The Hitchhiker

The Hitchhiker



Friendship is one of the most crucial elements of human life. It brings joy, and a sense of belonging. There can also be great mystery clouding a person’s true intentions. In the case of Willow Jackson, a girl who wanted nothing but a sister; this mystery becomes clear. This story may very well serve as a cautionary tale, to the dangers of misguided trust.

Sheltered. If you had to describe Greenville in one word, that would be it. The concrete-paved road to work looked about as old as my 1997 Ford Explorer, something very predictable for this town. Repairs and changes were rare, something I despised. The vehicle was a tan color with the appropriate amount of rusting and paint chips for its age. It was the year 2020. The car’s life expectancy was supposed to be ten to seventeen years, and the only way I would get a new one is when it finally died.

Vintage was a curse. My car matched perfectly with the Diner I worked at: Maggie’s. It was small, with grey paint and neon lighting adorning the entire building. Inside, it had a traditional large bar area with red cushioned stools. The booths had similar decorations, and there was an old jukebox sitting unused in the corner.

I had just checked in for my shift, when a girl my age opened the door, causing the gentle ring of a bell to sound through the restaurant. She was two inches taller than me, muscled but lanky. Dark silky hair fell to her waist with layers that framed her face. She had thin eyebrows that matched her hair perfectly. Her skin held a tan most dreamed of. She had a small button nose and full lips, with a square shaped face.

“Hello! Welcome to Maggie’s, can I get anything started for you?”

Her eyes met mine, a deep shade of blue slightly discolored by contact lenses.

“I’ll have a chocolate milkshake, small please.”

Once I had announced her total and she paid, I took the time to observe her demeanor. Her eyes flicked around the store nervously, and her clothes were bedraggled, as though she hadn’t been able to change them for several days. What stood out most was the hopelessness in her expression.

She reminded me of myself. It made me wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn’t been adopted. Would I be alone, wandering the streets like this stranger?

“I know this might sound strange, but do you need somewhere to stay? There’s not much traffic in and out of this place, and it would be nice to have a new friend. I’m Willow. My parents would probably be thrilled to have a guest.”

It was difficult to read her expression. Her eyebrows were slightly drawn together, and her lips lowered ever so slightly. What was going on in her mind, I had no idea.

“This might sound even stranger, but that would be nice. I’m sure you can tell; I haven’t had the best luck. I’ve been hitchhiking along the side of the road for about three days. My name’s Ava, and I would love to be your friend.”

Ava smiled-the first I had seen. It was a pained smile, so I let the hitchhiking thing go for now. She was clearly the type to keep to herself, and nagging was only going to drive her away.

Just then her milkshake was done, and I told her to find a place to sit and I would take her home after my shift was over. I had a knack for getting myself into interesting situations, but I had a good feeling about Ava. She seemed lonely, and that was something I related to. My friends had all gone their separate ways, leaving me rotting away in this town.

Rotting is an exaggeration. My reasons for staying were valid, I knew university was not something I could afford and being in debt this early was not an option I liked. So, the decision to stay and work at Maggie’s for an extra year was an easy one.

Greenville was very small, two thousand was the average population. It had the necessary locations. One grocery store, two convenience stores, two banks, a library, several restaurants, and the occasional pawn shop or small business selling homemade goods. It was very old-fashioned; downtown was still paved by cobblestone roads and old arc lamps stood at every street corner. Most of the buildings were made of brick, but some still had wooden framework. In the old pub on Main Street, you could plainly see the lime-based plaster used to seal cracks.
The town was surrounded by forest, the red maple and southern magnolia encompassed a large portion of land in North Carolina, and Greenville was no different. I wouldn’t say everyone knew everyone, but it had to be close. It was the type of place where gossip spread like wildfire. Ava’s presence in town was soon known by all.

I was finally able to clock out of my shift and said goodbye to Wendy, the sweet older woman who ran the diner. She was practically my second grandmother and always made sure I had enough food to feed a small village every time I worked. She was Maggie’s granddaughter and proudly embraced the family restaurant. My only wish was to find a job I loved only half as much as she loved hers.

