I was swinging my legs but my legs stopped. Tears were falling down my cheeks when I noticed. Not much people were walking around at the hour. I stayed sitting at the bench until it was late enough that nobody passed by.

I walked around Central Park to see if there were any homeless people since it was easier to find with less people. I came across an old man with a beard. He was petting a dog. They were laying down on a carpet together.

I walked up to the man and the dog. I asked the man if I could stay with them. He was wondering why and asked. I explained what happened that day. I even explained what happened to my family and there were nine days until school started. He asked why I burned my house down. There were many homeless people needing a place to live. I told him it was because I didn't want to live alone in such a place. It was too much for me. The place was empty and dead.

Then I asked why the man was with a dog. There were people who wants a dog. It was because of the same reason with me burning down the house. He didn't want to be alone and so did the dog. The dog was a stray dog so nobody would want to take him in anyways.

I looked closely at the dog which was looking at me and it was a german shepherd. The german shepherd started me and the man allowed me to stay for the night because it was already dark enough. It was dangerous for me to be walking around.

I woke up the next morning. I stood up with my bag. I started marching leaving a banana for the man and the german shepherd.

Some people recognized me as I walked around the city to find a comfortable place to stay.

I didn't know how much time has passed since I started walking down the street that day. Then someone poked my shoulder asking if I was running around this area the day before. I recognized this person's face for some reason. It must have been someone I passed by as I was running. I told her that I wasn't sure of where I was running the day before. Then she asked if I had a place to go home. I answered honestly but I hid the fact that I burned the house down.

The woman explained to me that she was a landlord and showed me an old room of an apartment. She allowed me to live there and told me that I didn't have to pay for anything. She didn't want to see me walking around the city without any shoes on for I left my own at the house. There wasn't anything in the place except a kitchen, the main room, and the bathroom. She brought me some towels, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and a change of clothes and left for the day.

I washed my dirty face at the sink and took a shower to clean myself. As I was cleaning myself, I thought of what I should do with my life. I dried my hair without a conclusion and started eating the little food I brought with me.

I took the towel I used and wet it with water. I cleaned the floor with the towel. When I finished, I took my blanket out and laid it on the floor at the corner of the main room. I took my dolls out which had a necklace on each, one in which I received from Momo-chan, and the other was the key to my room of the first house I used to live in with my family down in New Jersey. I was never able to throw it out even after I moved out.

I put the dolls at the wall. I laid down on the blanket and started talking to the dolls wondering what they were doing in Japan. I wondered if they were having a good time. I hoped that they were healthy and the same energetic group they always were from way back when. I continued thinking about them and fell asleep in the dark night.

I opened my eyes wide noticing that I fell asleep. I looked around and found a blanket on myself.

I left the house leaving the things I brought in the corner. I was out in the city for a while and when I opened the door to the room, I saw a bed, closet with clothes, a new bag next to my old one, and school material. I thought I entered the wrong room for a short moment and left the room. I checked the room number and saw that it was the room I was assigned. I entered the room again and it was the same room I saw before I left once again thinking I have made a mistake. I look behind me feeling a presence and it was the landlord which surprised me.

I didn't quite understand the situation I was in. Rather, I couldn't. This was all so sudden. I was afraid that she allowed me to a place someone else was living in. It was as if she allowed me to live in a place someone else was going to live in.

I don't understand... Wasn't she going to allow me to stay and live here? What is with this? Something's clearly wrong. Why is she doing this? What is with the supplies? I never asked for any of this. Will I be going to school in eight days? Am I going to change schools? Where will I be going? There are way too many questions. What's wrong with this woman? She's scary. What is she trying to tell me? I should've never trusted her. There's no point in being here. She might be planning on eating me. Why is she giving me the money for food? Why is she allowing me to live and stay here? She's giving me the creeps.

I faked a smile to hide my thoughts and to keep control of myself and asked why there were such items in this room.

My instincts were correct. They were for me. The bed. The closet. The new clothes. The new bag. The school supplies. A shiver ran through my spine. I thanked her and asked about school. I was going to go to a different school from where I used to go for the past two years, which was only a few minutes away by foot. My life has pushed the reset button completely. My life will move on from the starting line behind everyone else once again.

I felt a headache which only lasted for a few minutes. I saw myself always being alone without a single friend. No one would want to come close to me. The students in school were fuzzy about the new student in school for the first few days but lost interest in what kind of person this new kid was. My grades were always at top and everyone was glaring at me.

When I came back to reality, I didn't mind being seen with those eyes. It felt great. Therefore, I started studying. I memorized all the formulas for math and I studied the history I needed to pass the last year of my middle school life. I shoved vocabulary into my mind and learned the science to make my middle school life as the last year easier. I had fun thinking of the amount of studying I had to do for exam of each class.

As soon as school started, all students were to take a test to choose where each student was going to go. The questions on the tests were way too easy for me so I was put in advanced classes for each classes but that didn't matter. I studied all the things I had to if I were sent to those advanced classes so the amount of studying I had to do didn't change too much. Each teacher liked me for the grades I received for each exam and the speed of the work I finish the classwork in. I did all my homework in school leaving myself with more than enough free time.

Teachers gave me books to read but I usually finished within that day and memorized everything that happened. Some teachers asked me to try and teach the class. I taught them to the best of my ability and the average grades for the next exams were higher than usual.

All the teachers soon gave up on giving me new material knowing that it would only be a waste. They gave me all the exams they were planning on giving throughout the year and I passed each and every single one of them. I was told that I didn't have to attend for the rest of the school year and that they'll call when students needed me to tutor some difficult lessons and the schedule for high school. I told the school each course I was going to take in high school so that I didn't have to write or tell them later on in May or June.

My high school life went on smoothly. I finished high school two years early and started to attend college at the age of 17. I smacked all the information I should have before starting but tried not to make my life in college like the life in middle school or high school. I had way too much time that I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it.

I left the apartment behind without saying a single word to the landlord nor to my neighbors.

I took my bag with my school stuff I needed leaving the key hanging on the doorknob. I always brought my sapphire blue bag with me wherever I went. The size and shape was perfect for every occasion. I walked to the bus stop to the college campus.

I can finally send more letters directly to them. There's no more need to hold back.

When I noticed, I was trapped in my own little world.