First Day in the City

At 12:03 in the afternoon, Fanny Mae slowly awoke from her deep, dreamless sleep. Normally she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink in a place like this, but last night was different. She was finally free from her old life and Greg, the man she had loved for so many years...before the incident. But no, this was a new life and a new beginning, there was no time to dwell on the past she fled so fearfully from. Fanny Mae sat up, stretched her thin arms high above her head and set her warm feet on the cold floor. As she sat at the edge of her bed, Fanny Mae glanced down at her legs, and spotted the several bruises and her pale thighs. She quickly looked away, ignoring the evidence of her dark past staring up at her. She pulled her nightgown up over her head and began getting dressed to go out into the cold.
Once outside, Fanny Mae headed out down Rouse Blvd. and listened to the comforting thumping of her feet on the cold, gray pavement. She loved walking, she used to take walks all the time before she got married. After several minutes, Fanny Mae looked up and found herself right in from of a little noodle shack named Chan's. The heavy aroma of the noodles filled her nose and drew her into the shack like an invisible, welcoming hand. She sat eating her noodles, which were dry and bland, but this was the only full meal she had had in days. After her lunch Fanny Mae wandered around the city for several more hours. What had started as a job hunt soon became a leisurely, thoughtful walk. Eventually, Fanny Mae ended up right in front of Jupiter apartments. She was about to walk in until someone bumped into her. She looked up, and saw a tall man who was walking his dog.
"Oh I'm so sorry ma'am are you alright? I guess I just didn't see you there. I really should pay more attention."
"It's alright, I'm fine." Fanny Mae said, smiling half-heartedly. She knelt down to pet the dog. "She's a beautiful dog."
"Yep and she's sweet too, her name's Shadow." said the man, looking down admiringly at his dog. "So do you live in the Jupiter Apartments?"
"Yes, I'm new in town. What about you?"
"Actually I live under the old book store, the old man that owns it is nice enough to let me rent the basement. I'm Jacen, by the way. Jacen Vaughn."
"I'm Fanny Mae Lewis. Listen, it was nice to meet you, but I'm pretty busy. I have to go." Fanny Mae's voice trailed off as she looked down and shuffled back into the apartment building. In her apartment Fanny Mae sat on the floor, for she still had no furniture other than her bed and lumpy mattress. She pondered her rather brief encounter with this man.
He was nice, she thought, but you can never trust men these days. Fanny Mae was deep in thought when suddenly, the lights in the apartment shut off. She got up, flipped the old switch up and down a couple of times, but nothing happened. As she sat back down on the floor something crawled across her hand. She shivered in disgust. I hate cockroaches, she thought. She looked her watch, it was about six o' clock, so she reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of crackers. "I guess this will me my dinner tonight." Fanny Mae sat in the dark, eating her crackers and was once again lost in her thoughts.

An Unfurnished Heart

Fanny Mae watched as the landlord hobbled out the door, relying heavily on her one good leg. She looked down at the silver key in her hand, turning it over and over, inspecting the dull, rusty surface. "Apartment 556C...Welcome home Fanny Mae..." she muttered to herself. A cold Fall wind came through the open window, sending a violent shiver down her back. They didn't have weather like this in Alabama. She pushed and pulled until finally the stubborn window shut with a thud. She looked out the window at the bus stop on the corner of Rouse Boulevard and Dublin Lane, the one at which she stepped off the bus only 15 minutes earlier. The bent bus sign stared back at her, only reminding her of the life from which she fled.

Fanny Mae glanced around the desolate apartment and it stared back at her with desperate, bitter loneliness. She immediately felt a connection with the place. She loved its imperfection: the paint chipped walls, the scuffed floors, and the cracked ceiling. Despite all this apartment had been through, it was still warm and ready for the next inhabitant. Fanny Mae walked out of the apartment, hoping to find a place to buy furniture for her new apartment. She shut the door behind her, turned the key, and heard the clink of the dead bolt lock the door. Fanny Mae turned and headed down the stairs.