Sunshower

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Cassia Kwon sat on the train, staring out the window as trees passed by at a blinding pace. She was traveling from London, England  to Germany on this leg of wherever she was going. She wasn't sure yet. She had to get away from her past....and present. Nothing was going to change. Nothing. 

Cassia, or Cass as she insisted on being called, lived in Atlanta, Georgia with her mother. But life with her mother was not a good life. It was not even a decent life, though she wasn't willing to let anyone know why. Especially her mother, who drank herself into a stupor every night. Due to her mother's irresponsible actions, Cassia was forced to support herself. She loved her mother and remained, for several years to take care of her, hopeful her mom would change. That is until the unthinkable happened. So instead, Cassia saved money from her job for three long years to escape the horrible life she had been faced with.

During the early morning hours of her 24th birthday she packed one duffel bag, her plane ticket, and her passport and headed by foot toward the airport. She tried to say goodbye to her mother, but it went as expected. She couldn't wake her mother, who had passed out on the floor next to her bed.

Cassia took a flight from Atlanta to London, England. She stayed the night in England and planned the next leg of her new life. After weighing all of her options, she decided to head East to Germany. She decided the cheapest way to get to Germany was by train. Cheap is what she needed since her plane ticket ate through at least a third of her savings. She wasn't really sure why she was going to Germany, other than she had always wanted to visit Berlin. She remembered watching soccer with her dad on the weekends when she was little. His favorite team played for Germany. He also often talked about fond memories there on vacation with his family. She remembered enjoying the time she spent with her dad. That is until he wasn't there anymore.

Cassia jolted out of her thoughts by a strike of lightning not far from the train. It seemed they were about to head straight through a heavy storm. A loud clap of thunder made her jump anxiously. She scolded herself for being on edge.

Rain began to hit the windows as they traveled closer to the storm. She looked up at the purpleish-blue sky and thought of her dad again. He loved thunderstorms.
"As long as they aren't severe, thunderstorms are a wonderful thing," he use to say. Cassia caught herself smiling at the thought, but quickly wiped it away. Who cares what her dad said. He abandoned her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are arriving at the Koln hbf train station. This will be about a 30 minute stop, so please feel free to go in and grab yourself some lunch."

Cassia heard the conductor as her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. She reminded herself, however, she needed to save as much money as possible since she didn't really know where she would end up. So she sat firmly planted to her seat.

She watched as the passengers walked down the steps one by one and exited the train. After everyone disappeared she turned her attention to the large rain drops still hitting the windows. It seemed like she had sat there for hours when she heard a voice at least a couple of cars down.

"No, let's go through to the back. There's probably no one back he—." A rough, deep voice became clear as a hand slid the car door aside. His voice faltered as he saw Cassia sitting near the back of the train. Cassia looked up to see several guys standing on the other end of the train car. Her first instinct was panic at being put in a situation like this. Once she gained control of her emotions she was only bothered by the loud interruption. She looked up expressionless as the guys stopped short of her.

"Oh, um. Excuse us. We didn't know anyone was back here," the blond haired boy with the rough voice stated. She still showed no expression and turned back to the window.