December 31, 2020 :
What would you do if you had the opportunity for a fresh start? A new shot at this thing called Life?
Would you take it? Or are you satisfied with the way you've been living?
Most people try to "restart" their lives at the beginning of the New Year, but that's not what I mean.
What I mean is:
Move to a new place.
Leave behind the people you once knew.
Adopt a new name, a new identity.
Completely change your life.
_________
It's December 31, a cold winter night, and I am camping alone in a warehouse located in an abandoned parking lot in Los Angeles, California.
Tonight is the perfect night for a fresh start. The cold, winter air stings my face, but the fire in front of me brings warmth and comfort. I'm camping alone today, welcoming the new year the way I always have.
I sigh.
I get up from my collapsible chair and walk over to a cardboard box sitting about five feet away. This single box holds everything I've ever owned. From clothes, to books, to pictures, this box holds everything about my past. I sit back in my seat, place the box on my lap, and begin going through it.
I'll start with my clothes.
I throw piece after piece of clothing into the campfire and watch them burn.
"What's next.. ah.. books."
I only own about three books. I don't think I've read any of them. I'm not even sure how I got them. I throw them into the fire. The flames roar with sparks flying into the air. I follow the sparks with my eyes and somehow end up staring at the stars.
Wow. So beautiful. So free.
I look back into the fire which has settled down. I smile slightly and turn my attention back to the box. Not much remains as I pretty much had nothing in my possession.
The last things are music albums and pictures.
Music is probably what has kept me sane all these years. But these albums are a direct connection to the past. So I can't keep them. I take each cd out and throw their boxes into the fire. I break the cds into little pieces and toss them in as well.
"Will they even melt?" I let out a slight laugh. I guess we'll find out.
Finally the last thing in the box. A picture album. I set the box onto the floor and place the album on my lap. Inside are many pictures of the people I had been with all my life, but who are now complete strangers. There are about ten pictures in the album. Not many, I know, but all the more precious.
Wow.. who knew it would be so hard to let go..
I take out the pictures one by one and place them gently into the fire.
This hurts more than I thought it would. Isn't that stupid? These people aren't even in my life anymore. Why does my heart hurt so much?
One by one, I watch the pictures burn, my past burning with them, until I reach the final two pictures. It's my parents.
Well, the first picture is of my real parents. I don't know where it came from. All I know is that I've had it ever since I could remember. My real parents died in a car accident when I was 4, so I don't remember anything about them. The only thing they left behind was this picture. However, the picture only showed who my father was. The whole right corner of the picture had been burned off, my mothers face with it.
The second picture was of a couple I had met as a 14 year old. They were like my parents for a few years of my teenage life, until they were found dead in a warehouse during the year of my 18th birthday. I'm 21 now, so it's been about 4 years since that incident.
I take the pictures out of the album and throw the album itself into the fire.
I think I'll keep these pictures... It's too hard to let go of these..
I open my black backpack and take out my passport. The name and picture on the identification page look nothing like the old me.
I've come pretty far huh.
I then place the pictures between the pages of my passport. All I have left is my money, my passport, my laptop, my phone, a pair of earbuds, the clothes on my back, and the shoes on my feet.
My outfit is that of a person who doesn't want to be noticed. My black pants are paired with a black hoodie underneath a black wool trench coat. A black baseball cap covers my face, and black combat like boots complete the look. In some ways it's a suspicious outfit, but nevertheless practical and re-wearable.
I stand up and stretch.
I put out the fire, since everything I tossed in has been burned to ashes.
I grab my backpack and walk out of my campsite. I'm going to the airport now.
By this time tomorrow, I'll be in a new city, living a new life, and leaving the past behind. I take a taxi to the airport. The time on my phone says 23:57. Three minutes till the new year. I look out the airport window and watch as families and friends all around Los Angeles celebrate the coming of a new year.
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1…. boom." I whisper as the fireworks begin to light up the sky with the promise of a new beginning. A fresh start.
Moments later, the call for passengers to board the plane comes through the airport intercom.
"All passengers please begin boarding flight 808 to Korea."
I smile.
I walk through the jetway and eventually find my seat. I look out the window to my left and whisper, "Here's to the beginning of a new life."