It was Friday evening. The antique grandfather clock in the dining room struck eleven and I was wide awake and much calmer than a few hours before. I finally had forced myself to put my anger into the background so I could think and plan my moves. Stay calm and collected I had said to myself over and over.

I had already alerted Thalia to what had happened today and she had agreed to my general plan, the details of which I would have to work out before next midnight. Our future was at stake and I had to be able to think clearly and not be detracted by the kind of emotional storm that had gripped me earlier.

The day had started unremarkable enough, except that it was the last day of school, and the prospect of nice summer days filled me with anticipations; being with Thalia, walking in the park with her, listening to her infectious laughter, looking into her dark brown eyes that were always full of cheer. Eyes that were filled with sparkles. Eyes that spoke of happiness and fun, no matter how bleak the occasion appeared to be.

It had been her eyes that had drawn me to her the moment we met. I had accompanied my parents to the Riverside Mall where they were to meet one of my father's clients. Thalia was inside the Butterfly Boutique when I happened to look in through the store window. Our eyes met and we stared at each other

As Thalia decided to leave, I had decided to enter. Our eyes were still locked to each other when we met at the door. We stopped, still looking at each other and I simply said "Hi, I am Mathew."

"My name id Thalia," she replied, and then spelled her name for me. I forgot about my parents and walked to the Mall exit, with Thalia by my side. We did not speak until we were seated in the small Thai restaurant at the southwest corner of the mall parking lot.

"May I get you a drink?" I remember asking her. She only nodded. I decided to add something special to nibble on.

"I always have one or two egg rolls when I stop here," I explained, as I put her drink and two egg rolls in front of her. "They are the best in town," I added.

We did not talk for a long time. We looked at each other while we slowly munched on our egg rolls. It was not until we had finished that Thalia spoke up.

"Will I see you again?" she asked quietly. Then she added an even quieter "soon?' to her question. We exchanged e-mail addresses, residence addresses, and cell phone numbers before we parted.

I sat still for a long time after she was gone, looking at the picture in front of me, a picture of a lovely and lovable young lady by the name of Thalia. I looked into her eyes again, and I heard her voice. And somehow I felt lonelier than ever,

Lonelier than in the huge mansion with 18 rooms, an uncaring and cold human who claimed to be my father, and a woman who cared only about herself. A mansion that was not a home, just a house, where words like love, caring, feeling, empathy, were locked up in a dusty dictionary high on a shelf out of reach.

What made me feel so strange? I could not possibly have fallen in love with two twinkling eyes that promised warmth and understanding; that made me want to hold her tight in my arms. I ached to be next to her so much that I finally called her cell phone. When her musical voice answered I could only stammer a question.

"When can I see you again? Maybe tonight, please?"

That evening we walked in the park and talked. I do not know what we talked about; I just wanted to listen to her. I remember that somehow our hands found each other and that soft, warm vibrations raced through my hand and arm right into my soul.

We stood under the old elm tree at the corner when it was long past time we should have parted. I reached my arms around her and she melted into them. I knew then that that was where they belonged. Her eyes were shining in the dim light of a far away street light; her lips were moist and parted, waiting to meet mine. I wonder if we would still be standing under the old elm if not a passing car had honked its approval.

We were so much in love we cared not about the rest of the world, we were our own universe. We told each other our past and we dreamed of our future together. Our love seemed to have been an aura enveloping us. People always smiled at us when they saw us together.

We were able to keep our love affair secret for about four month before it was discovered. Her parents were the first to find out about our love for each other. One evening they had decided on a short stroll of a few blocks to take in a little fresh air. We were standing in an alley near their home, holding each other, kissing passionately, completely oblivious to the world. We didn't even hear any foot steps approaching.

"Isn't it about time you came home, young lady," her father scolded her. He then turned to me.

"And as for you, young man, I expect you to visit us tomorrow so we can get acquainted. I want to know who my daughter goes out with."

My visit the next day started out real well at first. He asked me where I lived and I told him. Suddenly the room went cold. He went to the door, opened it and told me to leave his daughter alone. He didn't answer me when I asked him what was wrong, just motioned me out.

Thalia called me that night to report her father's speech, he had delivered after I had left.

