Chapter Thirteen

Aria

So, the first ticket I could get for a night bus took me all the way to the state capital. It was a huge city, and I’d never even been out of Happenstance before. I got off the bus and wandered through the station, jumping at every noise. I’d always thought the Happenstance trailer park to be dirty and dire, but this inner-city terminal was another level.

Homeless people slept in the doorways and under graffitied benches. Police patrolled with hard, emotionless eyes. Was it possible that the crappy life I’d hated in Happenstance had been sheltered and lucky in any way? I felt wretched as I walked through the terminal and out into the still warm city night.

The street was busy, cars zoomed past on the road and the smell of fumes and rubbish filled my nose. Billy’s necklace still felt coo