Escape

A single 35 year man with a tattoo on his face with a name that read Janics smiled and thought, “Some things never change.” His name was Thomas Ritso. He lived alone in the city of Chicago. He was sitting, hands folded with his eyes towards the sky. He was thinking of lighting another cigarette. No cigarettes or lighter in his black denim jacket but he could walk to the nearby corner and go into the Sandwich & Soda Stop to get what he needed to smoke. His eyes caught a barn owl perched on the tall white fence surrounding the house. The barn owl was staring in the direction of Thomas but looked as if it were getting ready to fall asleep. Thomas noticed a black squirrel climbing along the fence and eventually running into the now asleep barn owl. Brown and white feathers floated in the air as the barn owl took flight. The black squirrel fell from the fence but landed on its feet and quickly scurried away. The breeze blew the branches of the royal star magnolia tree. It is a beautiful sight to see but he took the squirrel running into the barn owl as a sign that he should go back inside. He got up from his seat on the front porch and made his way inside his house. The door is locked. He reached into his blue jean pants and retrieved a pair of keys. He unlocked the first screen door and then he unlocked the second light blue wooden door. Once he was able to get inside the house, he turned around to lock the door. He then made his way to the study to the left of him. His eyes caught sight of the journal willed to him by his godmother. He thought, “My three bedroom house was given to me after my godfather passed shortly after my godmother. This is the only house on the street that had a barn in the backyard. Still strange to me.” Janics was the name of Thomas’s godmother. The thought of her gone always made him tear up. Thomas was close to his godmother during the last years of life. He grew up in this same house and had cherished the memories of his youth during the times spent inside this house. Thomas grew up as wild as the animals that he soon came to meet during his stay at his godparents house but it was nothing but innocent fun. Thomas walked to the bathroom to get a tissue to wipe the now falling tears coming down his cheeks. He caught a glimpse of his now red eyes and the stream of tears running over the name Janics. He sat on the closed toilet seat and closed his eyes shut hoping that he wouldn’t start crying too much. The thought of his godfather seeing him cry like this when Thomas was going through his divorce brought a smile to Thomas' face. He could hear his godfather talking to him now saying exactly the same thing when Thomas showed up to this same house with the divorce papers signed and finalized, “There is no more pain tied to being unhappily married. You should go on vacation or pick up a new hobby.” Thomas chuckled a bit and stood thinking, “Maybe I should go on vacation.” Thomas' godfather's name was also Thomas. Thomas’ godfather last name was different from Thomas’s last name. Thomas was adopted into a family who used to stay next door to his godparents house. The house next door had gone up for sale and Thomas took it as a sign that maybe he should go on vacation.

Thomas Ritso thought to himself while packing his bags, “I should go check the barn and make sure everything is okay so the animals don’t have any problems while I am gone.” Thomas folded his favorite green button up and set it on the folded clothes in his open suitcase. He took a deep breath and rubbed his curly blond hair. He made his way outside the house and to the barn. Thomas reached the wide open backyard. He stopped while walking towards the barn and looked at the beautiful afternoon sky. The clouds covered the sun and the breeze made its way through the open bar door that Thomas was now looking at. Thomas thought, “My whole life has been one tragedy after a beautiful beginning.” Thomas’ adopted parents house caught fire, killing his adopted parents the same year Thomas was adopted. Thomas was only 9 years old when his adopted parents died. He was staying the night at his godparents house so his adopted mom and dad could go out on a date. Someone had got drunk and drove into the house. The fire started because the car somehow flew through the kitchen and exploded causing the whole house to catch fire. Thomas’ stepparents were back home from their date and were getting ready for a night cap. Thomas’ stepmom, Vincette Ritso, was next door to the kitchen in the dining room preparing the mood for a surprise night of dancing and music. Thomas’ stepmom. Allie Ritso, was in the kitchen making drinks and making something the two could eat before going to sleep. That is when the drunk driver came crashing into the house. The thought of Thomas’ stepparents dying while he was at a young age always made him feel so depressed. He remembered the good things his godfather said about his step parents to remind him to cherish the time spent with them so the depressed feeling washed away with ease this time. The burden of not being unhappy was not heavy on Thomas’ mind or his shoulders. Thomas Ritso thought to himself, “I have no worries. My children are now in college and soon they will not have any worries. I guess the biggest burden was seeing me struggle through this divorce. My godfather was right.. It is time for me to go on a vacation.” Before Thomas made his way to the red barns’ entrance, there was a black flash that ran past him and into the barn. It was the little squirrel that Thomas had been staring at from the front porch that ran into the sleeping barn owl. Soon other squirrels ran past Thomas’ foot and he smiled at the family of squirrels as they made their way into the barn.

Thomas crossed the threshold of the barn. The large red barn was always the home of animals that needed a place to rest or to grow old or even looking for shelter or food. The only stable was for injured animals. The birds made their own nest high in the barn in a section Thomas’ godfather built just for the birds. The squirrels came and went as they pleased. There were chipmunks that sometimes came to play with the squirrels too. There were mostly birds that came to Thomas’ barn. One bird in particular was a brown and white owl; the same barn owl that the black squirrel ran into on the fence. Thomas had not seen the brown and white barn owl since then. The barn owl had a special place in Thomas’ heart. That same barn owl was outside the night his step parents house caught on fire. Thomas’ step parents' house was smaller than his godparents house. It wasn’t much to look at from the outside but it was still home, there or not. And the barn owl that Thomas saw sitting on the gate of his godparents house always was there watching Thomas. Thomas had named the barn owl Owen. Thomas and Owen watched each other. The pair made sure that each other managed through life's many ups and downs. Thomas thought, “This is the sign I was waiting for. I don’t see Owen anywhere and maybe because he took some time to enjoy life. So should I.” Thomas closed the windows of the barns but left the barn door open so that the animals could have an entrance and an exit. He made his way back to his house to finish packing and to take his vacation to Tahiti.