A Garden of Rose and Bone

Chapter 2: Mortal Hell

The bus ride home seemed to take forever. As I got off, I carefully checked my surroundings. This part of Winter Creek wasn't the most savory place. I hoped to move somewhere else someday. A warmer location maybe. I hated the long cold winters that characterized this place and had inspired its name. There was a creek that cut through the town as well that children liked to ice skate on during the frostiest months. As I walked along, I spotted a raven that always followed me to and from my apartment. I had named him Edgar after Mr. Poe of course. I usually grabbed treats for my winged companion, but I didn't have any on me this time.

"I'm sorry, Edgar, but I have nothing for you tonight." I could have sworn the corvid shrugged in reply. Silly brain.

My fingers, nose, ears, and toes were numb, but I hurried toward my decrepit apartment building. Edgar guided me, moving from tree to tree, and occasionally stopped to make sure I was still behind him. We made it to my dwelling. Edgar settled on the bench outside of the door and watched me carefully. It almost felt like I had an animal Secret Service agent.

I looked at him with a smile and said, "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!"

As I walked up the small flight of steps to the door, I looked at the state of the building. The grey paint was chipping, the split gutters hung to the ground, and it almost seemed like the entire place had a slight tilt to it.

I rooted around in my purse for what seemed like ages before I found my keys. I gave the door a hard push and walked in. The dusty fluorescent lights in the lobby flickered, giving the faded orange seventies furniture a ghastly green tinge. I went over to the wall of mailboxes and finally checked mine. Inside were offers for terrible greasy pizza, credit cards, and bills, some of which I was late on. The bright red letters demanding me to open the mail immediately made me want to just chuck it in the trash and hide.

I heard squealing tires from outside the building and a couple of voices screaming at each other. Time to go. I shut the mailbox and ran up the stairs to my apartment. They creaked in protest as I slammed my feet down onto them. It was a rather questionable part of town, but this was the only place I could afford to live. Rent prices in my town had skyrocketed. I rounded the corner and unlocked my door, checking my surroundings before opening it.

A warm-colored moon lamp softly lit the studio apartment.  I faced the door and carefully shut it, not wanting to make unnecessary noise. My neighbors seemed to be excessively intrusive. I latched all three of the locks on my door and peeked through the peephole to make sure no one had followed me. From there, I surveyed the room. Art of all kinds crowded the walls from previous episodes of mania.

My eyes roamed across the living room that doubled as my bedroom and my face burned in embarrassment. The room had old receipts, takeout food containers, pop cans, candy wrappers, tissues, makeup, empty orange pill bottles, and clothing of all types strewn about.

A feline form unfurled itself from the shadows of my bed. Midnight gave me a little chirp in greeting and hopped off the bed, padding toward me excitedly. He bashed his head and body into my legs and aggressively rubbed up against me. I ran my hand down his sleek, soft inky fur. He purred in response and pushed his face into my palm. His food bowl was still half full from this morning. He wasn't too happy with the food I had to buy lately due to dwindling funds.

I walked over to my small kitchen table and put my purse down on it. The menagerie of bills, wrappers, and other miscellaneous objects engulfed it. I sighed and pulled my phone out of the front pocket of my bag. There were no notifications besides the ads in my email inbox. I was a bit of a hermit. The paranoia left me feeling ashamed when attempting to socialize. My words frequently ran into each other and the anxious edge I possessed made it worse. I felt like no one would be interested in being friends with someone like me.