Marta was walking home from school. It was one of the things that she was allowed to do now. As she was getting older and better, she was being given a longer leash. An attempt to find some independence. She only lived a couple of blocks away from the school, and if she wasn't really feeling up to it, she could call Ricky and get a ride.
Most days, Marta was fine, but today, not so much. She still decided to walk home. Splash walked beside her, wearing her red emotional support vest, but Marta was lost in her own thoughts. It wasn't that today had been bad. She just felt alone. School was great - she got to meet people and was making some friends. She thought anyways. But she still didn't feel like she fit in. These kids were nicer than the ones in Mexico. They didn't make fun of her and call her a stupid idiot for being behind. They had been accepting, but it didn't change the fact that they were younger than she was, and as she was changing, she didn't feel like she belonged anymore. They didn't do anything wrong. It was her.
She thought again maybe she could go back to homeschooling. That worked better for her, but she also liked being around people. Even around people she still felt alone. Lost in her thoughts, Marta didn't realize she had kept walking past the intersection where she need to turn to go home. She completely lost track of time and was unaware that more than enough time had passed for her to have reached her destination. Instead when she looked up, she was somewhere she had never been.
She was lost, and that combined with her bad thoughts caused the panic to rise. Her breathing quickened and she began to cry, the cold Moscow air causing the tears to burn on her cheeks. She was pulled from her rising panic attack by a tug at her coat sleeve. Splash, who had noticed something wrong with her companion, had taken the sleeve in teeth and pulled gently, trying to get Marta's attention. When Marta looked, Splash let go, and walked forward before turning her gaze back on Marta and sent her an image.
Elyse! Elyse was close.
"Take me to her, Splash," she said. She had trouble forming the images without the help of words.
The wolf began to move through the streets. Marta could still feel the panic burning within her, tempered only by following Splash through this weird area. Splash would go to buildings walking parallel to them, but looking at them as if her destination was on the other side. Finding a street running perpendicular, the wolf would take it, her tie to Elyse not giving her a GPS route to take, rather a general direction.
They came to a building with a nondescript door. Splash started running, going to the door and pawing at it with intensity. Marta ran to the door and pulled at the handle. The door, locked, wouldn't open. The panic began to rise, she began to hyperventilate. It was luck that she saw the door buzzer and slapped it. The tears were once again freezing to her cheeks.
"I need help! I need Elyse," she screamed, switching between pulling at the handle and ringing the door buzzer.
Most days, Marta was fine, but today, not so much. She still decided to walk home. Splash walked beside her, wearing her red emotional support vest, but Marta was lost in her own thoughts. It wasn't that today had been bad. She just felt alone. School was great - she got to meet people and was making some friends. She thought anyways. But she still didn't feel like she fit in. These kids were nicer than the ones in Mexico. They didn't make fun of her and call her a stupid idiot for being behind. They had been accepting, but it didn't change the fact that they were younger than she was, and as she was changing, she didn't feel like she belonged anymore. They didn't do anything wrong. It was her.
She thought again maybe she could go back to homeschooling. That worked better for her, but she also liked being around people. Even around people she still felt alone. Lost in her thoughts, Marta didn't realize she had kept walking past the intersection where she need to turn to go home. She completely lost track of time and was unaware that more than enough time had passed for her to have reached her destination. Instead when she looked up, she was somewhere she had never been.
She was lost, and that combined with her bad thoughts caused the panic to rise. Her breathing quickened and she began to cry, the cold Moscow air causing the tears to burn on her cheeks. She was pulled from her rising panic attack by a tug at her coat sleeve. Splash, who had noticed something wrong with her companion, had taken the sleeve in teeth and pulled gently, trying to get Marta's attention. When Marta looked, Splash let go, and walked forward before turning her gaze back on Marta and sent her an image.
Elyse! Elyse was close.
"Take me to her, Splash," she said. She had trouble forming the images without the help of words.
The wolf began to move through the streets. Marta could still feel the panic burning within her, tempered only by following Splash through this weird area. Splash would go to buildings walking parallel to them, but looking at them as if her destination was on the other side. Finding a street running perpendicular, the wolf would take it, her tie to Elyse not giving her a GPS route to take, rather a general direction.
They came to a building with a nondescript door. Splash started running, going to the door and pawing at it with intensity. Marta ran to the door and pulled at the handle. The door, locked, wouldn't open. The panic began to rise, she began to hyperventilate. It was luck that she saw the door buzzer and slapped it. The tears were once again freezing to her cheeks.
"I need help! I need Elyse," she screamed, switching between pulling at the handle and ringing the door buzzer.