"This is the son of that no-good, cheating owner of the company at the North end, the guy who walks over anyone in his path. Lives a grand life on the backs of the rest of us. We are honest working people. You don't belong there, no matter how he sweet talks now. When he had his fun with you he will just toss you like a banana peel. I will not tolerate that. You will stop seeing that son of a son-of-a-bitch, if you know what's good for you."

Thalia promised nothing and I am not sure if her father really thought that he could keep two young lovers apart, but Thalia told me that he never mentioned me again.

It was her mother who kept that subject alive with a different tack every few days.

"You should look for a man who earns his money with dignity."

"You should want a husband who looks in the mirror and feels good bout himself."

"You don't want to be a plaything for a rich bastard who can stomp on you any time he wants to."

"You are not in love, this is called infatuation. The sooner you come to your senses the better."

It was not better for me. I was called into my father's office one afternoon after school to stand in front of his desk. His was not an admonition. It went like this.

"Someone told me that you were seen twice with a female from the East side. If you have to quiet your hormones, I want you to tell me. I can provide the discrete service for that. You will stop seeing that tart as of now. We don't associate with those people on the East Side, they are blue collar duds, way below our social standing."

There was no use arguing with him. I knew my father well. He was not just stern, he was cold and unfeeling, a tyrant. When I was fifteen I had found out how utterly ruthless his business affairs were conducted and he lost the last shred of respect I had had for him.

We were not affluent, we were rich. My parents did not live together; they rather lived next to each other in this mansion of eighteen rooms. I sometimes wondered if my mother ever recognized me as her child, or was I only just another member of the household. Her interests were boutiques, country club parties, hair salons, cruises and so on. Her domestic role, when she was in town, was that of a director, telling the lowly help what to do what and when to do it.

The big blow-up had happened this afternoon. My father called me on my cell phone to tell me, no, to inform me, that I was grounded. It seems I had been seen kissing Thalia good-bye the night before, despite his clear order to me not to see her again.

Even my living room was to be off-limits. To make sure he had hired a new 'household staff member' who was installed in my living room, leaving me only my bed room and my restroom and the adjoining shower. He had also installed a new lock in my bed room door. I was to be a prisoner in my own house.

Thalia at first thought I was joking when I called her and told what had happened, but eventually I convinced her. My friend Ken believed me right away, he had heard stories about my father from his class mates and from neighbors. I knew I could count on him.

At midnight I had most of the pieces of my plan together and quietly got out of bed to start some of my preparations. I knew that a thin line of light showed at the bottom of my door when my lights were on. A rolled up blanket killed this give-away of activity in my room.

I had told Thalia and Ken that I would call them shortly after midnight if the coast was clear. The house had fallen quiet at 11:15 and I called Thalia at twelve.

"OK, Love, I got the plan worked out except for a few minor details. Ken will pick you up tomorrow night shortly before midnight. He is to load our two bikes, grab your stuff and then pick me up. Now, here is the list of things you have to bring with you. Might be a good idea to write it down so you don't forget something."

I then dictated the list of what to pack for our get-away. It was not a long list, but knowing that she was a female I also knew that she would bring quite a bit more.

Ken was next. He started talking before I got out one word.

"Hey guy, you haven't said anything about money, so I will say something. I got 65 extra dollars in cash, and they are yours. And if you never pay me back, that is OK. It will have gone towards a good cause. The stuff I have to buy I can get on my Visa card."

"Thanks a bunch," I told him, "But we will stop at a bank tonight regardless. Any bank on the east end will do, and I will get as much cash as my card allows, unless the old man has already nixed my card, which I don't think he did yet. After all I am a prisoner and won't be able to use the card."

I gave him his list of items, starting with food and two water bottles, tire repair kit etc. Most of it he would have to buy and bring with him when he came to pick me up. Ken was eighteen and had an old, battered Chevy he loved to tinker with. It was in excellent mechanical condition, I figured that we could easily get to the coast; and Ken would be back on Monday evening if we switched drivers so he could get his sleep.

"My plan is as follows," I told him. "You get everything together, including the bike rack. Pick up Thalia, her bike, plus the extra bike of mine that we keep at her place. Then, after you picked me up we drive to the east end of town and park near the Burger King. Thalia and I take our bikes and backpacks and pedal to the Burger King for two burgers to go.

