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| Me circa 10 years old. Rebel, rebel. |
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| My sister Jayme (left) and I (right). This was probably just a few months before this story. |
When I was ten years old, I was living in an American neighborhood in an Italian village called Vigonovo. The neighborhood, or "Group Housing", was made up of other American military families, and it only consisted of three streets. Everyone pretty much knew everyone, and it was news if a new family moved in. Drama abound, the housewives would gang up together and make drunken scenes on their front lawns, discipline their children in all sorts of questionable ways, and we could all see it. But I digress.
Among other things, everyone knew whose kids were brats. There were children we weren't allowed to play with because they had been nasty in the past; they opted to spend their afternoons breaking into the abandoned warehouse at the park, jumping the fences to steal fruit from the trees of the sweet Italian neighbors, and yelling obscenities towards each other across the streets.
There were only about five or six kids my age, all of which were terrible individuals. Of these, there were two, Sarah and Ashley (yes, I changed their names). Being ten years old, I wanted to play with other kids so badly that I was consistent in my willingness to look past their crappy selves in order to have that.
Well one day, Sarah, Ashley, and I were riding bikes and they decided we should leave the neighborhood. This was strictly not allowed by my parents. A ten year old, cruising the streets of a foreign country alone, (along with the recent post-9/11 "terrorism" and protests that frequented our area. Things like blocking off the street into our neighborhood, strange men attempting to coax my mother into their car, etc. You know, the uge.) this was just not a thing I was allowed to do.
"We're going to this horse farm. Ashley goes there for horseback riding lessons. It's just around the corner! Come on!" Sarah said.
"Guys, I can't. I just checked in, I need to be back in an hour." This was before cell phones were something everyone had, so we "checked in" with parents every hour or we'd call from a friend's house to let them know we were no longer outside. I didn't have a way to tell the time, so I'd rely on the bell tower near my house or the parents of a friend.
But Sarah was determined. "Just come on! We'll let you know when you need to be back. Plus, don't you want to see the horses? You can just walk up and pet them!" She got me. I did want to see the horses. I was ten years old, who wouldn't?
They started on their bikes and I stood watching them ride away as they gestured for me to follow.
I sighed, quickly weighed the pros and cons. Horses won. Yolo.
We rode down the cobbled streets outside our neighborhood. We past the irrigation canals, the fields of wheat that laid beneath the Dolomite mountains. It was the golden hour and everything was careless and perfect in those moments.
Finally, we arrived at the horse farm which, of course, was not "just around the corner". I had no idea where we were or how far from home, but I would guess today it must have been two miles away at least.
The horse farm was quaint. There was a small barn for the stables, a man rode his horse around a muddy track. Ashley told us the horses' names and about her horseback riding lessons, but the owner seemed annoyed that these little girls just waltzed onto his farm. Of course, I didn't notice it then.
I considered how far we were. The sun was going down, so I asked Sarah for the time.
"Oh, you're fine. We've got plenty of time. Let's go to the park!"
I attempted to argue. "I thought we were just going to the horse farm. I want to go home."
"Just stop! It'll be fine! Come on, they've got gelato!"
So again, we got on our bikes and rode them to a park nearby. Sarah and Ashley bought gelato and happily played on the teeter-totter. But I stood, watching them laugh and consume their ice cream, and quickly became annoyed.
"What time is it?" They didn't answer. I asked again, but more frustrated. "What time is it?"
"Kaleigh, I don't know! I'm sure it's fine!" Sarah answered carelessly.
"What do you mean you don't know? Ashley, don't you have a watch?"
"I do, but it doesn't work. Sorry." Ashley said. My heart sank. How long had I been gone? How far were we? Where were we? Surely I could just go back home with them and pretend we had never left. I turned back to the girls who were still teeter-tottering and laughing.
"Guys, we have to go."
"We don't want to. You can go." They answered. I immediately panicked, and yelled at them.
"I don't even know where we are! I don't even know how to get back! Get up, help me!" They didn't get up, but instead stared at me kind of sorrily. "Ugh! Fuck you guys!"
I climbed on my bike and raced as fast as I could in the direction I thought we came. A million thoughts filled my brain. I'm going to be in so much trouble. Oh my god, what if I can't get home? What if I'm lost? No, I think this is the right way. Maybe I wasn't gone as long as I thought. Maybe I can just head straight home and pretend I was there the whole time. Wait, I think I recognize this pharmacy. I'm going the right way! Everything will be fine. They won't even notice! Yeah, this will be just memory and no one will ever know! Hey, the entrance to our neighborhood! Yes! I did it! I'm almost home! I'm..."
And then I saw them. A group of parents, including my own, along with my siblings and a few other neighborhood kids. They had created a search party looking for us.
My eyes met my mother's and I immediately began to cry hysterically. I was in deep shit.
I stopped my bike in front of them and tried to muster up some kind of explanation to excuse my error, but nothing came out. I continued blubbering.
"Get your ass home." Mom said. So I did.
The night ended with my parents angrily explaining how much I scared them, that I had been gone for three or four hours, that I was grounded for the rest of the summer.
It's so funny that the story has stuck with me for so long. I remember hating those girls so much that whole summer for manipulating me and lying and getting me into trouble. They both ended up following behind me after I got back. It turns out that their parents, although not as strict as mine, were pretty pissed that they left as well. I told my mom the full story later on, and I think she felt sorry for me because she knew how manipulative they were. But she also saw that I made the choice to leave, so I was still grounded. I never left the neighborhood alone again. Or associated with Sarah and Ashley. I'm pretty glad now that I told them to fuck off though.
