Joseph decided to disappear instead of moving to Texas with his parents. He would simply vanish at twelve and resurface when he was twenty and had all the answers. He pocketed ten bucks, just in case, and headed toward the morning horizon.
His hands were already transparent as he left his neighborhood and thought of all the hurdles he was avoiding. Hormones. Speech class. The crushing anxiety of making new friends. His invisible feet left no footprints as he stewed, knowing hard things were part of growing up. He lost sight of the town and his kneecaps after an hour.
Joseph and his torso weaved through trees, the pine smell reminding him of rides in his dad’s truck and other things he didn’t exactly want to miss. Grandma’s mashed potatoes. The first televised trip to Mars. Losing his virginity. He recalled his bungled first kiss with Brittany, wishing he’d left a note explaining he wasn’t leaving because of her. Doubt arrived like a warm blister and Joseph stopped. What if he was delaying the inevitable and found twenty more tiresome than twelve? Hadn’t he survived hard things before and liked who he was after? He realized if he could disappear, he could reappear too, and turned back.
Joseph reclaimed his solidity in time to rediscover the cash in his pocket and spend it on a thank-you card for Brittany. Unfortunately, they didn’t sell Sorry I Kissed Your Chin cards, but he had nothing to lose. The hard part was over.
Tatum Schad is a dentist living in Seattle with his wife and daughter. He dreams of the day he can put down the drill for good and write himself into a new career, one short story at a time.
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