I grabbed Ava, and we walked in silence to my car. A message had been sent to my parents about the arrangement several hours earlier, and Mom was no doubt bustling with excitement and nervousness as she prepared the house for our arrival.

We sat in silence as I began the drive to my house, about five minutes from Maggie’s. Worry began to set in. Maybe I was wrong to trust this girl. I hadn’t even spoken to her for ten minutes and I invited her to stay at my home. It was official; I had lost it. All this adulting business had gone to my head.

“Yellow” by Coldplay was next on my playlist, and I reached out to turn up to volume, but Ava beat me to it.

“I love this song!”

Her happy declaration made me smile, and I realized it was the first time I had seen her real smile. We belted the song for the rest of the drive, and I knew then we would be good friends.

Pulling into the driveway, the sound of our family dog, Loki, a small corgi with an attitude to rival his size, could be heard before I was fully parked. The only bag Ava had was her backpack so I snatched it and carried it inside before she could protest.

My home was simple, on one floor, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The exterior was painted dark grey with auburn shutters. The neighborhood we lived in was a cul-de-sac, and our house was the first on the left. The landscaping was something that my parents had put extensive work into, a magnolia tree on the left corner of the house, with many different plants decorating the flowerbeds built around the building. I was unaware of their names, other than the beautiful rosebush that was planted right underneath my bedroom window. My dad had to trim it regularly, and it was incredibly sharp.

This home was something I held dear. I had been adopted at a young age, eight years, but I was still old enough to remember the feeling of being unwanted. That was a large part of the reason I invited Ava to stay with us, it is a feeling I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Inside, it was very cozy. There was a short walkway upon entering the auburn door, where two frames of family portraits were hanging. On the left was another hallway, filled with pictures, mostly of me when I was young. At the end there were two bedrooms, mine on the left and my parents on the right.

Straight ahead when entering the house was the kitchen and dining room, and the living room was on the right. It was relatively small, but it was the perfect size for my family and a lovely place to grow up.

Ava’s face was adorned with a smile as she took everything in. My mom had a very modern decorating style, so greys, whites, and blacks colored the walls and decorated the home.

She addressed my mom, “You have a lovely home. I can’t thank you enough for you opening it up to me.”

My mom beamed, “You are welcome! Any friend of Willow’s is welcome here, and I of course couldn’t turn you away once I learned of your situation. You must be in desperate need of a shower and change of clothes! Your mother must be worried sick, where are you from?”

I don’t believe I had ever seen someone’s demeanor change as quickly as Ava’s did when her mother was mentioned.

“A shower sounds amazing. I don’t have a mother, and where I’m from isn’t any of your business.”

Oh no. One thing to note about my mom, is she can be the kindest woman you will ever meet, until you treat her with disrespect.

“I am going to say this once, and I do not want to have to repeat myself. I will not pretend to know anything about your situation, it is clear you are a very well-mannered young lady, and your mother is a sensitive subject. I can see that you are very strong. But one thing I will not tolerate is disrespect. I am extending my home to you, something I do not take lightly. You will be treated as my daughter if you are under my roof, so this will be the first and only time I will tolerate being spoken to in such a manner.”

Every jaw was dropped. Mine, my dad’s, Ava’s, and I’m certain even Loki’s.

“Yes, ma’am I understand.”

“Good. Now, I will prepare your shower, and you can go with Willow to pick out some clothes you like. I expect an explanation of your situation once you are done. You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, but if you stay here, I need to know what kind of trouble you’re in to have been hitchhiking down the highway in October.”

Ava and I quickly made our way to my bedroom as the quiet conversation of my parents faded. Once the door was closed, we made eye contact and immediately burst into laughter.

“Is your mom always this intense?”

“Only when someone talks to her like that. Jesus Ava, I nearly pissed myself seeing how mad she was, and it wasn’t even directed at me. The vein in her forehead looked like it was about to pop out and give a list of grievances itself!”

I opened my closet door as she burst into a fit of giggles and I couldn’t help but join her. We rummaged through my clothing selection, and she eventually decided upon a simple black t-shirt and blue checkered pajama pants. We would be sharing everything for a while now, even rooms.

