"Those jerks!"
A young woman stamped into her apartment, tossed her bag onto the floor, and threw herself onto her bed, burying her face into a pillow. Her body shook with sobs as the day's events replayed through her mind. She couldn't believe it, she just couldn't believe it... A few minutes later she sat up, counting off all the terrible things that had happened to no one in particular.
"First, I get fired, then I find out that m-my fiancé was with another girl the whole time, a-and now," she sniffled, wrapping her arms around her knees, "now, I don't have enough money to even stay here... What's the use of living anymore?" she sobbed, falling into pieces again. Why? Why did life have to be so unfair?!
"Mama..." she whispered, after several hours of tears. Her voice was broken, her eyes stinging, and she needed a drink. "Mama... I need you..." she murmured again. She took a deep breath, knowing that she would most likely not see her mother again. She looked up from her reverie, to the sound of the phone ringing. Her voice wouldn't work if she were to answer it however, thus she just left it to ring.
As the phone began ringing for a second time, the woman stood up, rather shakily. She made her way to her tiny, nearly empty fridge, and poured herself a glass of water. As she sipped it, the newspaper on the table from the morning caught her eye. She walked over to it, and scanned the page for a bit, until a small ad snatched her attention. She placed the cup on the table, and leaned down, examining it more.
'Tired of your life? Sick of your home? Bored with your job? Then come live in Mineral Town! With friendly neighbors, relaxing outdoors, a quaint town, and more festivals than you can shake a stick at! Just call 555-2935!'
The girl continued gazing at the ad, not reading the text. Almost a minute later, she straightened up, finished her water, and picked up the phone. She dialed the number that was on the ad, and took several deep breaths as she waited for the person to answer.
Riiing...riiing...riiing...rii-Click!
"...Allo?"
"Uh, um... Y-yes," the woman cleared her throat, and tried again. "Yes, I...I was calling about th-the ad in today's newspaper... The one about Mineral Town?"
"Yes?"
"Um, may I ask how much it is to move there?" she inquired.
"500G," the voice across the phone answered.
"..." she was silent for awhile, staring at the ground.
"Hello? Miss?"
"Oh, sorry... I'm just surprised at how cheap it is, that's all..."
"It is more for the farm. 1500G in total if you wish to move in there."
She clutched the phone in both hands. She only had about 1500G in the bank, but that would only be enough to pay this week's rent. Although, if she were to sell everything she had, except a few necessities, she could easily come up with the amount to buy the farmland!
"I'll take it!" she cried out, excitedly.
"Ah! Thank you, ma'am. Just drop the payment at the Mayor's house when you come. Ahh... And when should we be expecting you?"
She thought for a bit, again. "Um, how about a week from now?"
"A week. Okay, thank you for your business!"
Click! ...Beeeeep…
The phone slipped from her hand into the cradle, and she laid back down on the bed. A new home, eh? She sighed, feeling immensely better than before. She should probably tell her mother, or her friend... Ah, but her friend had recently gotten a new phone number, and hasn't been able to give it to her... Suddenly, the phone began ringing again. She jumped a bit, then picked the receiver up.
"Hello?"
"Oh, thank God, Claire! Are you okay? I've been trying to call you about five times, now!"
'I only remember twice...' she thought bitterly. "Oh. Seymour. Yes, I'm fine."
"Thank God, thank God..." the man breathed.
"Why are you calling?" the woman snapped, anger rising within her. How dare he call her after what he did!
"Claire, darling, why are you mad? Can't I just call up my fiancée whenever I wish?"
Claire sighed, quite aggravated with the man. "Listen, Seymour... W-why don't we go to the park and talk? I...I have something I need to tell you..."
"W-what is it?" the man asked, obvious worry arising in his voice.
"Just...something important. That could change our lives."
"Oh, dear God, Claire! You're not...not..."
"Meet me in an hour, okay?" she interrupted him, then hung up the phone.
She sighed heavily before getting things ready to pack. She didn't have very much. A few outfits, minimal bedding, a couple of dishes, a handful of books... Everything else belonged to the apartment. She looked down at her clothes, which she had worn for the past week, and decided to change into something fresh. Yet, the only thing 'fresh' she had was a pair of dirty, blue overalls. She reluctantly pulled these on however, and went back to packing.
About forty-five minutes later, she straightened up from a box, and stretched. As her eyes flickered over to the clock, a yelp escaped her lips, and she made a mad dash for the door, grabbing her coat and scarf as she passed them. She took the steps two at a time, and didn't even bother with waiting for the bus. Instead, she tore off in the direction of her favourite park, already planning how she was going to break up with her fiancé...