And waiting ..... and waiting, and all of a sudden I realize that it'safter midnight and the second bus doesn't run after midnight. So here Iam stuck ...n this small town where everything's closed up tight as a drumand with no ride home. I was sitting down on a bench, with my eyesclosed and thinking about trying to call my mom, if I could get her, andif she was sober enough to drive over the mountain to come and get mewhen I heard a car stop and someone say, "Need a ride kid?" The voicesounded. Thought you might wimp out on me!” “As pitiful as this will be,” she sneered, “I never wimp out on anything!” “Then stand in the centre of the room,” he said, leaning back on an armchair. She walked towards him slowly and he watched her with an amused grin. “Turn around.” He twirled a finger casually in the air. She hesitated, and then turned slowly on her heels and stood with her hands on her hips with her back to him. “Your right,” he drawled, “it will be pitiful. Listening to you whimper. "Tonight is amateur night and we will be starting in a few minutes." If you haven't signed up yet," he continued. "Please do so now as it looks like we will have a full house tonight."The black guy sitting next to Diana, his name was Tyrone, lit up a cigarette and took a long drag before passing it on to Diana. Diana inhaled before passing the funny-looking joint on to Jessica."Here, Honey," Diana breathed to Jessica. "This will relax you and make all of your cares go away."Jessica hesitated. Already she was far above the green valley where her journey began. Claire knew she’d been travelling a long time, sleeping on hard earth in frost filled crevices, the last of her firewood consumed in the night. This was a special journey, seeking answers for an unspoken question. She did not know the outcome – her only certainty, the journey itself. Pink shafts of light touched snow clad peaks, the colour warming her heart, if not her hands. ‘Too far,’ she grumbled to her boots as they.