• I ran. I didn’t care who I ran into or who I pushed over. I just had to get away from that plastic monster. I couldn’t think straight and to make matters worse the heat was getting to me. I didn’t know where I was. Everything was spinning. Before I knew it I tripped. When I looked up I was in the middle of the street. A large hum-v was coming right at me. I couldn’t move. I was like a deer caught in the head lights. The sudden blare of the hum-v’s horn startled me to life. I ran as fast as I could to the other side of the street before I was crushed. The hum-v roared past while violently reprimanding me with its horn. I caught myself on a wall and stopped to catch my breath. I couldn’t make sense of what was going on, I just wanted everything to stop.

    I could feel a cold sweat run down my neck and I knew eyes were on me. I looked up to see a pack of rats staring at me. I made sure to glare at them. They quickly turned up their noses and left. My mind was swimming. I couldn’t see straight. I’m sure it was the heat getting to me but my stomach told me otherwise. Breathe. I just needed to breathe. I rested my head against the wall and paced myself. The dizziness subsided, so that was good. I closed my eyes and tried to push everything out. Maybe today wasn’t going to be as good as I thought.

    When I opened my eyes my heart jumped. Someone was staring back at me. Their eyes were soft and green. As I pulled away I got a good glimpse of their face. It was a little girl. Her soft features told me she couldn’t be older than at least ten. Her red hair had been curled and pulled into a loose pony tail that rested across one shoulder. A school picture maybe.
    Then I saw it. Lost. In big, red letters. It was a home-made poster, and a bad one at that. You could barely read the contact information. The headliner was horrible as well. Missing would be more appropriate as opposed to a word best suited for a pair of shoes or a bike.

    I quickly pulled away. I didn’t feel comfortable around such a stranger, but then there were more. More strangers locked in time branded with their inevitable fate. This place was one that I dreaded passing and avoided at all costs. It was the Friendship Wall. It used to be an entrance to a small neighborhood park but the park was destroyed for a waste dump. The only thing that remained was the Friendship Wall, which now served as a public "Missing" board. It wasn’t uncommon for people to go missing. It happened so much that people just saw it as a normal occurrence. About as normal as the sun rise. The wall kept being smothered with prayer and people kept ignoring it.

    It was as if I couldn’t catch a break. Everything seemed to push me into punishment. I guess this is what they mean by karma. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t want to think that I was being punished for my actions against my mother, someone who deserved it more than anything. I pushed myself to walk off. Not only was I getting frustrated but that wall was beginning to creep me out. It didn’t help that for the next couple of minutes that wall would still be taunting me. I tried to ignore it but in my peripheral I could still see the innocent smiles and piercing gazes. I felt my heart quicken. My feet began to move faster and faster and before I knew it I was running again. I could hear nothing but the wind and see nothing but the ground before me. A temporary escape.