“you go back and begin again”

There was nothing for it. She’d given it her best shot, done all the things, tried all the pleas, and nothing was changing. Nothing was getting better. There was nothing for it then but to go back and begin again. Only not with this person, not in this situation, not in this life.

She would go back to the last time she remembered being happy, being confident, being free. She would sell off everything and return to Europe. To the train and the sights and sounds of new realities with every waking. Perhaps this time she wouldn’t get violently ill between Turkey and Romania. Perhaps this time she wouldn’t get stuck in the hostel of the masseuse who thought all white women were from Australia. Perhaps this time she would respond to one of the “Aussie Girl! Hey, Aussie Girl!” taunts with a direct “Feck off!” instead of picking up her pace, averting her eyes, scuttling like a crab.

It wouldn’t take long to regain her long stride despite her short legs, to regain her erect posture despite the weight of the backpack she carried, to regain her confidence, her assurance, her truth. It wouldn’t take long before she’d begin again, back in that place where solitude felt like company.

5 Minute Stretch Exercises are a creation of Laura Munson and were learned at Haven Writing Retreats. Write for five minutes, no corrections or stopping.
This prompt was taken from Letters to a Young Writer, a speech by Colum McCann.