♫
Lana - Brooklyn Baby
I'd hopped a train to Paradis and abandoned the coast of Marley, leaving my parents behind in the process. I'd applied to the college of my hometown in secret, lest my parents isolate me in a spire tower.
The coast was great, you know? I'd often stand on the beach, letting the tide wet the sand beneath my feet and anchor me deeper into it. But I didn't abandon Marley because the ocean wasn't blue enough; my parents were the problem. They brought out the worst in me, especially my mother as of late. I'd wake up irritated, then I'd make melancholic strolls across the beach aimlessly. I'd finished high school, now what? Go to Liberio college? Are you fucking kidding me?
Ochre leaves spilled on the desolate sidewalk that I walked down. I'd lost contact with all my high school friends... 'friends'... and I had this feeling that most of them moved to Trost or Sina. They were concerned with their own lives, just like I was with mine. So I made no effort to even contact them again, I just moved on.
My suitcase struggled behind me. It contained clothes that I'd haphazardly tossed in last-minute, and surely something broke during the train ride, granted I was pulling it around in a flustered state. I just didn't want to get caught, and I came very close to it. It was a long ride. I sat in the cramped compartment, sweating like I'd just stuffed coke up my nose.
You know, maybe it could have worked out on the coast. But I felt the need to flee each time my mom started banshee-screaming at my inebriated dad. They tried so hard to get away from Shiganshina, and I'm not entirely sure why, because there wasn't anything inherently wrong with this town.
When I'd told them I was leaving, my dad hid in the shadows and judged me through crocodile eyes while my mom spat venom in my face. She was very close to a nervous breakdown, but I couldn't feel empathetic after all she had said to me, so I left.
So, I walked for twenty minutes to the train station, and spared some money to quell my hunger while I waited for the 8:30 train to Paradis - Shiganshina. I tried very hard to act natural, and in doing so acted completely unnatural. My eyes darted around, my legs vibrated from the overwhelming surge of anxiety I felt ripping at my chest.
But eight hours later, I'd find myself stepping off the train, my fresh start corrupted by a crime as I bounced out the station I used to frequent as a child. The feeling of Shiganshina set in. It was like the town got you high, really, because your worries were immediately quelled and you felt a this liberating sensation wash over you, like you had no duties.
I took the bus to campus. I was a fluster when I had to get the key to my dorm room. It was a confusing mess that my 19-year-old pea brain wished I didn't have to deal with. Admittedly, I felt independent.
When I entered my dorm, it was barren on my side, but slightly filled out on my roommate's side
It was jarringly barren on my side of the room — nothing my scarce décor could fix, although I pinned up some fairy lights which added a drop of coziness.
I had a roommate, yes, but they were absent. My mind tried its best to picture who the suspect could be — my evidence was how they decorated their side.
It was like all their possessions were churned fresh out of a tornado, it almost felt like they were littering the room. Two particular things caught my eye right off the bat, and gave me some insight to their personality.
A red Squier stratocaster propped precariously against the wall atop a box. It was adorned with stickers of eccentric bands I've never heard of, and would never care to listen to.
