She can hear the nearing footsteps of the hurrying men she have been trying to lose this entire afternoon. She had managed to squeeze herself in between a large barrel and a dumpster in a small alleyway that smelled of urine and decay. She didn’t have time to worry about the smell though her nose crinkled every now and then and her stomach occasionally churns in disgust over the new and unfavourable environment she’s in.

But she liked that kind of disgust. That kind was a natural reaction, a feeling that should be felt, and a very appropriate feeling. She liked that she could still feel. That she was shedding tears in her effort to keep the contents of her stomach in. She loved the feeling of feeling itself.

It has been a while though. She knew she made the right decision of running away when she felt the loud thumping of her heart inside her chest when she climbed down the back exit of the grand hotel they were staying. She never felt more alive when she laughed as she watched her bodyguards scrambling in pursuit of her. Her smile almost broke her face when she felt the slight drizzle of the rain as she zigzagged her way through the garden. And her heart almost stopped as she leaped off the high fence and luckily didn’t break her legs.

She tugged on her jacket as she heard the footsteps once again. She sneaked a glance on her expensive watch and thought “Oh well, at least I got out for a few hours.” She was ready to get caught. So when the footsteps stopped right in front of her, she just looked up and tried to smile.

“What are you smiling about?”

She was confused. She certainly didn’t have a female bodyguard.

“You know what, for someone who’s homeless, it’s nice that you find positivity in everything. Keep smiling.”

She blinked. What is this girl talking about?

She scanned the stranger in front of her. She was clad in jeans with messy cuts on the knee area, a gray hoodie covering a white shirt. She had her hoodie up covering her capped head. She looked like a normal teenager going home from school. She was sipping a chocolate drink from a carton with a straw.

“Are you possibly deaf and mute? Oh what a pity.” The girl shook her head and continued to stare down at the girl on the street.

Hearing the remark, the girl stood up and almost yelled. She stopped herself knowing she’d really get caught if she did.

“Hey! I’m not homeless and definitely not deaf and mute!” She hissed, pushing her hands inside her jacket pockets.

“Oh.” Emotionless, the girl just started to walk away, a bit of disappointment was clear in her eyes.

“That’s all you’re going to say? Are you supposed to say sorry?” Quietly, the girl started to follow the other one around.

The other girl just shrugged and continued to walk. They were going out to the other side of the block.

“Stop following me non-hobo, not deaf nor mute person.” The girl suddenly turned around and came face to face with the other girl.

When the girl just blinked and showed no signs of movement, they started walking again until they reached an abandoned park. When the follower realized where they were, it was already too late, and she felt instant fear and confusion.

“Hey.”

She said as she stopped, looking at the other girl nervously. It has started to get dark, the air getting colder she felt like she was going to freeze anytime soon.

The other girl didn’t stop walking, so she thought she didn’t hear. She spoke louder.

“Hey!”

The other girl turned around and threw the empty carton into a trash basket a few steps away.

“You’re still here?” The girl shook her head and sighed. “I thought you’re not homeless?”

“I’m not. But I’m not from around here.”

“I know. I figured that one out when you started stalking me.”

The girl found it offensive.

“Excuse me? I was not stalking you!” She had a deep frown on her face and she crossed her arms.

The other girl remained silent and stared at her intently from head to foot, as if analyzing her.

“Stop looking at me like that.” She unconsciously whined, the kind of whine she gives her daddy when she really wanted something, they called it her ‘princess-whine’.

The other girl just nodded. “Yep, you’re definitely the spoiled-brat type. And don’t tell me princess you just ran away from home and now you are targeting me to take you in?” The chocolate drinker raised her brow.

“Of course not! I was just following you until we get to the main street!” The princess defended herself.

“I think you’re an idiot. We’ve been walking the main street for about ten minutes earlier yet you never parted from me.” Chocolate-drinker scoffed.

“Rude. Just tell me how to get to a nice hotel where I can check in.”

“Can you really check in? Do you even have money?” The girl chuckled, the girl was ridiculously clueless.

The girl checked her wallet. Her credit cards were all there but she had no cash with her.

“If you really want to run away, you better know how to stop using your daddy’s money. They will track you down right after you get any of those cards swiped.” The girl smirked.

“What’s your name?” The clueless girl dropped the question out of nowhere.

“What?” The change of topic was so fast the other girl was left agape.                                

“I’m Yuri. What’s your name?” Princess offered her name in case the other girl didn’t understand what she was talking about. The other girl just shook her head and mumbled words to herself.

“Unbelievable. Are we getting to know each other now?”

“It’s just a name. Why is it so hard to talk to you?! If I only knew people were this difficult then I wouldn’t even bother running away.” Yuri snapped. It was true. She thought her life inside her father’s dynasty was fake and rotting, surrounded by people you could barely trust. She thought people outside will be more understanding and caring; like those in the TV shows she used to watch when she was a kid. This girl in front of her was far from what she expected. She was hard, sarcastic and poker-faced. Maybe this is what reality really is. She didn’t notice her tears as they fell, she was even shaking; her anger fuelling her outburst. Once again, it has been a long time since she cried and got angry, so long that she didn’t know how to stop.

“Now you’re crying just because I won’t tell you my name? Oh please grow up. Do you even realize you are with a complete stranger in a much stranger place? Did you even think that maybe I’m a serial killer and I just lured you into your nasty death?” The girl replied coldly.

Yuri stopped crying in an instant and let her body shake in fear. Oh no. If this girl kills her, her daddy would probably die with a heart attack. But how could this girl be such a maniac? She looked sweet and kind, that was the reason she followed her in the first place. Those eyes made her trust the other girl. She’s a good judge of character, she can’t be wrong right? This girl is not a serial killer right?

The sound of laughter broke off Yuri’s thoughts as she stared wide-eyed into the laughing girl. The girl looked like she was having a lot of fun; she was so relaxed and carefree that Yuri’s fears melted away and she started to laugh off with her quietly.

When the other girl stopped her boisterous laughter, she calmed herself down by fanning her face.

“I haven’t laughed like that for a long time.” She said, mostly to herself than to Yuri. When she finally stopped laughing she faced Yuri and said with a serious face.

“You are never going to survive out here. You might as well go home.”

Yuri was about to protest when the girl started walking back to where they came in.

“Main Street’s that way, when you get to the corner turn right for two blocks and then turn left. What hotel are you staying at?”

“The Crown.” Yuri said meekly. This was it. The end of her adventure, she was going back to her dreaded life once more.

“Hmm, forget what I said about the Main Street. How did you even manage to get here when The Crown’s at least 30 minutes away?” The girl looked shocked. “And with your heels on?”

“I was running around for hours okay?” Yuri defended her self.

“Did you really intend to run away or it was just a spur of the moment thing? How could you run with those things?” Now the girl must really think of Yuri as an idiot.

“I planned this okay? It’s just that I don’t have sneakers and I couldn’t buy a pair because we just arrived and I grabbed the opportunity when it presented itself.” Now Yuri really felt like an idiot. She might as well go home to save herself from further embarrassment.

“You really wanted to get away that bad?” The girl asked.

Yuri sighed and nodded slowly, tears started to form in her eyes as she remembered the sadness she has been bottling up all these years.

“Stop crying. You look like you’ve lost when you have just started.” The girl sighed.

“But you make me feel like an idiot and that I’m crazy to be here.” Yuri said in between sobs, her hands desperately trying to wipe away her tears.

“Because you are.” The girl said impassively.

Yuri pouted and walked forward to hit the girl. But when she was two steps away, the girl reached out a hand, startling Yuri, making her stop.

“Let’s get out of here.”