As one foot begins to rub against the old, musty floor of the garage, the other foot follows from behind. The clattering sound of high heels lead farther and farther into the garage as Leah’s mom, Julie, moves throughout the chaotic scene, rummaging for an old bicycle. Her long, flowy, strawberry colored hair tangles onto the rusty hooks placed on the walls of the garage as she urges to try and pull the rusty, lavender, bicycle out from the cluttered corner of the garage. Leah screams from inside the brick house, “Is it ready?”, just in time for her mother to reply, “Not yet!” Leah eagerly waits inside of the big, old fashion house until her sister’s old, worn out bike is ready to be put to use again. 

After several attempts to pull the bicycle out from the garage, Julie walks outside, carrying the bike and placing it onto the rough, scorching concrete. Leah runs outside into the beaming sunlight and bends down to tie her vibrant pink laces connected to her brand new white sneakers. She begins to place both hands on the dry, rubber handles of the bike as she slowly lifts one foot at a time onto each pedal, attempting to find her balance. Her heart is beating like a pounding drum as she wiggles side to side, with her mom trying to hold her up steady. Once Leah finds her balance, Julie holds onto the back on the bicycle, slowly pushing her forward. They make their way into the whistling wind, trying to meet the end of the driveway. As the clouds slowly begin to cover up the sun, Leah refuses to move any farther. Leah gently steps off, one foot at a time from the bicycle and begins to stare into the lonely street, with long roads ahead and nowhere to go. 

  After ten minutes of pure silence, Leah tells her mom, “I’m scared. What if I fall?” Her mom simply replies, “You will be fine.” Leah’s stomach begins to scramble with butterflies as she once again reaches for the pedals of the bike and soon enough she begins to pedal. With her mom still holding onto the back of the unstable bicycle, Julie begins to sing a song. It is a short children's melody that she sang to Leah when she was just a baby. The song comforts her and places her in a happy place where she has no worries. Leah closes her eyes and opens them back up as she is blinded by the sun reappearing in the sky. She begins to peddle faster and faster and without even noticing, Leah’s mom lets go of the bike and watches from afar as Leah rides all by herself. The leaves slowly fell from rows of trees and flew into the wind as Leah quickly rode past house to house only leaving a gust of wind behind. Leah began to smile as she shouted to her mom, “Mom, I’m doing it! Watch me!” Within a few seconds, a concerned feeling rapidly intensified in Julie’s stomach as Leah was approaching a pothole placed in the middle of the street. Julie sprinted into the empty street, trying to catch up to Leah but it was too late. The bike began to shift weight as it was slowly tipping over into the bumpy street roads. The tires made one loud squeak as they were beginning to slow down yet moving just enough before the bike quickly fell to its side. The next thing Julie could see was Leah lying in the middle of the road with cuts across her right knee and a scratch on her flushed left cheek. Her eyes rapidly poured heavy tears within the single moment. Tears were dripping down from her swollen red eyes as she expressed emotion to her mom, crying and crying. She stayed frozen in time and cried out loud into the sounds of the not so peaceful sky. 

Twenty minutes after crying and comfort, Leah rubs her eyes one last time and clenches her throat. Her mom looks up as Leah’s voice cracks as she asks, “Can I try again tomorrow?” while looking at the shallow cuts on her knee. Her mother staring straight into her red, puffy eyes, laughs and replies, “Of course!”. Leah and her mother begin to laugh while walking the broken bicycle back up to the beginning of the driveway, holding hands and moving towards the serene, glowing sunset.