I am a 21-year-old girl. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other and gossip spread like wildfire. As a result, my parents always kept me indoors to protect me from the harsh realities of the outside world. My father was abusive to my mother, which led her to become distant and cold towards me. Despite this, we were able to find some solace in our shared love for old movies and classic literature. My father's business partner helped him financially but they had a complicated relationship as he was also having an affair with his wife. Eventually, I realized that it was time for me to leave home and make my own way in the world. So I moved into a small apartment near the city center where I could be alone with my thoughts. It has been several months since I left but sometimes I still find myself wondering what life would have been like if things were different.

My life before this point was quite mundane and ordinary, filled with school work and extracurricular activities. However, after moving to the city center, things started to get more exciting as well as complicated due to meeting new people who had their own agendas in life that often conflicted with mine. The streets were always crowded and noisy during rush hour but at night it felt peaceful even though there were still many lights on along Main Street.

Sometimes when I walk through the city streets, I feel a sense of freedom and liberation as if I could do anything I wanted without anyone stopping me