Much Needed Freedom.

Nicotine buzzed to the tune of blasting volume, racing railroads to whatever lies ahead.

At moments like this we laugh at anything while the bass pounds a rap beat. We don’t remember. She says rap doesn’t make her sad. I say its lyrics have nothing to do with anything we go through, and we don’t change the station. We’re suspended in a state of nothing but the interior of that maroon car. Three bodies, two lane roads, one massive pile of blankets. Left turn onto an empty road in an even emptier town, and we point at houses the wind could blow over. At the top of a hill, only a few miles away, two or three majestic houses crown the middle of nowhere with an undue beauty. Circle K and cornfields are all they have to show for their splendor. And we drive.

Into the picture of stereotypical Indiana, passing through more villes and towns than we knew existed. Needmore left, Peerless right. We can have whatever we like. Something leads to screaming, and from then on every song is remixed. Laughing to the point of tears and slap happy, familiar tunes are debunked. Love Story’s told three times. Let’s drive to Kentucky; let’s drive through the city. Familiar ground in a small town. We don’t talk about burdens. The hum of the road under tires and laughter of our best friends are therapy. I think we all think about everything or nothing. I, for one, am freed. My burden’s lifted, left on wrinkled pages, not mine now. For once powerless feels so good, there on the dark unfamiliar road. The only people I needed, contained inside that car.

After a gas station run, sour gummy worms, and 75-cent souvenirs, crazy late night attendants point us to the interstate. Familiarity rises again but doesn’t sting. It’s good to be alive. I find peace on those roads again. I feel happier than I’ve ever been. We’re tired and fading, and we stop spinning wheels, complete for now. Vows to do it again, stronger to fight fatigue, and excitement rises in my stinging throat. I sleep with my best friends in close vicinity. I stand corrected; this is all I need. My pain is gone. It disappeared with the road lines on those back roads.

Now, it's on to the biggest hearts I've ever known. I can give them the me they deserve, fully happy, the girl they love, and I love. Hello optimism, it's good to be back.