A slight girl with a thick black braid approached her father who had begun packing for his next business trip. "Appa, tomorrow is the start of the school year and I was wondering if maybe this year I could go to school like other kids." She tilted her head to the right while her eyes squinted nervously waiting for an answer as her father stopped packing and looked over his shoulder at her. She saw how tired he looked and his graying hair made him look older.

        "Minjee, honey, I know you really want to, but you can't, especially now. You're umma and I are both leaving for business. No one will be here to watch after you."

        "Mr. Park can watch after me."

       "About that. He won't be able to tutor you for a while. He won’t be in town. I'm sorry honey." And with that he lifted his black suitcase off the bed and walked out of the room.

       Minjee followed and tried to convince him once more when her mother stepped in with a suitcase of her own. Her straight black hair tangled as she eyed her surroundings in search of anything she may have forgotten to pack. "Sweetheart, I know it seems unfair, but we're just protecting you. And just think about it, you have a longer vacation." Her mother smiled, her dark brown eyes twinkling. She hugged her daughter and walked out the front door. Minjee’s father followed.

       "Home alone," she sighed after they shut the door, "again."

       She walked up the winding staircase, down a short hallway and into her room. The light red walls greeted her. Her queen sized bed lay empty. It was a scene she knew far too well, a scene she could never get away from. In this house she was growing accustomed to every detail. It was dulling her senses. It was time for her backup plan. Her bag was ready. A wallet and her phone were tucked into a black backpack that was hidden in her closet along with extra clothes and a few other things. If her parents wouldn’t agree to let her go to school like a normal kid, she knew who would. She had planned things out carefully, but was a still nervous. There were sparks at her fingertips and an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

       It was almost dark outside when the staff had all gone home or was out on errands before she walked out the front doors. The streets were known to her since she would always study anything outside her home. Every time she walked her dog or sat in the backseat on the way to a party she would stare out the window and imagine how it would feel to live in that world. The houses appeared smaller and more frequent the farther she walked. By the time she reached a bus stop there were apartment buildings popping up. She waited at the bus stop and smiled anxiously to herself when a bus arrived. Minjee never left home by herself. Scenarios played over and over in her mind as she imagined what would happen when she arrived at her destination all alone. She shut her eyes for a moment, focusing on the images in her head.

       Her eyes opened slowly. There were street lights streaming into the window beside her. She realized she couldn't recognize anything outside. A panic ran through her and caught in . She tried to calm herself and told herself she just needed to know where she was so she could check her map. The bus stopped abruptly, almost making her fall off her seat. She walked towards the driver and asked him where they were and to her horror she didn’t recognize the name of the town. Quickly, she ran off the bus and reached for her backpack. Her map was tucked in a pocket in the back. As she was just about to the pocket someone grabbed her arm.