Mel Torrefranca - Leaving Wishville

It would make a tragic story. Benji Marino, fourteen, kills himself on a venture to paradise. A catchy title for the announcements on Wishville News before the morning weather report. On the other hand, he might survive.

Benji emerged around the corner of Wishville Junior High, eyes locked on a hill in the distance. All he had to do was make it to Candy Road and his escape would be a sweet success. He held his breath as he passed the school baseball field.

Nice one. Back in line. Benji could recognize the mans voice from a mile away. Coach Hendrick was notorious for never using a microphone at school events. After fifteen years of coaching baseball and softball teams hed reached the conclusion that screaming was the only way to gain respect from middle schoolers.

Mortimer, youre up next. There was a pause, and his mustache twitched as if going through a seizure. Mortimer!

A clang came from the fence. Benji refused to look.

Hey. Chloe Mortimer ran her fingers along the wires, walking at a matched pace. Where you headed?

Chloe was the youngest student in his eighth-grade class with a birthday at the end of November, but she didnt act the part. She was more mature than most kids their age, gave the best advice, and could have a serious conversation despite her energetic, fidgety nature. Chloe was the type of friend Benji could trust with anything, and although he hated lying to her, he would if he had to. Especially today.

He watched the ground as they walked, his shoes tapping the concrete in rhythm with her cleats clicking the dirt. She had outgrown her cleats months ago, and although they were originally white, they were now yellowed from use. She held a strange attachment to them, and he wondered how long it would take her to buy new ones.

Benji tucked his hands into his sweatshirt pocket and held his head straight, knowing that looking at her would be too painful. Thought Id take a walk.

Oh yeah? Chloe paused, scooping a softball from the ground. She ran back to his side and tossed it into the sky. Come on, I know somethings up. She held her arm out, and the ball dropped into her palm. Youre planning something crazy, arent you?

Why would you think

Benji, a seagull could lie better than you.

He made the mistake of facing her. Their eyes met through the wire fence, and he froze.

I get that youre curious, but were not gonna let you run off into the wild. Her smile was gone now. I meancome onyou may as well throw your own dead body in a gutter.

Coach Hendrick shouted for Chloe through cupped palms, but she didnt turn away. Benji folded his fingers inside his pocket, waiting for the right moment. When a few girls from the team shouted Chloe in unison, she looked over her shoulder, and he ran.

She dropped the softball and shot after him. The gate slammed shut, followed by the hollow steps of her cleats against the sidewalk. It took three weeks of self-preparation for this day, and although Chloe wouldnt let him get away, he wouldnt let her stop him either.

Listen! Her breathing staggered, barely allowing the words to escape her lips. You think no one would care? How would your mom react? She gasped and sprinted with her last bit of energy, a final attempt to catch him.

He saw the tilted sign of Candy Road ahead, and by the time he reached it, Chloe was far behind, hands on her knees, panting.

With a forced grin, he hiked up the hill.

Chloe had been one of his best friends since first grade, and it was unfortunate that the last memory shed have of him was the moment he disappeared into the trees. Sweat formed at the creases of his floppy hair. He rubbed the mess out of his face with a tense hand. Its okay , he thought. Itll be worth it.

Candy Road was close enough to the edge of Wishville that no one dared to breathe its air. Since the bridge was never maintained, neither was the road. Roots of surrounding evergreen trees grew into it, forming cracks for moss to grow and bumps designed to trip. But to Benji it was better this way. The road was steep, so he used the roots to push his feet forward. Candy Road had grown a set of natural stairs.

When he reached the top, he paused at the base of the bridge in nostalgia. The water gently flowing at the horizon, the sour scent of damp dirt, the gray sky looming over him. He couldnt remember the last time hed been here, yet the atmosphere was familiar. Comforting.

He took his first step onto the wide platform of concrete and shut his eyes. Living in Wishville his whole life, he had grown deaf to the ocean, but today the waves thrashed beneath him violently. He opened his eyes to reveal a rusty sign across the bridge, surrounded by a sea of redwood trees. LEAVING WISHVILLE , it read. This marked the end of his journey.

His grip on the straps of his backpack tightened as he peeked over the bridge railing. His school by the shore, the town park a few blocks to the east, everything was there. Further north were the brick buildings of the town square, Main Street running past it. He lifted his head until his nose leveled with a hill on the opposite end of town, of which yielded a single secluded home. Everything he knew, and he was ready to leave it all behind.

Goodbye, Wishville. Benji waved at the view. Facing the mission before him, he engaged in a staring contest with the sign. After a long blink, a new spark brewed in his eyes.

He took long and speedy strides across the bridge, reaching closer to the end than ever before. The tree branches by the sign reached forward, calling for him to continue. To finally break through Wishville into a new world. His right foot stretched for the border, and the other side of the bridge illuminated with extravagant colors. The vomit green trees, the musty blue sky, the overpowering browns. He could hear the chirping of distant birds suppressing the screaming seagulls that flew over his head. The colors and sounds were so immersing that he couldnt hear the rustling of bushes behind him, the hammering footsteps.

It wasnt until his foot retracted against its will that Benji broke from his daze. He stumbled backwards, the sky fading gray, the trees losing their animation, the dirt as bland and cold as ever. The only colors available were the few familiar wisps of brick-red hair that flashed his vision. Boo!

A hand released his backpack with a sturdy throw, and Benji crashed into the railing by the waist. The hungry waves jumped beneath the bridge, trying to reach him. He turned around, head spinning.