Bella’s POV
As the bus passed the ‘now leaving Sunset Valley’ sign I smiled. A sense of relief washed over me, no more would I feel like a stranger in my own home. Mum and Dad didn’t even say much when I left. No hugs, no tears, no ‘we’ll miss you’. All I got was a goodbye as they stood by the door together watching me walk away. My only regret is leaving when Michael was out at work. I sent him a text saying I’d left but it’s just not the same. Maybe I would try calling him once I was settled.
Not wanting to think about my family anymore I put my headphones on and started the music player on my phone. The music calmed me, I lent back and closed my eyes.
For now I will be living in a small yet slightly weird town by the name of Strangerville. The weirdness starts with the town sign which has the slogan ‘the only thing stranger than the people is the flora’. Seeing it made me want to get back on the bus and go somewhere else. The only problem with that was I didn’t have any way of paying for more travelling. If I dipped into my savings to pay for that I then wouldn’t have enough to fund a place to live and I was not about to live on the streets.
Even though property was a little cheaper here all I could afford was a small trailer in a trailer park named Slip 42. There is a local story about the guy who used to own it before me. Long story short he disappeared and has never been seen since. Local rumours say he did leave a note apparently saying he wanted to answer the question to life, the universe and everything. In my opinion that is utter nonsense.
The trailer is a lot different from where I’ve come from, what I have been used to. It’s not where I once thought I would end up either but it’s mine. I don’t have to deal with anyone trying to tell me how to live my life and it’s a lot better than sleeping on the streets.
Looking around I knew that despite everything I would be happy here. Still my mind drifted to thoughts of those I had left behind, my family and my friends. One friend in particular really, Mortimer. I started to think about how would my life have turned out if Mortimer and I had married as our families had wanted. What would I have looked like? I began to form an image in my head and was startled when that image seemed to be standing before me. Even though I knew no one else was around it was still unsettling. There I stood in a red dress and straight styled hair. More makeup and expensive jewelry but would I have been happy?
I shook my head slightly making the image vanish. Thinking of this stuff was not healthy. Is was time to leave the past behind. Anyway the last I heard Mortimer was presumed dead and they were probably right.
It was finally time to enter the trailer and see what I had brought. Small with rather dated decor but it’s mine. I was a little excited to be standing in my first home. There was so much I wanted to do with the place but not right now. I was tired from my long journey and hungry too.
After eating the meal I had brought in my way here I got in bed and had the best night’s sleep I had had in a long time.
Painting and decorating is hard work when you have to do it all yourself. The reward at the end of it all is knowing it’s all your own work. Local second hand shops were a godsend when looking for new furniture and decor. Not that everything is new, the bed is the same just with new sheets and the table in the kitchen has just been painted. Still it’s amazing what you can do with a small space and limited budget.
After putting my own stamp on the place it began to feel a bit more like home. I was far from being able to relax and enjoy my work though. If I was to sustain myself here and improve my living situation I needed a job.
The laptop I had brought with me helped with this. It was one of the few luxury items I was able to bring with me. I loaded up the job pages and scrolled through the vacancies. My dream was to be an actress but opportunities for acting work in this small town where pretty much non existent. Looking at the other vacancies there was little choice for a school leaver with no experience so I applied for a barista job in a local coffee shop. Better than nothing I suppose.
Despite there being no opportunities for acting roles in this town I wasn’t about to give up on my dream. Whenever I had time I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom practicing and trying to improve my acting skills. Even I had to admit I wasn’t very good at the moment but I was not about to give up. This was my dream, all I have ever wanted. One day I would have the chance to leave this town and hopefully get closer to reaching my goals.
Right now though I had visitors. My first thought was they were here to welcome me to the town. I’m not really sure why they were here really. I tried to talk to them but they just rambled on about flowers and something called ‘the mother’ whatever that was. They freaked me out a little, that sign was right the people here are strange. After talking with them a little more I was able to persuade them to leave. It leave me wanting to learn more about what was going on here. Maybe I would take a look around.
That would have to wait for another day however. It was getting late by the time those strange visitors left. Since it was a warm evening I sat outside and ate a bowl of my first home cooked meal, a salad. I had a plan now to find out more about the strange goings on in this town and I had a job. Yes I was on my own but honestly I think I prefer it this way. I kind of like the peace it brings. This is probably the happiest I have been in a long time.
A Different Path 