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“Never better,” I lied, adjusting the straps of my backpack. It felt lighter than it should have. I hadn't packed much—just some clothes, a notebook, and the restless energy pushing me out the front door.
I shifted on the rock, feeling the rough texture scrape against my shoulder. I smiled into the dark. “Man, my back is going to be ruined tomorrow. But for the first time in months? I can actually breathe.” “Never better,” I lied, adjusting the straps of
We didn't sleep much that night. We froze, we laughed at how ridiculous we looked, and we waited for the sun. It was the hardest pillow I ever slept on, but it was the first night of the rest of our lives. I shifted on the rock, feeling the rough
“You good?” JUNO’s voice cut through the dark. He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the empty stretch of road ahead, his jacket pulled tight against the biting autumn wind. But for the first time in months
The neon glow of Bucharest was finally swallowed by the dark, heavy silence of the outskirts. We weren’t running toward anything; we were just running away from the yelling, the expectations, and the walls that felt like they were closing in.
By 3:00 AM, the adrenaline died. My legs felt like lead, and the cold was no longer a vibe—it was a problem. We found a clearing just off the dirt path, dominated by a massive, flat slab of grey rock. It looked like it had been sitting there since the beginning of time.