It was still dark and cold outside, the thick white fog was still wandering over the fields as if searching for its lost precious possession, and the sun was yet to wake from its beautiful dreams. As if to break the silence and the stillness that filled, on the second floor of the house at the northwest corner of the town, a room lit radiating its warm yellow light disrupting the darkness. That two-floored light ivory coloured apartment was where Amber lived with her parents. Amber was packing her bag with essentials required for her solo trip, which was an impulsive decision. As she was picking up her recently bought brown leather gloves that had been collecting dirt for a while, she heard increasing loud footsteps approaching her room. Then she heard a loud bang on her door. On her way to get the door, Amber hit her leg on the corner of her cot. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a lady in a sleeper with untied black wavy hair and tired black eyes and was as tall as Amber. It was her mother who had woken up by the light the came from Amber's room.
"What are you doing with all that light in your room? Are you not sleeping?" asked the mother in an irritated voice. While making conversation with Amber, her eyes seemed to be searching among the things thrown around in that seemingly tiny room. "Ah! Look at this room! How can you even sleep in such a shabby place? Don't you feel disgusted?" Then she paused for a second and blinked in surprise, seeing Amber all dressed up in her picnicky outfit. She rubbed her eyes multiple times and asked, "Why?... why are you all dressed up?" "Wait! Don't tell me that you were lazy to change your outfit and decided to sleep in this." and then frowned at her daughter with a disgusted look. Amber was speechless hearing her mother's words. She looked down, pinching her brows, and then nodded her head in disagreement. "Then what? Are you going somewhere?" "Now?" she scoffed sarcastically. Somehow she was so sure that it was all a joke.
Amber replied with a confident smile, "Yes, I was packing my bag." Then after a pause, she continued, "You know... I have been planning to do this for a while but, I couldn't because you kept opposing it. I have to go, mom." Her mother was still not convinced. "Don't joke around. It isn't funny anymore." "Just turn off the lights and go to bed. Wake up early tomorrow, and let's watch some movie to relieve your stress.", she said, patting her daughter's back. "This isn't a joke, mom" "And also, today is no April fool's day to joke around like this." After having heard what Amber said, her mouth covered her mouth in shock and rushed downstairs.
She began to shake her husband frantically, shouting, "Wake up!" "Amber is packing her bag and talking some nonsense about leaving." "You need to get up now and talk to her."
He replied in a sleepy hoarse voice, squinting those amber coloured eyes, "It is still dark outside. Don't you know how much of a sleepyhead she is? Go back to sleep."
"Look out if you don't believe. Do you see that yellow hue outside? That is from our daughter's room. She is still up and is packing! Do you still want to insist that it is my imagination?"He just turned right towards the window and saw a faint yellow glow outside. He sprang up from the bed and rushed to Amber's room. Though, he didn't entirely believe his wife's words. By the time they reached, she had almost done her packing and was rechecking her bucket list.
Amber turned in the direction of her door as she heard some angry footsteps approach her. There stood that man with copper brown wavy hair about a few inches taller and a lot older than Amber, her father, asked, "What are you doing, baby? It isn't even bright outside." "Aren't you tired? I want to sleep, and everyone in this house has to sleep. Just turn off the lights and get to bed" Amber gave out a sigh in anger, holding her leather gloves. Then stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. Seeing those gloves in her hand, with worried eyes, he said, "Why are you holding those?" Then the idea struck him hard, was his wife telling him the truth? "Are you going somewhere?" as he was speaking, his eyes fell on the leather bag filled with a lot of stuff. As soon as he saw the bag, his face started to lose its colour, and with a broken voice, he continued, "You never mentioned anything about it yesterday. Did you get a job or something? What is all this packing about?" He couldn't believe that his wife was telling him the truth.
"Papa, I have decided to go on a trip... I have discussed it with you before. Don't let me you ignored it?"
He looked at her mother, showing a hand gesture of when, and then turned back to Amber and said, "I don't remember you talking about.." when his eyes suddenly caught on her brown gloves, he said, "Oh, you are talking about that time when you bought those? Wasn't it what, like five years ago?"
"No, it was last year! And I did say that I wanted to go on a trip. I had been mentioning it whenever I get the time to speak with you."
"Wasn't it just a whim of yours after seeing that movie?" then he added, "We have already discussed this. Whatever you are planning to do is not fit for girls. This world isn't nice to girls." "How are you planning to go? Who are you going with?"I am not going with anyone. I have heard enough of this. I know, and I am old enough to take care of myself. How long are you going to hide me here? It's been two years since I talked about this whole trip thing." "Did you know I had been waiting for you to accept me and my dream? That is all I wanted from you. And you never change. Instead, you think I gave up on it." "This is my life, and this is my dream. Please, let me go!" Amber's parents were shocked to see their always calm and understanding daughter talk back at them. They stood there in shock with a confused look, watching her pick up the leather bag which contained all the essentials in one hand and the other held on the key and helmet of her motorcycle.
Down she went to the garage, placed her bag inside the saddlebag of her motorcycle and took off for her trip without turning back.
