The Journey

Exercise from week 4 of writing class.

Chris began to question the wisdom of this trip.

“Why am I headed to Seattle?” he muttered to himself. He looked at his watch. It was coming up to 7 am and he was stuck in rush hour traffic. His car engine hummed away as it sat idly in a sea of traffic.

It had been a rough couple of days for Chris. His dream was of the verge of dying. His little startup was on the brink. The only thing keeping it and Chris going was this trip. An investor had shown major interest. This could be the break that Chris needed. He had worked too hard for too long to see his dreams extinguished. Too many late nights. Too many unhealthy meals.

“Why did it have to be Seattle?” he sighed. He did not hate Seattle. This had been home.  He had spent many years here. So many good memories. Growing up. College. Friends. Family. Her. Suddenly it felt painful to be back. His heart ached with a deep unyielding loss. All those years running away had not lessened the hurt.

His mom and dad still lived here. He called them last night when he found out that he needed to come up to Seattle today. He saw them last christmas. He had bought them plane tickets to visit him in San Francisco. They always complained that he never visited. He swallowed ever so slightly. He felt guilty.

The car in front of him started moving. Slowly but surely traffic was beginning to flow. Before he knew it, he was speeding past the towering buildings that dotted the downtown skyline. He was coming up to his exit. Without thinking, he retraced a route he had taken a decade ago.

He parked the car and got out. The air felt crisp. He breathed in deeply. The cool clean spring air filled his lungs. He shuddered from the cold air entering him.

Up the path in front of him was a smallish undistinguished house. He was back home.