Chapter 1 – Carnations & Foreclosure 

Harp strings played as the mass of veils, and sad suits gathered paying their respects. 

  

In the corner, a young woman sat with a sketch book, her tears like ink blots on a lonely canvas. Relatives from each corner of the globe had attended and paid their respects. Most of these cousins, aunties, and uncles had never called or visited before today. Patina Garcia thanked each relation who came over to console her. The crowd dispersed to the reception and Patina gave the urns that held the ashes of both grandparents a kiss before turning out the lights. On the chair she had been sitting on was a sketchpad with portraits of both her grandparents. The white light from the windows beamed down on it as the door closed over. 

  

Patina chose to skip the reception, she detested crowds and her family got boisterous when alcohol was added to the equation. She was staying at her aunt's house, since the accident she had struggled with being alone. The house her grandparents had been residing in was a massive cottage surrounded by pine trees with a lakefront. She had lived there her whole life, her father had kidnapped her from the hospital, and left her on the porch, the same porch her twenty-three-year-old self was standing on now. She turned the key in the lock. She held back her tears as the image of her grandmothers smiling face flashed from the kitchen. They were the only relatives she truly felt loved by. Patina's aunt meant well but she was too controlling, and manipulative for her taste. It really only dawned on Patina as she sat at the empty kitchen table how alone she was now. 

  

She spent days drifting; her body was like a pair of handcuffs holding her into the waters of despair. Patina went between crying to inexplicable rage, where she would throw pillows, scream at the air and hit things until her fists bled. She couldn't remember the last shower she had taken. Patina dragged herself away from her fort of pillows and blankets, the fresh air was a hug to her lungs. She put on a vest and some shorts before going to the bathroom.  

  

  

Patina had a shower before having a long cry, and rant session in the bathroom. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she decided to face the day. She trudged through the hallway; her stomach growled. After days of starvation with only water Patina was ready to have a bowl of cereal. She turned on the coffee maker, and noticed a stack of letters atop of the microwave. Her concern grew when she saw one with angry red ink stamped across it. She ripped the top off unravelling it. The letter was from the bank, according to them, her grandfather had defuncted on his mortgage payments, and as a result the bank was now foreclosing the house. Patina stumbled back sliding down the fridge. Her body racked with tears once again, she scrunched up the letter throwing it across the room. Patina huddled into herself letting the pain whisk her into nothingness. 

  

  

The leaves were falling on the day the bank had sold the house. Two agents had been sent to clear out the place. Patina tried to save the house, she did fundraise, and negotiation but that hadn't been enough. She walked through the hallways, and rooms, a bittersweet feeling bubbled in her gut as the memories of her childhood flooded her mind. An agent was in toe turning off each light as she left. Patina got to her old room and packed away her belongings into a duffel bag, she was a minimalist so there wasn't a lot to pack. The art supplies she owned went in last, along with any important documents. She put on her bag clenching the straps as she let a tear fall before turning off the light and giving the door frame a gently rub before leaving. 

  

Patina found herself waiting in a massive line at the homeless shelter. She pushed her hair back behind her ear glancing back at the other people flooding in. The secretary was unfit, balding and stamping each document before shouting another number. When his back was turned Patina glared at him. Even the man's posture rubbed her the wrong way, he slouched, and hung his shoulders. The annoying secretary's voice rang out "Number Thirty-four!" she growled, that was her number so stomped over to the reception. 

  

  

After spending the day at the shelter, she left. The food sucked and the place was too cramped. Patina had seen a newspaper dispenser earlier on, before going to the homeless shelter. She retraced her steps before finding the newspaper dispenser, inserting a quarter, and retrieving a newspaper. The newspaper had a few cafés listed but they were out of walking distance. One café in particular, caught her attention though, it was called the "Green Café", and was only a couple of streets away. She put the newspaper under her arm before heading in the direction of the café. 

  

Patina arrived outside of the café narrowly avoiding being run over by a taxi. The sign that said "The Green Café" was large, and bold. She opened the door, and stepped inside. The café was larger than she had expected it to be, the chairs had leaf green leather with square oak tables. There was a bar at the bottom of the room, where two waiters were rushing around. She lowered her duffel bag onto the chair closest to the door. She had watched enough night line to know that some criminals create pop up businesses as a ruse to kidnap women, and children so she wasn't about to risk it. The waiter approached her table placing a tray filled with gummy bears, blue raspberry, and rainbow stripes down onto the table. 