We'll make sure they remember us, and also that we left going east. Let them search for us all the way to the Atlantic. You pick us up at the second alley and then hit the Interstate going west."

The next morning I called my mother on her cell phone and asked her to be allowed to eat my meals in my living room since there I had a chair and a table. My request was granted.

After I had finished my breakfast I approached the guard who was sitting on my couch, watching me with great interest. He just nodded when I told him that I needed some books to study for upcoming exams. He couldn't see that I also picked a few maps from my collection, since I had my back to him. He foolishly did not inspect my treasures either, when I went back to my prison.

All of my packing was finished before noon. I had filled my pillow case with maps and other items I could not or would not carry in my pockets. After lunch I prepared my escape route. I knew it was going to be tricky but I was sure I had all the details covered.

Our mansion was a two-story building, but my apartment sat like a penthouse on top of the second floor in the rear. I loved it because it gave me a beautiful view across the tree tops. The woods around the side and the back of us had been thinned for security with just a few bushes and shrubs left here and there among the trees.

In the rear of the building the ground sloped down, which allowed the builder to add two game rooms below the first floor. Stepping out from the game room one found oneself on an elevated deck. It was this deck, from where my trek to freedom was to start tonight.

The extra rooms below the first floor, plus my penthouse on top made the two story-building a four story affair for someone like me, trying to climb down from the top floor.

I had selected the bathroom as my escape door because my bed room window was of the type that slid open to the top and there was nothing to which I could tie my bed sheet rope. The stool in my bathroom was located right next to the bathroom window and I could tie my escape rope securely to the toilet water pipe as it emerged from the wall.

I ate my dinner with relish, thinking of the surprise everyone was going to have tomorrow morning. I would not answer the call for breakfast. After a while someone would call me on my cell phone and I would plead having an upset stomach.

"Leave me alone and let me sleep till at least lunch," I would tell them. Maybe I could even string them along till dinner, that would really be a great joke,

Eventually someone would enter my bed room after many attempts to wake me. I could picture the uproar that would follow the discovery of my getting away. I figured that by this time we would be more than 500 miles from town.

Back in my bed room I took care of the last preparations. Cutting the bed sheet into strips with my pocket knife took much longer than I had thought. All that remained now was knotting the seven strips of bed sheet together and testing each knot. That I did using the shower curtain rod over which I hung each section and the pulled with all the strength I could muster.

My lifeline was now about forty feet long as I measured it against my six foot frame. I was sure it was long enough to get me to the ground, or rather to the deck.

At twelve on the dot Ken called.

"Hey guy, we are on the way. But let me tell you what happened. Thalia says that she is almost certain that her parents have become suspicious. They found the ladder was on the ground instead of hanging on the hook as it should have been. They put it back up and pot a chain and a lock on it. I had to steal the ladder from their neighbor.

And as Thalia jumped off the last rung lights came on in her parents' bed room. We made it around the corner of the house just before we heard a window was raised. Man, were we ever lucky. And they couldn't see us because the car faced the other way. I left the lights off till we were around the corner into Seventh Street.

The bikes are strapped to the bike rack and we are already rolling down King Blvd. Should be there about twelve minutes from now. Good luck, buddy"

It was time to get started if we wanted to meet as agreed. I rolled the pillow case into my bed cover and let it fall to the deck below, a bit to the side where I was coming down. But even with the bed cover cushioning it there was quite a thud when it landed. Well, I had no time to worry about that right now.

The rope was next. I tested the connection to the waterline for the fourth or fifth time to see if it was holding. I was surprised at how few butterflies were flying around in my stomach. But it still worried me how to get out of the window. That was a maneuver I couldn't have practiced, I just had to wing it.

I moved my chair to the window and stepped on it, carefully swung my leg over the back of the chair and the window sill. Now I was straddling the sill, one leg still inside, the other outside. The adrenaline started flowing and a few butterflies made their home in my belly. Next I had to get my other leg up so I could sort of sit on the sill with both legs hanging outside. I looked down and doubts welled up. Four stories was a long way down.

And them I heard a whisper somewhere back in my brain that something was not right. Suddenly I remembered. The roll. I need that roll. I contorted myself to get back on my chair, jumped down and hurried to my closet in my bed room.

