It was the Summer of 2003. I sat on a park bench humming to myself because my head would not stop spinning. And it wasn't at all a normal thing a fifteen year old girl should be worrying about. Not at all. It was all my mother's fault.
The previous weekend my mother had gone out for the evening. She said she needed to "take a break from all the noise". I'd gone to bed at 11:30 that night, thinking, "Well, maybe she'll come back tomorrow morning or something". But I had been dead wrong. She didn't come back the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. All week she was gone, leaving us stranded at home with dad, worrying about her. Well, that morning of 2003, my dad, my 12 year old brother, and I had gathered around the TV to watch the daily news. Thelma, the news lady who always annoyed me, came on and started talking about the most up-to-date fugitives. We sat curiously on my grandmother's red velvet sofa with all ears.
".....An Oklahoma City resident has officially been pronounced missing. Middle-aged Michelle Rollins was last seen on the night of June 11th at a bar called The Bird's Nest. She was reportedly seen leaving with a mysterious man. A friend of Michelle's brother says the man's name was Curtis Blackwell. We have no history of this man, but we do know this: it can't be good for Michelle. Back to you, Rob."
At that moment I was so angry at my mother I picked up the remote and hauled it at Thelma's head. I ran out the door at high-speed, slamming the door behind me. I sat down on a bench in Thelroe Park. What was wrong with my mother? I thought she'd loved us. How could she just leave like that? How could she be so careless? All my life I thought I'd known the darn woman. Now...Now I didn't know what to think. I buried my face in my hands and tried not to scream.

Almost three years later, in the Winter of 2005, I was sitting at the kitchen table when I heard police sirens and a knock on the door. I jumped up.
"I'll get it!" I yelled.
I ran to the door and swung it open. Standing on the top step was Officer Hauchins....with my mother beside him. I gasped.
"Mother?!" I said. My mother almost looked unrecognizable. She looked weary, dirty, and much older than thirty-nine. My mother said nothing, just looked at the ground and kept her gaze there.
"May I come inside, Miss Rollins?" asked Officer Hauchins.

As it turns out, my mother had run away foolishly with Curtis, who'd told her he was in love with her. They ran off and started dating, but just that year Curtis got drunk and tried to kill her. She had run away to the police station and they'd driven her all the way home. I just couldn't believe it. I had thought my mother would always be in love with my dad. Apparently not. Nowadays, I can't help but remember how deserted I was in that horrible Summer of 2003. Maybe one day I will forgive my mom. But I will never forget what she did.