Alone by Tiffany Lovering Page B

out.”
    “ Tomorrow is Open Mic, you've got a new camera, go try it out. There's so much there to take pictures of. So many lights and instruments and people. I really think you should go.”
    “ Will you be there?” That would no doubt be a deciding factor on going.
    Sara shrugged and looked away. I took that as a no. “I'd rather see it through your eyes. Take the pictures and tell me the story.” We both let the subject go. The last thing I wanted was for her to disappear on me again.
    “ Can I ask you something?” Sara asked a couple hours into our visit. It was the way she always started before she was about to ask something big, something too personal. I nodded, wondering what there was left to reveal about myself. “I actually don't know if you know the answer or not, I'm just curious. Your name, Willow, it wasn’t very common in the eighties. I was just curious why your mom chose that name.”
    Ah, yes, that was definitely something new to reveal. I took a deep breath in to calm myself. “My mom was not in a very good relationship when she became pregnant with me. She said it was the saddest time of her life. She said that the Weeping Willow Tree was a good representation of how she felt, so she thought it was only appropriate to name me Willow. Basically, I was named after the saddest tree on earth to represent the saddest time in her life.”
    “ That's kind of depressing and quite a burden to hold your entire life. Have you ever thought about changing your name?”
    “ Never. I actually like my name. When I was in high school, I did some research on the Willow Tree. It's quite artistic in nature. The bark is used for charcoal drawings sometimes and the tree itself has been depicted in very early pen and ink paintings in China and Japan. The tree has even been a main character in stories as something holding wisdom and truth. So obviously my mother had not researched the Willow before choosing it as my name.”
    “ That's quite beautiful. I can see why you like your name now. It fits you quite well.”
    Sara didn't disappear tonight, she actually said goodbye this time. She had to meet some friends, so she said, but I wasn't sure I believed her. I worried about her the second she walked out the door. I wished she would tell me something about what she does when she's not with me so I felt a little better while she was gone.
    Of course, Sara left me deep in thought the way Mrs. Schneider seemed to do at every encounter. I decided to go to Open Mic. Sara was right, there would be a lot to take pictures of.
    I called Miss Morgan when I woke up the next morning to tell her how the meeting with Jace went. Of course, he had already contacted her to go over the details once again. She was elated that I wasn't just letting this opportunity pass me by. She told me not to be nervous and to enjoy the experience.
    In the late afternoon, I went to the woods to take a picture of the trees. I really did like the camera. I felt a certain kind of power when it was in my hands. I lay under my tree and took a picture of the leaves from below. About half the leaves were off the tree already, but I still thought it might make a neat photo.
    I walked through the city taking pictures of random things. Street signs, abandoned buildings, St. Mary's, it didn't really matter to me what it was. I just wanted to get used to the feel of the camera in my hands. I didn't make it back home before I saw a crowd of people surrounding the blues club where Open Mic was taking place. I decided to skip the trip home and join the crowd.
    When I walked into Open Mic it was total sensory overload. It was dark inside, but the neon signs and the strobe lights on the stage and around the bar were blinding, disorienting. As if that weren't enough, the noise was even more maddening. The music blaring was completely distorted and drowned out by the number of people squeezed into the small space all yelling to hear over one another.
    I felt myself