I froze. Did I hear some one talking just outside my door? I reached for the roll I had come for and rushed back into the bath room, locking the door behind me. I was getting frantic. What if they came to check on me? Could Thalia's parents have called the police? Her parents wouldn't have called this place to warn my father. I doubted that. But anything was possible.

Then I heard it again. Now I was sure, those were not voices talking. It must have been the guard coughing I thought. At least I hoped so. Get yourself together. Oh god, I was so keyed up. A moment later it penetrated my mind. I even had talked to myself out loud. Then I said it again, but only in my head. Get yourself together, Mathew.

That roll was important. It was a thick book rolled into one of my shirts. It was to keep my rope away from the wall and save the skin of my fingers because rappelling was out of the question, there were windows below me.

Back at the window I reached out for my rope and shuddered. Was I so rattled that I forget important stuff? I needed something to tie the roll to the rope? No way did I want to go back to my bed room. Then it struck me. I fished my knife out of my pocket and opened it. A few quick slices and the bath tub curtain had lost one edge.

You better hurry a little voice in my brain told me. But I was all butterfingers when I tied the roll to the rope right below the window. After I had made sure it was safely in place my anxiety started jumped up one more notch

It was not easy to get out the window again. But I had to move, everything had taken longer than it should have. I jumped onto my chair and again swung first one, then the other leg over the sill. I turned until t was lying face down on the window sill, my legs dangling outside. But I had little time left, I had to take myself in hand and get down to the deck, four stories below.

I gripped the window sill's inside edge with my left hand, while my right was groping for the rope hanging outside. Where is the rope? My heart jumped when I felt it. It was now or never. My hand tightened, gripping the rope with a strength that only fear could give me.

What I was feeling now was a strange mixture of adventure, of fear, of anticipation, of awareness. All my senses were on high alert. My muscles had tensed up and I had to make them relax. They did at once as I let myself slip slowly further outside until I knew I would fall the next second.

My left hand joined the right one at once and I expelled the breath I had been holding. I was outside and the rope had held. Relief swept over me. From re on it would be easy I convinced myself, just concentrate on the rope and your hands.

Don't look down, .look at the wall, look up at your hands, I kept saying to myself.

I had moved down maybe eight feet and was changing hands when the rope suddenly dropped me about an inch or two. My fingers froze around the rope, I tensed. My heart was racing till I thought it was going to break through my chest. I saw myself falling to the deck any moment now, almost thirty feet below. But the rope held.

Stay calm, I commanded myself, and move slowly. Don't jerk the rope, just go hand over hand.

Some of my anxiety melted away as I continued to move down, until I dropped another inch and the confidence disappeared. Fright gripped me again. I decided to move a bit faster.

Stop this at once my brain said, you make it worse. Hold it here for a moment and collect yourself. I did and my panic slowly left me and I continued down hand over hand.

Eight feet later it happened again, I dropped another one or two inches. Panic gripped me once more and I stiffened. My hands gripped my lifeline with more strength than I thought I had in me. I expected any moment now to fall all the way to the deck, still over twenty feet below

But miraculously the rope held. Then relief washed over me like the waters of Niagara Falls as I realized that it was just the knots tightening up to their max.

My legs were wobbly when I arrived at the deck. My descent must have lasted an eternity of maybe thirty seconds. I stood still for several moments, trying to get my breathing under control. It felt good to have solid ground under my feet. I would have loved to shout I DID IT. . I DID IT. But I had to postpone my celebration till later.

A quick jump over the railing had me stand on the outside on the sloping ground behind the building, about 18 inches below the deck. The pillow case I had placed on the railing was shining brightly, like a full moon I thought, but that was just my nerves playing tricks on me. I dared one last look at where I had just come from, and I froze.

Someone was watching me from a window above the game rooms. I almost bolted into the woods when it hit me in a flash; the servant quarters were located just above the game rooms. Whoever occupied that room must have seen me as I let myself down on a makeshift rope, slowly gliding past his window just a few moments ago. As I stared at the shadowy figure it started to wave at me. It was a friendly wave. Now I recognized her, this somebody was Mitzzi with whom I had always joked. I relaxed, there was nothing I could do right now except trust that she would not raise an alarm. I could not see her clearly but in my mind I pictured her smiling at me. I shouldered my pillow case and gave her a friendly wave in return, which was acknowledged with a kiss blown my way. I had just dodged a missile.

