The walk home from school is always like this. None of my classmates live in the same direction as me so we always split off at the train station near our school. It gets pretty lonely in the winter when the sun comes down earlier than usual. By the time I step out of the subway station, the sun is already past the horizon with it's faint glow still illuminating the sky. It's during the last leg of my commute from school I start to feel the isolation, though. Between the train station and my home is a long street by the highway where the only thing dividing me and the speeding vehicles is a chain link fence.
Keeping my mind from wandering is the sound of cars driving by with the familiar clanking of the trains off in the distance. As I approach my home, I brace myself for my daily routine. Sometimes I pause and hesitate before crossing the street knowing what will greet me at the door. Loud, screaming children and my responsibility to them as an older sister is what I have to look forward to. It's a lot of responsibility for me, but I'm the only one who can do it.
- Zeni