Richard just shifted his car into drive when he heard the screaming. Someone was shouting inside the house with no mirrors.

Angie burst through the front door, racing along the apple trees towards the road, where his car was parked.

"Richard! Richard, wait!" She shouted hysterically.

Richard quickly crouched out of his vehicle and ran towards her. She grabbed him by the shoulders with her boney cold fingers. Her words flew at him a mile a minute, explaining what happened.

He tried to calm her, telling her to grab flashlights and start searching the house and yard. He ran back to the car to get his cell phone and call 9-1-1. His soft hands shook as he dialed the numbers. It all was going so well, and now suddenly everything was so wrong. He wondered if it was actually happening, if Esther was actually missing.

An hour later, the house was bustling with police. Detectives were questioning Richard, officers were searching the house, barking search dogs could be heard from outside, Esther's mother was sobbing on Esther's father's shoulder, and Angie stood in the middle of it all.

The world around her was traveling so fast, but she could not move. How could this happen? She wondered to herself. Why would Esther run away? Angie knew why. Esther had been acting off for months. They say hindsight is 20/20 but Angie knew she should have reached out to the girl. But it was hard. Angie didn't want to believe anything was wrong when Esther was doing so well. Besides, it wasn't her job to console or mother Esther. She was merely an observer; a glorified nanny.

No matter what excuses crossed her mind, Angie could not convince herself that this wasn't her fault. Esther was going to die, and the blood was on her hands.

"We found someone who saw her," a detective said while approaching the family. "We have a positive i.d. placing her at the bus station around eight o'clock."

"How did she get all the way into town?" Her mother asked.

"She could be anywhere by now!" Her father exclaimed.

"We know which bus she boarded and we're trying to contact the driver. Hopefully she hasn't gotten off yet." He explained.

"Where would she even be headed?" Richard asked in frustration.

The group fell silent as their thinking minds buzzed. The experiment was completely thought through. There was a plan for everything, except this. There was no procedure for a situation without Esther.

"It's your fault." The sharp accusation rang out from Esther's mom. Her tear-filled eyes stared daggers at Angie. "This is all your fault!"

"All I've ever done was care for Esther," Angie yelled as heat rose to her face. "What have you done? You passed her off to us without a second thought like she's a lab rat!"

"We did what was best for her," her father said. "We were taking Esther with us to Japan!"

"Yeah, now that she's better you actually want her." Angie huffed.

"Excuse me!?" Esther's mom exclaimed as she got up from her seat. Richard quickly stood between the two women.

"None of this is helping us find Esther," he said.

The ladies both felt shame wash over them. Esther was missing and they were picking fights like children. Just then, a scrawny man came down the stairs whispered something into the detectives ear and showed him a picture on his camera.

"Dr. Lang, we need you to take a look at something."

The men led Angie to Esther's bedroom. The bed itself was moved to the side to reveal scratches on the floor boards.

"Do you know what these are?" The men asked. Angie stared at the tallies for a long moment.

"We don't keep calendars in the house. I'm guessing this is her attempt to make her own." She said bluntly.

Angie stood still, soaking in every inch of the room; the white bed frame, the gray lamp shade, the brown floor boards, the poster on the wall. The poster! She reached for the shimmering blue paper hanging up. It pictured the water beautifully.

"I know where she's going." Angie said excitingly. "I need a map of all the bus routes!"

Minutes later, everyone crowded around the kitchen table as Angie scribbled over the map of bus routes. The transportation company had buses all over the Northern East side of America. There were certain buses that had local routes, but Angie requested the map for interstate travel.

"Esther probably traced a route back from her destination. This here is the stop closest to the coast," she said as she pointed to the paper. "This is the quickest route to where she wants to go."

"All of this is based on your opinion of where she's going," Esther's mom pointed out.

"I know her better than you or anyone else in this room." Angie replied shortly. Her mother did not object.

"Okay, so if she got on the bus at about eight, she should right about here by now," the detective said, running his hands along the map.

One by one, each stranger left the house until only four people were left: Angie, Richard, and Esther's parents. An old, landline phone sat on a coffee table in the middle of the living room. They sat and they waited. They waited for a call. Each one dozed off now and again, as it was well into the night, except for Angie. She refused to let her eyes grow heavy. She refused to let her mind drift. Esther had gone six years without missing one dose of medication. Angie did not know what would happen when the sun rose, but she knew it'd be her fault.

"I think I need a cup of coffee. Would you like to help me out in the kitchen?" Richard asked.

Angie looked over at Esther's parents. They were both snoring.

"We'll just be in the other room. You'll hear the phone ring." He assured her.

Angie followed him into the next room and gathered the supplies. They stood by the coffee machine for a few moments in silence. Angie realized that after all this time, they rarely spoke about anything other than Esther. Richard was her greatest friend, but in that moment he felt like a stranger.

"How is your son, Ben?" She asked.

"Ben's good. I sometime's can't believe he's my kid. He's really amazing."

"Well he does have a great father."

"Eh, I think he gets most of it from his mother." Richard said with a laugh.

"How is Emily? Is she working now?" Angie asked while grabbing the coffee pot and pouring the brown liquid into a mug. Richard cleared his throat and began fidgeting with his sleeve.

"She uh... she's um... Emily passed away." He stammered uncomfortably.

"What?" Angie said. She tried to spout out her questions but they all tried coming out at once.

"You have your own little world here and I know how difficult it is sometimes and I didn't want to trouble you with my heartache. It was three years ago anyways and I've already made my peace." Richard quickly said, trying to explain his actions the best way he could.

"Three years? Richard, I thought I was one of your closest friends and you kept something like that from me for three years?" She said.

"You don't have any place to question me." Richard said with anger in his voice.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw the suit case," he said. Angie fell deathly silent. "The downstairs bathroom was occupied so I went to use the one in your room and I saw it."

