I tossed and turned the entire night, sleep not seemingly ready to get a hold of me. No matter how hard I shut my eyes, my mind was so adamant on keeping me awake with thoughts of leaving the facility. The mixture of excitement and anticipation made me antsy like an ant with it’s tail on hot embers. Before I even knew it, the early morning birds were already ushering in a new day. I gave up trying to force sleep and snappily sprung from my bed.

Without a second thought, I packed all my belongings in one small bag. They were nothing much, just a pair of two trousers, three shirts and a toothbrush. Taking one last look at the room that has been my home for quite a period of time, I felt nothing but relief. I wasn’t gonna miss it, not a single bit, I hated the place as much as I hated my birthdays. I took a deep heavy sigh,  ignoring the intense rumbles that originated from my stomach as I sprinted outside the forsaken room.

 I felt pitiful for the other kids who gave me green looks of envy when I was escorted to the admission block with my luggage. I never made actual friends in my stay here so I was spared the awkward goodbye moments.

“ It’s sad to see you leave” the admissions officer said, the way he said it seemed rehearsed. He didn’t even look up from his stack of papers.

“ I’m happy on the contrary” I spoke back

“ life outside there is unforgiving, at least in here you have a roof over your head and  food to keep you warm. Where are you going to anyway?”

I hesitated for a moment, my mind chaotic with thoughts

“FiendVille” I sighed

The admissions officer paused then slowly gazed up to me from his desk. His eyes which peered from the top of his glasses showing a stupefied look, like I said the most insane thing.

“ It’s…it’s my home town” I quickly added

“  Erick…”

“ Ethan- Ethan Blaze” I corrected

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes “ Look Ethan, FiendVille isn’t the kind of place for a kid”

“ I’m an adult now”

“ Doesn’t matter, the town’s not a place you just go to for a new start. Do you watch the news Ethan?”

“ No I don’t”

“ If you did then you’d realize that the number of killings in FiendVille triples the ones in all other towns combined. It’s the most dangerous town in the whole state.” He said seriously “ a kid like you wouldn’t last a week”

“ It’s still my home”

“ You don’t have any family or relatives to go back to, there is no inheritance left in your name and apart from the rugs inside your bag, you own nothing else” he continued jabbing

I sighed, my mind direly hoping that he would just sign my leaving form and hand me over my ID. I have had three years to think everything through, getting home topped the list.

“ We can always use an extra hand in this facility. That means that we will provide you with better accommodation, better food and you can earn some bucks while at it. What do you think?”

“ No thanks” I said immediately, not even glorifying his offer with a single thought. I wasn’t staying a day more in here and I had made up my mind. The more minutes I wasted in here, the more I felt like needles were pricking my back.

Clicking in disappointment, he roughly signed the form then pushed it towards me. I hastily picked it up together with my ID then stood there for a second longer…

“ What?”

“ Aren’t you forgetting something?” I smiled

The officer opened a drawer and took out a stack of dollar notes. I was already beaming with excitement when he started counting them. My smile froze when he handed me twenty dollars

“ You are supposed to give me two hundred” I said

“ I don’t run a charity organization Erick”

“ It’s Ethan” I heaved

“ I don’t care” He snapped “ be glad I’m even giving you cash, heaven knows how much I’ve spend feeding your large appetite”

I was going to retort that we worked in a farm for the food we ate but I chose to keep silent and take my starting cash. Not mentioning that the law required every leaver to be offered a generous amount of cash and two hundred was the base-line.

“ Thank you” I smiled

“ Get the fuck out of here” he put on his glasses and got back to his papers

Getting to the bus station proved a difficult task but I managed anyway after a kind bystander gave me directions, for two dollars. I bought a fifteen dollar ticket to the dreaded FiendVille then used the rest of the cash to buy me something to eat.  The bus was filled with empty seats, about eight a dozen people including me booked a ticket. All of them looked hideous and spooky in a mysterious way but I cared no less.

I spent half of the eight-hour drive to FiendVille gazing outside the bus’s window like an excited foreign tourist or an ecstatic dog, spent the rest sleeping after my heavy eyelids paved way for a ravenous sleep.

I was woken up hours later by a knock on my window. I had enjoyed my sleep so much that drool had rolled over and covered half my face. The bus driver gave me an amused expression before showing me the door. “ I have to get to my family” he said

It was in the late evening when I alighted and the scene was far from what I had expected. The reality greatly differed from the dreadful stories that was showered on this town. FiendVille was as lively as ever at the time, people laughed as they walked around while chatting spiritedly. Bright lights illuminated every bit of the spot where I was dropped off and for meters on end. For a town that was supposed to be a murderous one, it sure was animated. I didn’t have much to  reminisce since as a kid I didn’t walk around much but  I got the sense of happiness. It sounded weird but I felt like I belonged here in this town.

Like a blind person who just saw light for the first time, I walked around FiendVille taking in the sight that I had missed so much. My stomach rumbled in protest when I spotted a restaurant.