As she entered the bathroom to shower, I joined my parents in the living room. They appeared to have recently finished their conversation. My dad ruffled my hair with a smile and my mom greeted me as I sat on the couch.

“Our lives are about to get very interesting, aren’t they?”

That was something we could all agree on.

The conversation we had once Ava’s shower was done was hard to summarize in one word. Her dad left when she was born, and that alone was enough to make life impossible. But her mom had recently passed from cancer, so she had to learn to take care of herself.

She had no money, and no car, and wanted to start a life. The only way out she could see was taking things into her own hands and walking away from everything. She had been intending on ending up in Charlotte, which was about forty minutes from us, but there had been a mistake on the map that led her to Greenville. At least, that’s what she told us.

We both knew that her stay with us wouldn’t be permanent, so I offered to get her a job with me at Maggie’s. She happily accepted. Her life story was not glazed over by any of us, especially me. I had lived privileged, but I hadn’t truly appreciated it until I met Ava. My car, while old and rusty, was a gift, and so was this town I lived in. The dislike I held for my life, for its simplicity, was soon forgotten. I was lucky to know the luxury of silence.

Ava often joked that we were the same person, except for our exterior. I had blonde curly hair that stopped at my shoulders and pale skin with hundreds of freckles. My height had often been described as average, and my years of running left my muscles toned. Contradicting my hair, I had dark eyebrows that matched my eye color of brown. The ability to make others smile was something I prided myself with, and I graced others with my own frequently. However, I did not inherit my father’s height, six feet, but my five-four frame was still taller than my mother’s five-two.

The day of Ava and I’s first shift together came quickly. The past two weeks we had done everything Greenville could offer. We drove down nearly abandoned gravel roads at speeds frowned upon by any responsible person. We watched every movie and tv show we could think of that we hadn’t seen. Every bit of food we could get our hands on was gone before we could blink. Our shared love of lemonade and snickerdoodle cookies was fed more than it should have been. My favorite activity, however, was the simple nights when we would drive to an empty clearing in the woods and watch the stars with Coldplay in the background.

At this point, Ava and I were inseparable, and when the time came for us to work our first shift at Maggie’s, we were thrilled.

Ava was shy and reserved, I blamed it on her upbringing. She had learned that sometimes it was best to stay silent, to avoid getting hurt. I was more outgoing. In high school I was quite popular, I strived to be in the spotlight. Best distance runner in track, high GPA, and I had the connections. Ava was one of the smartest people I had ever met. She always seemed to know what to say and wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion once she was comfortable with you. I hid behind the persona of perfection. Inside I was terrified of failure, which is the true reason I waited a year to go to college. To put it simply, Ava and I brought out the best in each other.

When we arrived at the Diner, Wendy greeted us both and asked if I could talk to her in private. I was over the moon; she could be offering me a promotion!

Wendy took me to the small break room next to the kitchen.

“Willow, I need you to be completely honest with me. How well do you know this girl?”

My brow furrowed, this wasn’t about a promotion, “What are you talking about Wendy?”

“I just want to make sure you don’t bring any trouble here. You’re a good girl Willow. I’ve seen you grow so much over the years. You’ve matured. You know what you want to do with your life, to go be a writer. I’d hate to see you throw it all away for someone you barely know.”

“Ava isn’t like that! She’s given me a completely new perspective on life. Before I knew her, I thought getting out of this town was the only thing that mattered. But now I can see how special it is, how lucky I am to have you and my parents! I have a roof over my head and all the food I could ever want, and she never did. I was ready to toss that all away without a care. I can now go into the world with a new appreciation. I’m not going to waste all that I’ve been given. I will become a writer; to show people how important it is to have the right perspective.”

Wendy was looking at me with awe.

“I am so very proud of you Willow. More than you could ever know.”

My heart swelled. I cared so much for this woman. I promised then, I would make her faith in me worthwhile.

Once our shift was done, we had worked eleven to four, we made our way home. I wandered to the kitchen, where a note was placed on the fridge from my parents. They had gone out on a date night and wouldn’t be back until seven.

