Alice loved her family dearly. They were everything she knew and she knew them to be understanding, so she was not afraid to tell them that she wanted to leave. She did not need to be. Her mother and father were calm; her brother was quiet.
“Okay, if you really want to go, we won’t stop you. But we will help you.” Her father said. And help they did. Her mother packed up her things, her father found her a place to stay and a job that would support her. Her brother took her around town, taking pictures of everything so she could remember it all. No one tried to make her stay; no one told her they did not want her to go. Everyone just accepted her decision and helped her move on and out.

Alice said goodbye to her family individually, as she had different things to tell them. She did this with her friends as well. Everyone was sad to see her go, but they all understood. Of the list of people she had to talk to, her boyfriend, her high school sweetheart, was the very last. It was he she was worried about displeasing, it was he she was afraid would misunderstand. And as with her parents, she was right.
“Did I do something wrong? Why do you want to leave me?” He asked. His words hurt her, because he had done nothing wrong, and she truly did not want to leave him. He did not understand that this was just something she had to do. Because she got annoyed with his accusations against her, Alice left him to his grief.

The day Alice left, it was raining and her mother, worried about her only daughter, tried to persuade her to stay, to, at the very least, wait. The weather was not getting in her way, Alice decided and her father handed her the keys to the new car they had gotten for her. The smile on Alice’s face right then could have lit the entire town for years. Her little brother handed her the stack of photos and said,
“To remember us by, Alice. You will need to remember us. We’re family.” The only one who did not show to see her leave was the boyfriend. She understood why. He would not let her go if he came. She was grateful he was letting her go live her life, even though he knew the moment she crossed city borders, he was out of it forever.

Alice drove around town before she left. She did not know why, but she had to say goodbye to the places she had loved. The library where she spent so many hours sitting in the comfy red beanbags reading book after book from the stack she gathered each time she went. The arcade where he had her first kiss. The movie theater she had went to on her first date. The town held so many memories.

Alice found driving along the road to the city almost unbearably lonely and quiet even though she had the radio on. She remembered that it was walking down this very road where the boyfriend said he loved her. She remembered that day with startling clarity.
“Why’d you have us walk all the way to the city, Alice?” he asked. She smiled gently at him.
“I wanted to walk, and I wanted some alone time with you.” She said with a bit of a blush on her cheeks. He saw it and a grin erupted on his face.
“Really?” He said to tease her.
“Yeah. The town is too small, to open. I didn’t want open, I wanted you.” That is when he said it, that is when he said,
“I love you, you know that right?” He said it all casual, even though it was anything but.
“Yeah. How could I not?” She responded, trying to mimic his tone, but failing. She realized that it was not what he wanted to hear, and then she altered her original statement to “Of course I know you love me. I love you too.” She only just meant it at the time, but now she meant it with her whole heart. But that did not make her turn around.

Alice drove through the city, passing by her old school, Clara Marlow High School. Clara Marlow was her role model. Clara left home too. Clara founded the city and the city named its school after her. Alice found this exchange appropriate, and it was to Clara’s hometown that Alice was traveling. Clara would never know her name, but it was not enough to turn her around.

Alice heard her favorite song just as she crossed city limits. That song made her stop the car, and look around. That song was written for her, and only one person knew it. Sure enough, there he was, the boyfriend, singing at the top of his lungs in the city center. Everyone was staring at him, but it was obvious to Alice to he did not care. She hated herself later for the way she analyzed it. It was by no means his best performance. Actually, it was quite probably his worst. Alice shook her head, got back into the car, turned up the radio as loud as it got, and drove away. He stopped singing.

Alice knew what she had done; driving away like that, she knew it was cruel. But in her mind, it was necessary. She had to be cruel, so he would not love her anymore. He had to move on, because she was never coming back. If she had to hurt him to get him to realize this, then so be it.

Memories flooded through Alice as she drove for hours. More precisely, a memory coursed through her, the 9th grade Homecoming Dance.
Neither Alice nor the boyfriend dressed up for it. They both wore jeans and a tee-shirt, starting a trend that would last for generations, but they did not know that. They just felt like they were going against tradition. Thinking back, Alice thought they were wrong because here she was, being traditional and running away when things got too serious for her. She knew that was part of the reason the boyfriend fought so hard to keep her in the small town, even if he knew he had no chance at succeeding.

