Walk Away

Author's Note: Every resemblance to real characters or events is a pure coincidence

Chapter 1.

It'a funny how things start to fall apart so suddenly. One small thing leads to another and it creates a wave, flowing steadily but securely. Have you ever looked at a wave? Above it's stirred, chaotic and raw and under it's peacefull, almost pleasant. Waves could soothe your soul just by watching them or they could take your home and your beloved in an instant.

Maybe I was over reacting, but the feeling was the same nevertheless. The boxes under my feet were hastly tapped shut. I was never big on collecting things, only the necessary and I would be fine. Just give me a clean spot where I can rest and work.

So this is where I could be,eh? The walls are empty, sickly pale green and the floor looks like someone cleaned his dirty shoes. Where was the furniture? There's only an armchair in the corner, beside the window. The glass is patchy, fignerprints, dust and cobwebs adorning it like a hanged painting of the sky. My figners itched and I grabbed the biggest box contatining my most prized possesions. A blank notepad and my metal pencil case. Grabbing it only made the case snap and the lid crash on the floor loudly. I didn't even registrate it as my figners curled on a pencil and I opened a new leaf.

Slowly with sharp angles, dragging the lead on the paper I traced the image in front of me. The chipped wood on the left angle, the pealing color under it and the gazing eyes behind the glass. Eyes? My eyes lifted from the paper and I took my glasses of and cleaned them with my shirt. As I put them on, now dust free, I glanced back at the window. The eyes were gone. Had I imagined them?

As I've leaned on the door frame, surrounded by my boxes I sketched again. The curves of the fluffy clouds were hard to trace, they moved so fast today, as if they had to run from something. Don't we all?

˝I didn't you smirk when you're rude˝- A male voice said making me jump. The notepad fell down with a thud and I almost kissed the floor with my butt. I forgot to lock the door.. There was a short boy with messy hair staring at me. ˝YOU must be the new neighbour?˝

˝Ah yes I presume you're the only other tenant in this building˝- My voice came out steadily and I looked at him closer. He seemed like around my age with a bright grin. Maybe he would be a nice neighbour for a change...

˝Well yeah with my roomate˝- So there was another one... He was looking at me curiously. ˝Uhm they cleaned this apartment because of the cockroaches...there's another upstairs where you can be? It has furniture and other stuff uhh..˝

˝Oh? Okay thank you˝- I said bowing and turned to pick up my notepad. I need to finish the sketch. The sun was in a different angle now, the cobwebs looked duller and most of the dirt on the window wasn't visible now. I frowned unvoluntairly and picked up the scattered pencils.

˝Uhm okay, I'm Park Kyung by the way˝- I jumped again at his voice and dropped the pencils. He was still here. Infuriating.

˝Lee Anne, will you show me the other apartment?˝- Finally picking up the pencils I threw them with the case in a box and lifted it up. ˝Help me with the rest˝ - The rest of the boxes wasn't that much. There were only five of them. Some with clothes, hygiene products and my painting tools. The heaviest probably was in her hands, brushes stuck out, palletes and mixing bowls, paint jars and smugged sticks of choal wrapped in paper.

˝Uh yeah, I'll bring them, go to the second floor, the northern corner. We're in the eastern BTW˝- I heard him yell and curse silently at the boxes. There may have been a few china dolls inside, I hope he didn't break them. Walking slowly to the elevator I pushed the button and waited for the shrill sound of the hanging cage. It never came, instead a pair of rusty doors opened and a hunched boy stepped out. He had a frown on his face, big headphones on his ears and pushed past me like I was a graveyard. Must be the roomate of Kyung. He didn't even glance at me. Judging how his eyes were sullen and deep eyebags told me he was acting on autopilot. I heard him yell at Kyung.

˝Gonna buy rammen, we ran out˝- I watched as his figure disappeared and the doors shut. The hanged cage swung lightly to the left and slowly ascended to the second floor. The building where I choose to stay had four floors and only one, or shall I say better two tenants. It was a peacefull, almost abanded building at the edge of the city core. Full of inspiration and most of all cheap.

Artist's hands never earned much. Coming from an immigrant that was even worse. Everything that came by was precious and consumed slowly, allowing yourself to enjoy it to the fullest beacause you never knew when it would come again.

The hanged cage stopped and the doors slowly opened. Kyung was already at the door in the northern wing grinning like a mad man. I had a bad premonition, I wouldn't be able to get rid of him easily. He moved and I opened the door slowly. The one room apartment had a big bed under a window, a bedside cupboard, a wardrobe, a smaller door which I presumed was the bathroom and a kitchenette on the other side. In the corner by the door was a small table with two chairs. The walls were painted the same sickly pale green colour like the apartment on the ground floor.

˝Shall I help you with something?˝- I heard Kyung ask. He had put the boxes down and looked around like he was here for the first time ˝We have sugar if you need to borrow some...˝- He winked and I stared at him. Without a word I moved to the first box and started to pull out items.

˝Oookay.. we'll be next door˝- I saw Kyung bow in the reflection of the window and then close the door after him. Finally quiet. Ignoring the rest of the boxes I pulled a colapsable frame and a roll of faric. Silence was pleasing as the canvas slowly took on shape. The bottom of the box had my stand that I screwed back together and I went to the kitchen to get some water. Minutes later my fingers were already mixing powders and pigments for the perfect colors. Painting the frame from downstairs I added small cracks where the tooth of time nibbled and slowly circled out a pair of eyes gazing back at me. Sullen, dark circles around them...