And she was 5

A three-story building
Two flights of stairs
Downaways she goes
In the warm night air

Two long blocks to walk
For her small baby feet
The street is lonely
A couple of cabs await

She climbs in the backseat
As she'd always been told
The cab takes off
She knows where she goes

A twenty minute drive
Through the city's winding streets
A heartbeat like a drum
Incessant in her chest

The drive is over
She hops right out
Sitting on a bench
She awaits her next ride

The bus finally rolls by
With its stripes of white and yellow
She climbs up its big steps
And away it goes

It's not too far now
She watches familiar buildings
Finally, her stop is here
And out she goes again

She must walk now
About two blocks
She wishes the streets weren't so lonely
Wishes the night wasn't so dark

Hurrying by
She clutches her blue backpack
She's almost there
Almost there

She sees the house
Goes through the gate
Turns the knob on the door
A bright light greets her

She blinks against it
It's morning in her bedroom
She went nowhere
She wishes she had