Her name is Ashley Sun.
She is currently a twenty-one-year-old woman with natural raven black hair and sapphire blue irises. She has flawless skin with a fairly pale complexion and an all-around attractive and feminine physique, lacking any physical imperfections. However, despite her pristine appearance, her hobbies and overall dreams were far from such extremities.
Ever since her youth, Ashley had been focused on maintaining the peak of her skills in any of her activities, no matter how vital or mundane they were. But as the years progressed, her desires for perfection had evolved into an almost unhealthy obsession, spawned from several years of pursuing artistic studies. Upon practicing in her teens all the way through to her young adulthood, she has finally decided to devote her developing skills and her passionate personality to the art world.
For several months now, Ashley had made arrangements to move homes, finally settling on living in a remote but oddly suburban town known at Oasis Springs. Due to her lack of a driver's license, she had been dependant on taxis and buses for her entire trip. She had often wondered how this town's production could be so successful considering it was found in the middle of a desert. Thankfully, as she had been told, any chance of scalding heat of sandstorms were all but minimal, to her relief. Her new home was settled in a previously furnished suburban home named the Sandtrap Flat.
The house was an economically standard home, fitted with the typical bells and whistles required for its owner and then some. The front yard sported a garden of plants on either side of a tiled pathway leading towards the house. A veranda stretched across two thirds of the front yard and the entire right side of her home, tiled equally to the pathway and having several columns to support the overhead roofing. The overall veranda made up almost half of her house in combination with it and it proved practically useless for shade, as the sun would set across from the veranda's view. Ashley always liked to assume that the builders had accidentally built the roof the wrong size and simply worked around this fact.
The front door faced opposite to the entire veranda and led directly into the living room. The walls inside had a dull violet paint and every room had at least on standard window with three glass panels. The house itself was split into three sections, only the living room harbouring a majority of a section to itself. The back of the house held the three remaining rooms, the bathroom finding itself squeezed between the kitchen in the middle section and the bedroom at the opposing edge. The overall home was fairly cramped and claustrophobic in its design, but Ashley tried to pay no mind to such trivial details.
Finally, her taxi had rounded the final corner and pulled slowly along the sidewalk, the home fully in Ashley's view. She stepped out and hurried to get a better look, all while her taxi driver helped to get her bags out from the boot. While Ashley was dismayed by the inferior size of the home compared to her previous house, she was entirely aware of its exact size and wasn't in a position to complain. She took her bags and other belongings and waved goodbye to the driver as he pulled away, before making her way to the front door.
However, as she grabbed her bags and began her trip, she noticed a newspaper on the floor and stopped to pick it up. She dropped her bags gently and unfolded it, hoping to get an idea on the current events within the town. She scanned through the pages before her eyes were diverted by a specific section.
The Future's Past!
Local museum looking for youthful talent to prove their artistic skills. Details below:
This was exactly the reason why Ashley had moved to Oasis Springs and this was the very best thing she could've learned. "I'll get the job tomorrow!" she declared to herself, her hands and voice both shaking with teenaged excitement. She then dropped the newspaper carelessly and took her bags, before quickly rushing to the front door.
She dropped her bags and fumbled for the keys in her pocket, before retrieving them and unlocking the door. As she turned the handle, she could immediately smell the scent of mint conditioning from inside, further fulfilling the expectations she had. She pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, turning to her left and flicking the light switch on. She looked around the newly lit living room and was satisfied with the presence of the furnishings; a black leather sofa, a cheap television set and a small bookshelf hung on the far wall.
She placed her bags on the couch and retrieved a plastic-clad collection of wooden parts, smiling as she made her decision, she unwrapped the parts and began setting them up into their proper places, finally settling into the final product of her easel. She remembered how this very easel was used by her to make many artworks over the years. She grabbed the easel and placed in the corner of the room, giving her enough space to paint on it.
"You and I are gonna make history, my friend" she teasingly stated to the easel before blowing a kiss to it. She felt giddy inside from what the future might bring, but her thoughts were cut short. She was distracted by a suddenly sensation in her stomach coupled with a low rumble, reminded of how she was forced to spend her hourly trips to Oasis Springs without anything to eat.
She made her way to the kitchen with one of her bags and pulled the fridge door open, sorting several of her packed meals from her bag and quickly placing them to be cooled from the heat. She finally took the packed garden salad and it's container from her bag before stopping to open it, the pain in her stomach convincing her to attend to the matter at hand. She spent several minutes leaning on the counter with a fork in hand, desperately wolfing down the meal to satisfy herself before she was eventually finished.
She had been so determined to eat her salad that she never paused to consider its condition. As a result, the expired salad had left a foul aftertaste that left Ashley in a distracted state. She held her stomach and prayed that she wouldn't suddenly vomit, afraid of the potentially indigestible state of the salad.
As she pondered this, her attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of knocking coming from her door, so she decided to see who it could've been. She did not know anyone in this town, so it was likely for official business. However, as she opened the door and peeked through, she was met with the presence of an African man in his forties, dressed casually and smiling towards her.
