food, went upstairs, and opened up Google on her laptop. She typed in the first thing that came to mind: local hiking trails. She scrolled through the list, jotted down her favorites, and took out her dance schedule.

The dancer counted 43 days until her next performance. She decided she could take 12 more "personal days," just as she had today.  She looked up a store that sells outdoorsy supplies for some hiking boots, and then turned off her computer.

She looked at her list, the plans she made on a whim, and just smiled. Should she trust her impulse? Lucy was about fo find out.

To be continued.