Ava and I agreed that this message was a sign for us to have a movie night. I prepared the popcorn, and Ava chose the movie, Dolittle, which had come out not long beforehand.

About ten minutes into the movie, Ava paused it.

“Can I tell you something?”

This got my attention, I was a sucker for gossip, “Of course! Spill!”

“I have a secret. Do you remember how I told you my dad walked out on me when I was little?”

Of course I did. That was a difficult thing to forget. I nodded my head vigorously.

“I know who he is.”

“Oh my God. Ava! That’s… good? Bad?”

“For the longest time I didn’t know. I wondered if he was a terrible person, like my mom said. Maybe she was wrong.”

I wanted this to be true so badly. Ava deserved a family that loved her.

“You know who he is! We could go find him! I’d be with you every step of the way, and you could finally get your happy ending.”

A small, sad smile grew on her face.

“You already were. This was my happy ending. Willow, you’re my sister.”

My jaw dropped. That was not the direction I thought this conversation was heading.

“What? How is that possible? We’re the same age, that would mean my dad met my mom…”

“Right after he left mine. He wanted a perfect family so badly, but he didn’t want his own blood. He chose you.”

This truth occurred to me before Ava vocalized it but hearing it out loud made it much more real. It was impossible. My father, a man I loved so dearly, was not the man I thought he was. There had to be a good reason. He was a good man, kind, funny, and so loving. I said as much, but it fell on deaf ears. Ava was inconsolable.

“This life you have was supposed to be mine! Why did he choose you? We’re not so different, you and me. It would be so easy for all of this to be over.”

I was now confused. What did she mean?

“Ava what are you talking about?”

She turned towards my bedroom window and plucked a singular rose from the currently overgrown bush.

The color drained from my face. I had often been told I was too trusting. I accepted my new family so quickly because I didn’t want to be alone. Dying without even knowing my true parents would eat me alive. I had so much I wanted to do.

“Ava, you know this isn’t right. I put my faith in you, I trusted you.”

Tears gathered in my eyes, and I could see them building in hers. She drew in a sharp breath before she spoke, “I know. You never were good at keeping secrets from me.”

When I was seven, I discovered I had a terrible allergy. Ava was the only one I had ever told. Death by roses has a dramatic ring to it, don’t you think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ava! Come get dinner!”

Mom always had a knack for announcing dinner when I was in the middle of something. I closed my phone; my conversation could wait until after dinner.

In the past four years I have managed to earn enough money from long hours at Maggie’s to open my own bookstore in Greenville. I still lived with my parents; I had years of homelessness to make up for.

Willow’s absence hung over the home like a thick fog.

I smiled as I walked into the kitchen. The table was set like always, I didn’t think the image of my happy family would ever get old. Loki was still as loud as ever, though less active in his old age.

“I assume you have to go to the bookstore after dinner?”

“Actually, I’m going to go now; I have some things to take care of, but thank you for preparing such a lovely meal, Mom.”

Her smile was sad as she watched me leave, and Dad embraced her as I walked away. She was always afraid I would disappear like Willow did.

As I entered the shop, I began to unpack a new shipment of books to display. The one on top brought a smile to my face. Death by Roses was a beautiful novel, one I was thrilled to put on the shelf.

My phone suddenly pinged.

“Did you like it?”

My screen glowed back at me as I stared at the words, especially the message that followed.

“I graduated from university today.”

A large smile grew on my face. I knew Willow would do great things once she escaped this place, just like I did once I embraced it.

Misguided trust can bring the greatest of consequences. However, in the rare few cases, it can bring you a life you have always dreamed of. Friendship and kindness mean much more than hate and greed. Willow and Ava would live out their separate lives for many years, reuniting after the death of their parents. Before their death, however, Ava would finally get her closure. She was terrified if she told them who she truly was they wouldn’t want her. That was the furthest from the truth, and it was revealed that her dad knew who she was all along. He was forbidden from seeing her by her biological mother and was thrilled to be reunited with her in the end. Willow and Ava would become as close as sisters once again, their bond never to be broken again.