I walk down Auburn Street for the last time. These daily walks have become a ritual for me, and something that I am going to cherish for a very long time. Hopefully I can return to Auburn Street one day to experience the wonder all over again. The faint whisper of the wind through the trees, the beautiful scenery of yellows, reds, oranges, and greens, the sweet scent of chestnuts, and, most importantly, the serene silence that I have been accustomed to since the tender age of three.

Yes, I will miss this place with all of my heart, but I know that change is necessary and I am looking forward to the move. I'd like to see how people on the other side live.

I walk to the breathtaking maple tree that I have sat under every day for the past eighteen years. It has always been my go-to for venting and finding ultimate peace. It has also helped me pass a lot of exams. It has been my backbone and I wish I could take it with me. One day I will have to come back to my tree.

I sit Indian style under my tree and close my eyes, taking in the fresh air and the tranquility of nature. Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed being outside. I felt like a caged animal if I didn't go somewhere. It doesn't get too hot or too cold here so I never had much of a problem with the weather being too extreme to enjoy the outdoors. My friends are the same way. We would always take long walks together and play in the fields. It brought us pure joy that no organized event at school or some electronic could mimic or replace. I hope they have lots of grass in California.

I feel the buzzing of my cell phone in my pocket. I take it out and flip it open to answer it.

"Hello?" I answer.

"It's time to go." My mom says on the other end.

I sigh. "Okay. Im coming. Bye." I close the phone and place it back in my pocket.

I stand up, taking one more look around and touching the bark on my tree, letting my energy mix with that of it, and start the trek back home.

By the time I get back home, my three best friends are at the door. I smile and walk on the porch, reaching my arms out for a very firm and long group hug.

"Im gonna miss you guys so much." I say, trying to hold back tears.

They smile at me and wipe their already wet eyes gently.

Mom comes out of the house and locks the door behind her, for the last time.

"Ready?" She says as she looks at me, a little sad.

I nod and get into the taxi. As we pulls off, I wave to my friends until my arm starts hurting. We drive off and I look out the back window as they disappear from sight. I turn back around, playing with my fingers, trying to suppress my sadness.

Mom fluffs my hair. "Don't worry Angel. You will enjoy this new place. Hopefully you can find as much peace here as you did back there. It's all in your mindset."

I nod and look at her. "Im going to make the best of it." I manage a half smile and she nods.

The ride to the airport is depressing. We go through all of the checks and make our way to the plane. I stare in awe at the sheer size of our plane. The only other thing that has made me feel this small is my tree. But my tree puts this airplane to shame. Still, its scary.

We board the plane and check our tickets for the seats. There are three seats so we are also sitting next to an old woman. Probably in her 70s. I don't mind though. Elderly people are very nice, at least, where I come from.

I cant seem to fall asleep on the plane, so I look out of the window. I've always been scared to ride on planes, but considering we have to be on this plane for five hours I might as well not freak out the entire ride there.

It is quite a sight to see outside of a plane. Everything that was once big looks so small. Entire cities are reduced to a small landscape, able to be seen out of a small airplane window. It is amazing. The sky is amazing. Whether you are in it or witnessing its beauty, it is very scary.

Im glad we're getting to California at night because I need some sleep and I cant fall asleep on this plane.

As day turns to night the whole world seems to change before my very eyes on this plane. Its something Ive never paid attention to before, but from up here you can almost see the world turning. My world is definitely changing. For the better, who knows?

We land and outside the window there is nothing but people. People everywhere. More people than Mom and I are used to. We get off of the plane hesitantly and walk through the airport to get our bags checked. This airport is considerably more crowded than the one back home. Plus, everything is electronic and technologically advanced. It's insane.

We walk to the front of the airport and find our chauffeur. It took Mom almost a year to put these arrangements together. Im glad she took her time. Maybe she could have taken an extra year.

We get into the car and are escorted to our new home. As we are driving down the street my face starts to drop.

"Mom..." I say alarmingly.

She just looks out the window as shocked as I am. "There are so many... buildings." She says simply.

"Where are the trees? The grass? The fields? There are nothing but stores! Mom, people are carrying around more weight in bags than they can even bench press. This is crazy!" I say, angrily.

"Calm down. This is California. I told you this would be extremely different. You know why we're here. Im making triple I was making back home and I cant let that slide. I want to keep providing for my family." She explains.

"You know Im getting a job Mom. Im not just gonna be a lazy bum. Im gonna be an adult and take care of.. responsibilities." I assure.

She smiles. "You can do that. I know that's important, but I will take care of you even if you want to get some responsibilities. In this very new place, you're gonna need your Mama."

I smile. "I know Mom. I love you." I hug her.

"Love you too Bun." She says lovingly.

"Please don't call me that around here. These people are crazy." I say nervously.

She laughs.

We pull up to our new house and it is not that big. It's big, but not bigger than our old house and it's also surrounded by six more houses on each side, but that's just as far down as the eye can see. There are houses for blocks and blocks. I cringe at the thought of walking down blocks instead of walking through fields. These people look dangerous enough, I cant take daily walks around here.

I try to think of the positives. Our bills might be low since our house is small.

I get out of the car and immediately cough. The air pollution is ridiculous here. It's like you're breathing in cancer. I look at Mom and she shrugs.

The driver pops the trunk and Mom and I help him bring the suitcases in the house. Mom decided to sell all of our stuff in the house in order to buy new stuff when we moved. She said it was too complicated trying to get our stuff all the way here. I hope furniture isn't too expensive here. Seems like everyone is high maintenance here. I know celebrities live in this general area, but not everyone has to live like one.

We walk into the apartment. It's small on the inside too. It's a two family house. We are at the top. I prefer that in case our neighbors are a little rowdy. The wall are white except for the bathroom, which is a yellow.

Ew.

Everything looks clean and polished. We have an over the range microwave, an oven and stove, and a dishwasher. Since we are at the top our laundry room is an actual room instead of in the basement. A nice sized washer and dryer. Everything is compact and tidy. Very mundane. I hope we can make this cozy. We have to buy the beds and other furniture though. I walk into my room.

It's noticeably smaller than my old room. It looks like it can fit just my bed and dresser. The closet is the same size as my old closet though. I was never a closet person anyways.

The smell is what bothers me. It smells artificially fresh. Like someone sprayed a shit ton of Febreze and called it a day. I open the window to my room. Any air is better than what Im smelling right now.

I set my suitcases down on the ground. No sense in opening anything until we get our furniture. I take a deep breath.

"This is your life now." I say to myself.

~~.~~