The Fairy Lights Under Phoenix City

Chapter 7

It was a beautiful Monday. Complete with thunderstorms that shook the windows and lightning that struck just a little~ too close to the buildings. Doesn't sound very beautiful, does it?

Well, any day is beautiful to a man who's being set free from prison.

Gene said goodbye to all of his prison mates and gave his enemies one last punch before shaking his officer's hand and getting released. It only dawned on him that he was truly free when he stumbled past the prison walls unscathed. The outside world. Trees. The sky. It was all his. He smiled at the sky.

The car was waiting for him. The car that the prison had provided for him to be transported to wherever he wanted to start over. There were only a few places the cars weren't allowed to go: Airports, gun shops, and in some cases, anywhere near a playground or children's dentist. But that wasn't Gene's case.

"Take me to Phoenix City." Gene said.

—•♤♧♡♧♤•—

Aphmau had gotten her job. It was her first day of her new job at an art supply shop. It was a simple job, but one that she knew she'd be good at. Her job was to fill the shelves and mop the floor and man the cash register when it wasn't occupied by the person who needed to be there. She had passed all her training and she planned on doing well.

She tried to be quick as she ran through the rain. But she still got wet anyway. Aphmau remembered hearing somewhere that running through rain actually gets you just as wet as walking, because the raindrops are still hitting you, you're just running into them faster. Some problems in life just seem to get worse the harder you try to fix them.

She sighed at the satisfactory sound of a jingling bell that went off when she pushed open the door. There was only one other person in the whole store, a fellow employee with brown hair and green eyes. He totally looked like the kind of person to work in an arts and crafts store. He wore a green scarf and faded blue jeans. Everything about him was shaggy and worn down, like he lived on the streets. He had that calm, hippy vibe about him and smelled like the outdoors. He smiled at her.

"Welcome! I'm your coworker, my name is Vylad." He held out his hand for Aphmau to shake.

"A pleasure to meet you." She said politely, taking his hand. He had a firm handshake. While they were shaking hands he glanced at her nails.

"Your hands look good, but you haven't gone to get a manicure in a while. Something happened, huh?"

Aphmau was surprised by his straightforward nature. She felt slightly offended. Was he saying her nails don't look good? No... He seemed to be very genuine.

Aphmau sighed. "It's a long story."

"Nobody ever comes in here." Vylad said. "This store is going downhill. We've got time. Come on, tell me."

She didn't know what compelled her to tell a complete stranger about her life. Perhaps it was his demeanor. Whatever the case, that's exactly what she did. She told him all about her mother's death and her lost memory and cried when she told him about moving back to the city. Vylad listened patiently through the whole thing and kept giving her tissues to dry her tears.

"Girl, why are you even here?" Vylad asked when she finished. "Working is too stressful. You sound like you've been through a lot. And considering how fast you started crying, you're still not over it. You should be back at that shady hotel room getting comfortable with a book or out at the mall getting a new manicure."

"I need money!" Aphmau sobbed into her hands.

Vylad sighed tiredly. "Amen, sister."

"Where is everyone, anyways?!" Aphmau shouted. "We should be working! And helping customers!"