CAMBRIA

ONE

Before Pine Hills, she was just a girl. A girl's whose existence was unremarkable, and uneventful.

She had lived her life as grandiose as she could, striving for excellence, never quite sure if she achieved it. She walked the line between living and surviving, and if you had asked her then, what the difference was, she wouldn't have been aware there was one.

But that was before. Because eventually, a caged bird will realize it needs to fly.

She had never been a fan of change. Since she was young, she'd been a stickler for rules and regularity. She loved schedules, and she loved abiding to them. Therefore, whenever change was thrown her way, it caught her off guard. She took longer to adjust than most. And if she could have it her way, she'd never change a thing.

You're probably wondering: How did someone who was so intolerant to change end up moving across the country to a place she'd never been in her life?

If only we had the answers.

Something about wanting to start her life anew. As soon as she turned twenty-four, it's as though her definitive preconceived notion about change had gone out of the window, and suddenly, change was all she craved.

To the average person, it did not make sense. She had been happy and content, living the life she always had, residing in the bedroom she had grown up in, at her parent's house on the east coast, familiar with her surroundings, accustomed to everyday life with her friends, peers, coworkers – everyone around her. And then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, she couldn't stand any of it.

She needed to leave. She needed to escape. If not for her soul, then at least for her sanity.

Her mother was against it, of course. The night she initially proposed the idea led to a heated argument that ended with crimson faces and slammed doors. She could hear her father the next morning, in the kitchen, talking to her mother. Could hear the soft whisper of his voice as he spoke in soothing tones with her, being the voice of reason as he always had.

By the time she mentally prepared for the looming conversation that awaited, her mother's demeanor had already shifted. Cambria found her in the corner of the kitchen, a fresh pot of coffee brewing.

"Good morning," her mother said to her.
Cambria approached slowly, unsure how to gauge the situation. "Good morning." She looked towards the table where her father sat, holding the newspaper. "Dad," she nodded to him.
"How did you sleep, my girl?" Twenty-four years old and he was still reciting that same line as he did when she was a child.
She shrugged to signify indifference. "Alright." She looked to her mother again, who no longer had her eyes on Cambria, attention on the coffee machine instead.
Cambria slid into the chair across from her father. She looked at them both, then waited as her mother approached the table and sat down.
"We've talked, your father and I," she said, looking at her daughter. Cambria braced for the worst. More yelling and screaming. Her mother telling her that she was too young, that it was too far.
"You have our blessing."
She nearly fell out of her chair.
"What?"
"We've discussed it at great length," her father took the reins. "And we understand this is something you really want, despite how impulsive it may be."
She sat there staring at him, blinking, unsure of what to say, how to respond.
Her mother pursed her lips, hesitated. "I know it will be far. But if this is truly what you want, then we support you."
Cambria looked to her father again, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But there was no other shoe. Because somehow, by some miracle, they were okay with it.

And that was how it all began. Cambria, packing her bags, boarding a flight, jetting off to the west coast.

They were right, though. It was an impulsive decision. It was a decision Cambria wasn't even sure of, hadn't even full thought through before implementing. Yet it was all she could think about, her mind obsessing over it until she did it.

Linden Falls was all she had ever known. It had everything she ever needed. It was as though there were a giant glass bubble that surrounded the town, and she never even knew, wallowing in this ignorant bliss. That's what's scary about being comfortable.

Nothing notable ever happens in the comfort zone.

Perhaps that's how the idea was conceived; lying in her bed that one night, tossing and turning, plagued with insomnia. It was as though she knew she was trapped before the realization had ever hit, and the only thing she could do for her own survival was to get out before it was too late.

Of course, there were things she would miss about Linden Falls. She'd miss her parents, for starters. (She knew she could not live with them forever, but sometimes she wished that she could) She would miss her mother's banana pancakes on Sunday mornings. She'd miss barbequing with her dad in the summertime. She'd miss waking up in the middle of the night and knowing they were just down the hall if she ever needed them.

But she could always call. She could always write. She'd send them letters and postcards, telling them how her life was going. And they could come visit her, spend the holidays on the beach together.

She'd miss her elementary school and her high school. She'd miss the places she grew up, and the people she came to know so well.

But those were just memories, no longer tangible things. And those friendships that she once cherished now somehow meant so much less than they did back then.

The truth was, her life in Linden Halls had reached a standstill. She was no longer the same girl she was at sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one. The people she cared about back then did not care about her anymore. Those times were a far and distant thing of the past, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never get them back. But this did not sadden her, rather, it only fueled her desire to leave. She wanted to go somewhere she could learn, grow, change. She didn't want to remain the same person for the rest of her life.

She wanted to be someone new.

Little did she know that her wish was about to come true. Not only would her move to Pine Hills be like nothing she'd ever experienced, but it would be the catalyst to the rest of her life.

Nothing could have prepared her for what was to come. And when the plane touched down on solid ground, and she was officially on unfamiliar territory, it was only the beginning.