It was exactly one year after her last attempt, marking the 17th year in the house. The sky was murky as the deepest ocean, and the street, as usual, was silent as the calmest sea. She knew this was the last time she would take the steps to the edge of the crisp, watered lawn. She knew this was the last time she would set eyes on the pale, simple house, yet her body stood rooted to the creaking, wooden porch. Her eyes darted around yet again, checking for any spectators, though she was certain there would be none, as there never were. The wind rushed, bringing with it not the slightest sound, yet the rustling of her hair and the tingling on her skin were proof that the gust had existed. She waited, counting seconds and minutes, knowing that time would make no difference.

Memories crowded her brain, fighting for attention. A scene flashed of her laughing at some amusing thing in the distance. Recollection of the safety that had enveloped her stimulated her mind. She listened to music in her head, songs that had always made her grin. A blizzard of redolent emotion danced in her head, warning her of what was being left behind. Safety: ubiquitous, pervasive, a soft cloud to catch her if she fell.

Gleaning the courage that had gathered inside her growing frame for 17 years, she wrenched her left foot from its motionless position. Her right foot, no easier to move, seemed to lug the world along with it. Dragging her weakened body forward, she inched her way to the edge of the grass. Her palpitating heart warned her that this was not the true end, there was more beyond the forever still street that she had gazed longingly upon for 17 comfortable yet endless years. One last deep breath was the push she needed to grab the white gate and shove it forward. A gasp shuttered through her body and she clenched the fence, wanting to stay standing as a sign of her courage. With one last glance back at her home, she gracefully placed her quaking toes onto the shimmering road, and with that, she galloped away, erasing the past from her memory forever, images of her glowing future unremitting and promising.