By Katherine Napier
You get home from school in a bad mood, so you toss down your bags and let out a heavy sigh that alerts your parents of a rotten emotion filling your mind and chest. Your parents try to talk to you but you just storm by them, going to your room. You faceplant onto your bed and let out an agonizing scream. Your mom walks in and asks why you’re so upset and you just sit up angrily, glaring at her. She puts her hand on your shoulder and reassures you that she’s here to listen. You slowly begin to explain how awful your day was, you got into a fight with your best friend and now you aren’t talking. You got yelled at by a teacher for missing the previous day.
Your mother just sighs and tries to explain that this is just life and that’s how it works. You look at her with disbelief because she just sided with the rest of the world when she should be siding with you. You think of the next best place to go, a place she can’t follow you to— the roof. You wait for her to leave and then you slowly ease yourself off of your bed and up into the “attic”. The steep steps creak under the weight of your body and anger pushing onto them to propel you up further.
The window slides open with a slight rumble and the screen hesitantly releases itself from the latches and allows you to open it. You step out of the window, feeling the roof just right below your right foot and you plant yourself. Next, you grab the side of the window and carefully step out with your left foot (keeping your right hand on the brick side of the house). Your feet are planted firmly and now you slowly walk up the first peak of the roof, turning to see the sunset beginning. A smile manages to peek out from behind your frown. You climb to the highest point of your roof and sit down just below the place where the two slants meet.
The sky is filling with orange that blends in with the pink. The purple is blending in with the blue. The clouds are showing a contrast meant for a professional photographer to capture. You begin to focus on your breath– In. Out. In. Out. Inhaling the stress of the day. Exhaling the relief of watching the sun set behind the trees. The clouds are swirling, seeming to match the soothing of your emotions and evaporating when the anger is released from your chest. You’re tempted to let out a scream as a bird flies by, landing on the roof in front of you. You notice the beauty of seeing such a majestic creature, watching one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ve ever seen.
The sunset is reflecting your emotions, you tell yourself. You’re begging yourself to just slip away, let yourself melt into your surroundings like the orange the pink blend before becoming a hot pink tangerine. Let yourself darken a tad like the purple and the blue turning into a periwinkle. This is what you live for, seeing the sunset after a long stressful day. Inhaling the stress and exhaling the relaxation of knowing you’re at peace with yourself, with the world.
Katherine Napier is a Junior at Barbara Ingram
Post Script Magazine. 