Our Place ¥ Camren

{Prologue}

"Narla, could you please tell the kids to quiet down? I'm trying to study." Camila called out to her care worker, hoping for some sort of help in the situation. Their voices and giggles were blaring from the other room and it was unreasonably loud.

She wouldn't usually care, but she had exams coming up soon and she really needed to get on with it. They were too loud; there was no way she was going to be able to focus until it stopped. She was experiencing sensory overload and it was genuinely filling her body with so much frustration.

Her care worker could clearly hear her, but chose to ignore her plea for sympathy anyway. Camila had realistically expected this, knowing that the younger kids' happiness was way more valuable than her's to everyone who worked at the care home. She was never taken seriously. She was treated like a burden, and like she was just causing trouble whenever she complained.

She knew she wasn't going to find peace in her space anytime soon, so she decided to go and find somewhere else. She packed up all of her books and equipment, throwing them into a backpack, along with her phone and headphones.

She slipped into her shoes and threw on a jacket, before swinging the backpack over her shoulder and walking downstairs. "Griffin, I'm going into the garden." She notified her other care-worker, knowing that they were supposed to sign her out, just in case of an emergency. However, he didn't question her. He simply looked up at her for a split second, and then looked back down, paying attention to his phone.

She sighed, but continued on with what she was doing. If there was a fire or any sort of danger, no one would actually care for or worry about her. She was irrelevant in the world. No family, or friends. Just herself and her music. Really, that's all she needed.

She closed the door behind her, feeling a slight chill, but not wanting to turn back now in case of them stopping her. She had exited out of the back door of the care home, so she was currently facing a tall, wooden fence painted in several different shades of white. It was ugly, but it kept the children imprisoned and that's all the staff really cared about.

She checked behind her, quickly, seeing no one there and deciding she was good to go. She quickly made her way over to the back corner of the garden, where the shed was located. She walked around the back of the shed, realising she was now out of sight and taking a deep breath.

She could get into a lot of trouble for sneaking out, but she really needed to get away. She was sick of this place. It made her so unhappy, it was unreal. With that thought, she gripped the top of the shed's roof. It took all of her strength, but she managed to hoist herself up, using her feet as extra support.

She stood atop the shed, quickly checking for any signs of staff, before looking towards the white fence. It was a couple of metres away and around the same height as her now. She walked backwards, until she was on the edge of the shed's roof, before suddenly accelerating and with one large leap, she managed to pull herself up and onto the fence.

Beside the fence, on the outside, was a large lamppost. She used that as her final escape method and gripped it, wrapping her legs around the strong metal and sliding down until her feet touched the soft grass. She was out. Completely free from anyone who tried to stop her.

"I swear I saw Camila come out here a few seconds ago?" She heard Julia, one of the staff members, say. That was all it took. Within seconds, her feet were moving. Quickly. One foot in front of the other, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She was running into the woods, but if they caught her, she'd been in big trouble and she wouldn't be allowed to leave again.

She was already grounded for complaining that the kids were stealing from her room (which they were). If they caught her, she wouldn't be allowed to leave for weeks. Maybe even longer.

She carried on running in a straight line, making sure to memorise the area, so that she could find her way back later in the night. She got tired of running after a little while, so she slowed down to a jog, which then turned into a walk.

It felt like hours she was walking, surrounded by nothing but trees and fallen branches. She thought about how dehydrated she now was and made a mental note to bring something to drink next time. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the sky grumble above her.

"That is not what I meant."

Small raindrops of water began to descend from the clouds, wetting everything they touched and dawning instant misery on the area. Camila kind of liked the rain, though. She thought it was pretty. She almost loved the refreshing feeling of it gliding against her skin, as well as the sound it made as it slapped the tree tops.

She proceeded to walk and think. Think about herself. Think about the care home. Think about school. Think about her parents. Think about life. She was thinking about everything and at some point, she felt a drop of water fall onto her cheek that definitely wasn't rain.

It felt good to cry. It wasn't often she had the chance to let out her emotions, so crying almost felt like a treat. She didn't have anyone around her to make fun of her, or call her a baby. She was completely alone. She abandoned all ideas of finding somewhere to study and instead, continued to walk forward.

Tears were pouring from her eyes faster than the rain was falling from the clouds. Her breath was coming out as broken sobs and strangled cries, as she continued to push on. She didn't know where she was going, or where she was expecting to end up, but she continued on anyway. She let out all the tears that she had been holding in for the past few months.

Suddenly, she found herself emerging from the trees to see one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen in her life. Somehow, the grass slowly faded into dirt, which then faded into solid dirt, which then faded into brown rock. This lead to an edge, which overlooked a giant drop. It was a cliff, overlooking pretty much everything. It was incredibly beautiful.

Her feet rushed her forward, exposing the cliff she now had the honour of seeing. It was so wonderfully beautiful. It reminded her of pride rock from The Lion King. It overlooked nothing but rocky land. She could see the sun disappearing, slowly taking the light with it. So extraordinarily magnificent.

She walked regularly close to the edge, before dropping onto her knees. She leaned back, her breathing slightly heavy from all the walking and running she had just done. She couldn't believe it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The only thing ruining it was that every time she looked up, the rain would get in her eyes.

She planned to visit again when the weather was better, wanting to see the place in all its glory. For now, however, she stared ahead and continued to let the tears fall. No beauty could take away the pain she was feeling. It was like a sharp knife jabbing at her heart at the same time as her mind.

It had never been an easy life for Camila. Her mother had died when she was only young and her father was incapable of taking care of a child. He could barely take care of himself. He was addicted to all sorts of drugs, and alcohol too. They had no other family, so Camila was thrown into a care home.

Camila was naturally an afraid child. She was scared of everything, so a completely new start terrified her. She was so small and fragile, people found it very easy to take advantage of her. She was badly bullied at school and the staff at her care home were no better. She was pushed to the side and made to feel unimportant, like she had no worth or meaning.

She was tired. Not the sleepy kind of tired. Just tired in general. Sometimes, Camila liked being alone. She had learned to enjoy her own company.... but being alone and feeling alone are two very different things. She was sick of feeling like she didn't belong. Honestly, she didn't know how long she had left before the time came when she decided to give up. She didn't exactly have a reason to stay.

And no reason to stay, is a good reason to go.