Several years pass, and Alice has never gone back but she isn’t living in the place her father found for her, she isn’t in Clara’s hometown, she doesn’t even remember why she thought Clara was so great in the first place. Instead of what she planned when she left, she is living farther away. She is working as a cashier at the supermarket down the street from her apartment building. She is engaged, to a man named Andrew. Just like the boyfriend, he writes her a song. She wonders what makes guys think she likes music. She does not, not that she mentions that to Andrew. She still appreciates the gesture.

On her wedding day, Alice wears white. She knows the boyfriend would laugh if he knew. There she goes, being traditional again, he would think. The ceremony is small. Andrew’s parents come. Alice does not invite hers. She does not think they need to be there. Nonetheless, she still tells them because she believes they need to know.

Alice attends her brother’s wedding. She knew the girl. Her name is Chelsea, and Alice sees why her brother fell in love with her. Chelsea is kind, and thoughtful. She is funny and understanding. Alice sees this every time her brother looks at Chelsea, and in the words he says as his vows.
“Chelsea, when we first met, you said that we could never last. I told; let us just see where it leads. Maybe we will. Back then you did not believe me. Do you believe me now?” he asked. Chelsea nods.
“Death seems too soon for us to be parted, so I promise to love you until the heavens themselves are in ruins. To cherish you seems too weak, so I promise to treat you like the most precious star.” While her brother’s words are sweet, it is Chelsea’s that move Alice to tears.
“I told you once that I believe in fairytales, when magic isn’t involved. You said then, that I do not believe in fairytales; as in even the most realistic fairytales have that touch of magic that makes it what it is. Today, I am here to tell you we were both wrong. I defidently believe in fairytales, because I see magic every time your eyes catch mine, I feel magic every time your fingers lock in mine, I hear magic every time you voice calls my name, I taste magic every time your lips land on mine, I smell magic every time you wake me up with breakfast in bed. If this is no fairytale, then I don’t know what is.” Alice loved the fantasy Chelsea created.
The boyfriend was there, and Alice felt his presence everywhere in the small church that the wedding was held in. She thought she could try to avoid him, but then logic told her that it was a small town. It was impossible to avoid anyone, especially if your eyes sought them without your permission.
So Alice was prepared for those awkward how are you’s and those unnecessary nice to see you’s that would surly come. But they never did, like they did not even exist in this small town. Instead, what she found was him looking at her, longing in his eyes. It shattered her heart, to see him in such pain. How could he still love her like he did? How could he need her there so much? To Alice, there were no answers that made logical sense. She dared turn her head to him, and his eyes found hers. He waved her over, and her feet had a mind of their own and answered his call.
“Hey, Alice.”
“Hey.” What were they, back in middle school? She thought.
“Why are we here, like this, Alice? Why do you do this to me?” Direct as ever.
“I don’t mean to, boy, but what can I do?”
“I don’t know Alice, I don’t know.” And with that the boyfriend walked away. Alice thought this was strangely appropriate for this situation, so she left the town after saying goodbye to her brother and his wife.

10 months pass and Alice’s daughter is born. She names her Anino, meaning my love. Andrew was not sure about her name, but Alice would not listen to his endless complaints about the Mongolian name. She liked it, so that was her daughter’s name.

Anino grew up fast, much faster than Alice herself had. The time for endless questions and fears of the dark was short lived, as the teenage years came quick. Alice looked for, and did not find, any trace of herself in Anino. Alice was not sure if this was good or not.
When Anino got married, Alice cried. She did not know why she did, she just did. It was shortly after that Anino changed her name to Raina, meaning queen. Alice cried then as well. When Raina had her own daughter, Alice saw herself instantly.

Over the years, Alice was a great grandmother. Raina could hardly believe the woman with her daughter was really her mother. Alice does not care about this obvious change in her behavior.

The day Alice died, an 18 year old girl came driving into Alice’s hometown. The boyfriend hears her coming and waits outside on the porch for her. He sees her and he knows her name, although no one ever told him. He sees the same girl who ran all those years ago, the same girl he still loved, although he himself is married and with children, and a grandson the age of the girl in front of him. He says simply, when the girl notices his stares,
“Welcome home. Alice.” Alice smiles, brighter than even her grandmother did the day she left, and said,
“Hello boyfriend. I have heard so much about you.”