"Hey there!" he greeted charismatically, "I heard you just moved in, so I decided to pop over and help you get comfortable". Ashley continued to hide behind her door as she smiled nervously, "Oh thank you, but uh… that won't be necessary". Not wanting to intrude, the man chuckled and replied "That's okay. My name's Bob… Bob Pancakes".
Ashley definitely wasn't expecting that. She was left stunned by this man's absurd surname but was petrified of offering a bad impression of herself for reacting in such a manner, and therefore remained quiet. She stretched her arm out from behind the door and shook his hand in greeting, "Ashley… Ashley Sun". As she said it, she soon realised the hypocrisy of her initial thoughts on Bob.
"Now don't worry about the neighbours" Bob stated, "Everyone around here is very nice. They would like to get to know you, Ashley". Ashley chuckled lightly and said "Thanks, Bob. It's good to know people who can respect others…much better than my last home". She soon frowned and said "I would love to keep chatting, but I have a lot of things to unpack and it's getting late", prompting Bob to look upwards to see the dusky sky above. "Well then, don't let me keep ya, Ashley. I'll be heading off". He bowed his head politely before turning to walk along the street once more, Ashley shouted "Bye!" as she shut the door.
"Oh God! I shouldn't have done that!" she suddenly mouthed to herself as she covered her lips with her fingertips. "I can't believe I was so rude to him" she continued as her breath quickened, "He probably thinks I'm some kind of wierdo!"
Ashley had always been rather shy, stemming from the many awkward or even confrontational situations she had gotten herself into before. Nowadays, she was wary of speaking to strangers in the fears that she may offend them with anything she said. She was reclusive and rarely left the house, something that had concerned her previous neighbours. Basically, she was entirely introverted and terrified of the world outside her house and her paintings.
"What if he's gonna tell others!?" she gasped through her ragged breath, "He might say I'm a rude and horrible person!" She was visibly shaking with fear at the thought of rejection, especially after she had only just got here.
Just then, her thoughts were cut short by a second knock on the door. Her eyes widened as she thought "That's them now!" In a panic, she turned and flung the door open, paying no heed to whoever lay behind it. "I'm so sorry, that was so rude of me! But I swear, I'm no-" she blabbered with terror, before she paused to find that it wasn't bob standing in front of her.
It was a woman.
This woman seems to be around her own age and had a gorgeous, healthy tan on her skin, mocking her own pale complexion. Her eyes were a misty green and she had raven hair, cut in a straight line and stylised to curve inwards at the tips. She had a fancy black dress without sleeves and ended towards the middle of her thighs, along with a pair of black high heels. The girl looked like she had fallen straight out of a 1940s vaudeville performance to visit her. The woman smiled at her with calm eyes and a wide grin.
"Hello there, Ashley" the woman said simply, her voice sending shivers through Ashley's body from its almost seductive tone. Ashley was captivated by how stunning this woman looked before she suddenly snapped back to reality, "How do you know my name? I don't know you". The woman chuckled before answering "I saw you talking with Bob… and then I heard you panicking behind your door".
Ashley's cheek's flushed red almost instantly from this comment, embarrassed that this stranger had witnessed her at a vulnerable moment. The stranger saw her embarrassment and raised her arms to hold Ashley by her biceps, "You don't need to be embarrassed around me, Ashley". Her touch was extremely warm and soft for Ashley to feel, the surge quickly calming Ashley's mind within the woman's grasp. "My name is Lea… I'd really like to get to know you better, Ashley" she purred softly.
"Lea…" Ashley repeated to herself as Lea released her hold on the girl's arms. "If you ever feel lonely, you can call me" Lea stated as she pulled a note from her blouse and handed it to the entranced girl, who took it sleepily. Lea gave one final smile as she turned to walk away, strutting elegantly along the front pathway and turning to travel along the sidewalk. The moment Lea was out of her range of sight, Ashley suddenly slammed the door and turned away from it. She leaned against the wall as she breathed heavily.
Who the hell was that woman? Why did she know so much about her? How did she know her name? Why was she spying on her? Why did she talk that way to her? Why was Ashley so struck by her? Why did she want to get to know her? Why would she give-.
Ashley paused her thoughts and looked down at her hand, finding Lea's note and reading out the phone number on it. She shakily journeyed from the living room to the kitchen and placed the number on the table, unable to create clear thoughts in her head after what had just happened to her.
She then stopped as a yawn forced its way from her throat, finally signalling her to sleep her thoughts off. She wearily opened the door to the bedroom and flopped lazily onto the bed, the springs recoiling beneath her. She pulled the covers over her body, finally having the first time to relax in the past few hours. "It's been an hour and already I'm completely bewildered" she thought to herself, "I can't even imagine what will happen tomorrow". Not willing to try, she shut her eyes and was enveloped by the loving embrace of sleep.