After a little sleep, I got up. I looked out the window and up at the stars. It was still very early, so I had a slice of apple cake and made myself a cup of tea. My bag was ready to go, so I sat by the window drinking my tea, and imagined what it would feel like to escape and be free. Looking outside no longer seemed familiar. The buildings, the streets, the rivers, the towns, the trees, and even the skies seemed unfamiliar, like a void I was about to jump into. My stomach didn’t know what to do with my food, and the hairs on my arms stood up on end. I shivered as if the void had rushed through me. My mind went blank. My mouth dry. I tried to remember to blink. Was it time yet? My legs felt heavy as I stood up to take a better look at the stars outside. I heard some footsteps in the hallway as the latch of my door unlocked. The footsteps faded as they walked away. It was time.

The hair on the back of my neck pricked up. My ears felt more alert. My legs shook as I walked down the stairs. All I could hear were the deafening creaks of the wooden staircase, the sound of my hair as it brushed against my ears, and my neck cracking so loud I was sure it would wake up everyone in the inn. I took a big breath which failed to reach the bottom of my lungs. I opened the front door of the inn and stepped outside. The fresh air hit me and it tasted like freedom. Mr Bishop was already standing there.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said quietly, and I followed him as we walked through the darkness across town.

We were heading north, and I knew we had a fair amount of time before sunrise. This was probably the best time for me to leave, but there were no trees to cover me in this open farming area. All the crops were low lying. Not a single fruit orchard. And absolutely no forest. My nerves calmed down as it appeared I had nowhere to run, and life was looking to be the same as always. Finally my breathing settled into my lungs, and I relaxed. The solution would present itself to me. Or not. Either way, I would be fine.

We were still walking along an old road after sunrise, and I wondered just how far the nearest town was. I had found a map when we were staying in the library’s cottage at Fleeting Hills. Always relying on Mr Bishop for travel, I wasn’t used to managing my own destinations, and had not spent much time studying it. I had a feeling there were a few small towns coming up soon, but I could not remember their names, and I didn’t check the layout of the land to see if I could escape anywhere. All I could do was relax and enjoy the scenery. An opportunity would present itself. I would not be doing any more shows. I would soon be free of Mr Bishop.

The sun was high in the sky as we approached Leeds, a small village on a river. We stopped there for some toast and coffee, and I slipped some extra bread rolls into my bag. Mr Bishop was considering whether we should stay here or keep moving. He was tired, but he wanted to move me as far away as possible from where I wanted to be. As I watched him eat, I noticed the creases in his face had deepened so much over time that they had formed their own landscape of ravines. I had only ever known him to have grey hair, and now I saw it was closer to white than grey. As he gazed down into his tea, its sparsity highlighted weathered freckles on the top of his head. For the first time, I felt sad for him. He was clinging on to life so desperately, but its fragility was causing him to crack. I felt a genuine sense of love and care for him. I wished well for him, but I knew I could not be a part of his fractured life any more.

“I’m just going to the bathroom. Can you order me another coffee if the waiter comes back?” I asked.

“Right-o,” he said, and returned to the world in his tea cup.

Nonchalantly, I picked up my bag, and walked out onto the street.

Goosebumps on my arms and shivers down my spine set me on high alert, and I moved briskly, following the village’s river downstream. Hopping over tree roots, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot seemed to echo through the underbrush. I kept moving as long as I could until my sweaty body demanded a drink. By then the sun had started to lower, and I gradually began to feel a sense of safety. I cupped my hands in the river to quench my thirst, then sat down on a rock to analyse my map for the first time.

The map didn’t go as far as Leeds, but the river was on there. I decided to follow the river until I got to a little hamlet called Suffex. From there I could follow some small roads that would take me directly to Jonton. This was more straightforward than I expected, and a confidence swelled within. I could sign up to the university in two days. I stood up, pulled a bread roll out of my bag, swung my bag over my back, and walked.