"Richard, I," Angie started to say but he cut her off.

"I thought we were in this together? But, you were just going to leave? How could you do that to me, Angie?"

Before she could reply, the phone started ringing. Esther was found, and they were bringing her back home. Angie felt the world lift from her shoulders. Everything was going to be okay; Esther was okay.

Her parents agreed to stay at a hotel nearby. Angie thought it best that they not see Esther until she's had a chance to explain everything. Richard decided to stay the night in the guest bedroom, just to make sure they both were there in the morning.

As soon as she saw Esther standing in the front door, Angie ran to embrace the girl. Esther's face was emotionless and stained with tears. Angie knew she was still upset.

"Esther, look at me. You will go to the ocean. But not like this. It was very dangerous what you did."

"I would rather die out there than live in here," Esther said plainly. Angie's heart dropped.

She explained everything to Esther; her parents' big move, them wanting to take her, her getting to leave and fly to another continent. Angie had accepted that this was probably the best option for Esther. She had outgrown the house with no mirrors. Her wings were far too big.

"You'll be coming, too, won't you?" Esther asked. Angie didn't know what to say. "I won't go without you."

"I dont think they'll agree, Esther. I will be okay. It's time to go back to your family."

"You are my family," Esther said bluntly. "If they want me, they will have to accept you, too."

Angie rested her hand against Esther's cheek. Pride and joy welled up inside of her.

"We will talk to your parents in the morning. Right now, you need to rest."

Esther slept next to Angie, since her bedroom had a broken window. In the morning, sunlight shined into the room through a window that wasn't guarded by curtains. Angie awoke, feeling hotter than usual. It was a warm summer, but something was not right. She turned to Esther, who was still sleeping. Esther was breathing very heavily. Angie ran her hand through the girl's hair. She was very warm. Angie then put the back of her hand to her forehead. It was burning.

"Esther?" She tried waking her up, but nothing worked. It wasn't long before they rushed her to the hospital.

Richard, Angie, and Esther's parents waited around the hospital bed. She was hooked up to so many monitors and machines. According to her doctors, her immune system was already deficient due to her illness. The medication she was taking restored her brain function but weakened her immune system even more. Just being inside that house made her sick often; going outside and on public transportation could kill her.

Esther was in a fever- induced coma. She was issued antibiotics and monitored for any swelling in the brain. Esther was stable at that moment, but she was a sick girl.

"There is a board meeting soon. I better get going. You have my number; call me if anything happens," Richard said. He then pulled Angie aside and spoke to her quietly. "If you need anything, call me. Anything at all.

Relief rushed over Angie as Richard left. He was a constant in her life and it felt good to know he would remain as such.

Three days passed before Esther woke up. Angie didn't leave the hospital once. Richard visited once or twice. Her parents were there during the day and slept in their hotel room at night. But Angie did not move; she had nothing to go home to. Her entire world was lying on a hospital bed, dying.

"How old am I?" Were the first words from Esther's mouth when she woke up.

"Esther?" Angie perked up from the book she was reading. "Don't worry, dear. It's only been a few days." She said while brushing her hair, trying to soothe her.

"How am I going to see the ocean now?"

"You will, Esther. You are going to get better and then we're all going to go, okay? You'll get through this, just like you've gotten through everything else."

Angie may have been telling Esther the words, but she was trying to convince herself they were true. She thought their time in the house would be over with. That they could finally breathe in fresh air. That they could see more and do more and be more than rats in a maze. Who knew how long it'd take for Esther to fully recover. Maybe she never would.

Nurses shuffled in and out, checking Esther's vitals. The doctors said there was still swelling in her brain, but the medicines they put in her IV should help, along with antibiotics. They assured Angie that they'd continue to check on her. A few hours later, a knock came at the door. Esther's mother poked her head into the room.

"Is our baby awake?" She asked.

Before Angie could answer, both parents barged in and surrounded the bed.

"Do you know who we are?" Her father said. Esther looked sick, and tired, and slightly confused by these strange people. "It's okay if you don't," he added.

"I don't, but I'm guessing you're my parents. Mrs. Mom says you're taking us across the ocean," Esther replied.

"Us?" Her mom asked surprisingly, giving Angie a sharp look. Her dad side stepped the question quickly.

"Well Esther, I have to leave next week. You'll stay here and rest and the moment you're feeling well, Angie will bring you right to us."

"You're leaving me?" Esther asked. "But I just met you. I mean, I'm actually able to remember you now."

Her parents made excuses. But Angie knew what they were doing, it's what they have always done: put themselves first. Maybe her parents didn't start that way. Maybe they set out to be dedicated and give Esther their all, but realized it was too much when she got sick. They saw the sickness, not the wonderful child God had blessed them with. Angie felt sorry for them; too blind to see past the bad, too naive to notice the good.

Her parents finally left, ashamed that their daughter did not want them to stay. A few days later Esther was sent to have another CT scan to see if the swelling had gone down at all. The Doctor spoke with Angie privately in another room about the results.

"The swelling is not going down. We're pushing fluids to make sure her brain has enough blood supply and a respirator will make sure she has enough oxygen, but that won't solve the problem. Typically, we'd attempt surgery, but with Esther's condition, I don't think she'd recover from that," he told Angie.

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"Make her as comfortable as possible. If you're a praying woman, now would be the time," he said solemnly.

"So that's it? You're just giving up on her?" Angie asked angrily.

All of this was so Esther could see the ocean, and now, she's going to die a caged bird. As the doctor explained that Esther had no chance to recover except by some miracle, Angie realized she never had a chance. The odds have always been stacked against Esther, and fate had finally caught up to her. Esther was going to die before she had ever really lived.

Angie simply could not accept that.