I made my way to the road and was within a few yards from it when I saw car lights coming my way. I knew at once that it was not the old Chevy. Ken's Chevy did not sport blue headlights. Anyway, Ken would arrive from my left, not the right. I dropped my pillow case behind a bush and waited for the car to pass.

As it came closer it slowed down and finally came to a stop right where I stood transfixed, trying to hide behind a tree. The driver stepped out, looked in my direction and then crossed the road toward my hiding place. He walked like a man who knew where he was going, ready to execute his mission. I could not see his uniform yet, the blue headlights of his car still had me half blind.

Who had given the alarm? It couldn't have been Mizzi, there was not enough time for her to call the police, or whoever it was striding purposefully my way. Someone else must have seen me. But who?

Not a word was spoken. The only sounds were the rustling of dead leaves and the crackling of small twigs under his feet. My muscles tensed as his foot steps came closer. I was ready to fight for my freedom. Every fiber in my body was taught like a wound up spring. He stopped a foot from my tree but did not challenge me. What was he waiting fort? The tree was not big enough to hide me completely, even standing sideways. I waited for his next move.

Then I heard an unmistakable sound, the sound of a zipper, and suddenly I knew. My muscles relaxed and I was ready to burst out laughing. I succeeded, but only for a moment. And then I exploded with a vengeance. I doubled up as I laughed like a hyena. When I straightened up I saw a figure in a tuxedo race to the waiting car. The tires already spun loud, kicking up gravel, before the door of the speeding car slammed shut by itself.

A few seconds later Ken's old Chevy appeared from the opposite direction. I retrieved my pillow case from its hiding place and stepped to the edge of the woods. He saw me right away and stopped next to me.

I threw my pillow case on the passenger side seat and jumped in through the open rear door smack into the outstretched arms of my sweetheart. I needed time in her arms, feeling her close to me, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her skin, the softness of her body.

Slowly my anxiety of hanging in midair while the bed sheet dropped me a few inches evaporated and was replaced by the incredible happiness of being in the alms of my Love.

As Ken drove off I snuggled closer into Thalia's arms. We held each other, whispering love words. When I finally disengaged from her arms they wanted to hear all the details of my escape.

"Tell us how it felt being a spider on the wall," Thalia started in her usual frivolous way. "I bet you got lots of exercise and lots of fresh air, Right? We knew that she actually was serious, but bur style always tended to the comical when the situation got too serious.

When I told of the rope dropping me Thalia made a serious remark for a change, "Oh my god," she burst out loud and then held me so tight that I thought she was trying to crawl into me.

Then the events of the last one or two minutes rose up in me and Thalia and Ken must have thought that I had lost my mind when I burst out laughing at such a suspenseful time.

The tension of the moment dropped away and all of us cried tears laughing when I told of the man in the tuxedo.

After we had ourselves in hand again, Thalia did something that I enjoyed and appreciated on her. She made one of her funny comments, using a mock serious tone of voice.

"Eloping is not a laughing matter. The next time let us do it in a more civilized manner."

Again we laughed till tears rolled down our cheeks. After we had wiped away our tears I questioned Thalia about her name.

"Love, do you know where your name comes from?" I asked her. She shook her head as an answer. I didn't really think she knew.

"Well," I started. "The Greeks believed that there were nine young women who were responsible for inspiring and guiding creative poets and musicians. They were called the Muses. And the Muse of Comedy was named Thalia. Quaite appropriate, isn't it?"

"Stop that right now," Ken hollered. "I can hardly see the road with my eyes running over."

The laughter seemed to have relieved most of the tension all of us had felt.

Thalia and I were locked in a tight embrace. We had become more and more as one as time had gone on. We were so much in love that we sometimes spilled tears of happiness. Tonight our happiness tears mixed with the tears of relief.

When I told them about the figure in the window waving at me and even blowing a kiss to the escaping prisoner, they agreed that this was a good omen. And then, Thalia bearing the name of the Greek Muse of Comedy, did it again.

"I am appalled. We are not yet married and he already let's women of a lower social standing kiss him in the middle of the night."