  

She ordered "I will have a cheese pizza with animal fries and a coffee please." The waiter scribbled down her order before tending to the next table. She took a blue raspberry and sniffed the thing before eating it.  She took a couple more, a few minutes later she started to sweat profusely as her eyes dilated. Her soul fell from her body with only the etheric bond they shared connecting them. Her soul floated away; her body lay asleep in the chair. 

  

Patina saw a dark shape in the light, her bloodshot eyes were hurting as her body started feeling heavy. Voices that had felt like a whisper before were assaulting her ears now as she pushed her eyes open. Standing before her was the waiter from earlier, he was smirking, and licking his crusty lips. She felt her mind clear. This clarity was quickly replaced by rage as her memories returned. She kicked the creepy waiter who was now towering over her in the groin before slapping him across the face. "The show is over buddy, next time you drug people at least tell them first! Or you might find your testicles hanging from a power line." She whispered the last part. The waiter groaned as he rolled around the floor. She collected her bag, and left the premises. 

  

  

Patina made her way to the public housing building, and prayed that they would have something for her. At present, there were no available houses in the city. In the meantime, she had managed to rent a bedroom from a family. In exchange, for food and reduced rent she had to clean, babysit their five young children and watch the house while the parents were at work.  

  

  

Weeks had passed and Patina was currently being used as a human jungle gym by Mark; a two-year-old menace who was in the process of the terrible twos. She was in the middle of scraping out a burnt burrito that had fused to the microwave when the phone rang. She knew it was Georgina, since she usually called around this time when she had an update. She answered the phone crushing it against her ear. Mark pulled on her kakis so she peeled him off trying to dissuade his bad behaviour. Once, the call had concluded she put down the phone before she punched the air grinning from ear to ear as the scraper snapped sending the burrito tumbling to the ground. 

  

  

Gingerly Patina twisted the key in the door. Upon entering she noticed that the hallway had been freshly painted. The house was great, considering that it was public housing but the last couple almost burnt the house down during an argument. Speaking of conflict, she needed to pick up her outfit from the cleaners later since she had a shift this afternoon. She grumbled at the thought. Working at the Bikini bar did pay well but the number of tasks she had piled onto her made her want to torch the place. A knock came at her door, breaking Patina from her gloomy reverie. She answered the door, and was surprised to find a woman standing before her with a coffee maker. 

"Hello, I'm Sandra, I live across the street there-" she pointed behind her back to the bigger house across the street with a swing, and some grass surrounding it. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Sandra." Patina interrupted before taking the coffee maker, and walking into the kitchen with Sandra following. 

She took the coffee maker so abruptly to stop her hands shaking. Anxiety flared as she put the device onto the counter before smiling at Sandra.  

"I don't mean to get too personal girl, but you look like a deer in headlights. Chill." She nodded unclenching her hands. 

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've never been the best with people." Sandra smiled, before both of them jumped when a bang came from outside followed by someone swearing. They looked at each other before bursting into laughter. 

  

  

Life settled into a relaxed cycle of work, she sat with a tub of caramel mocha ice cream, and looked at different Bothies. She discovered as she was scrolling that there was a Bothy up for sale, the owners were selling the Bothy in order to save their town from being demolished by the high-speed rail service that the government decided to build there. She looked at the price and cringed. It was forty thousand pounds. She decided to check her bank account and dropped her spoon at what she saw. Sixty-five thousand dollars appeared in her account. She swallowed the remnants of her icy treat putting it onto the coffee table as she stared at the screen. "Reality check Patina, I should call the bank." she told herself grinning before she sprinted from the couch.  

  

  

Patina only had a short amount of time to get her affairs in order before she left the country. The hardest part so far had been telling Sandra since they had become good friends in their time together. Then, there was contacting all of the relevant people like the bank, and public housing agency. Sandra had bought her a coffee maker as a goodbye gift. Patina laughed her ass off at the irony, but amongst the cheer was the sadness of finality. She handed in her letter of resignation. The level of satisfaction she felt when her uptight, and ungrateful bosses face became as pale as those ridiculous white sole designer loafers he loved to wear so much was priceless. 

  

The last day in the house was quiet, she finished up every loose end. She packed her bag with the few belongings she owned, and paused when she grabbed a picture of her grandparents. Patina looked away biting her lip before tucking the picture into her bag. 

  

She left the keys on the table. A beautiful life in Scotland awaited her past the city, and into the horizon.