All Chapters of GONE ASTRAY: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

FLOWER markets were a nightmare this time of year.There was a horde of people in every direction, and everyone was struggling to buy last minute baskets and bouquets and garlands… all for people who won’t even be there to see the florals arranged beautifully for them.Akira looked down on the basket of white lilies on her lap before gazing out the window, attention caught by an old lady silently watching a bucket of flowers get sold from the corner. She had her hands on her back, observing the vendors near her like a teacher watching students during an exam.As the car slowly rolled forward, Akira’s gaze dropped down to the old lady’s bare feet. They were swollen, blackened, from the ankles to the toe tips covered in severe gangrene. Akira squinted and could faintly see through the old woman’s body, as if the elder was made of parchment every time the sun hit her skin.“Everything okay?” Gian asked when he saw A

MOST people were at work on weekdays.Gian was no exception; he left for work this morning while Akira reviewed and edited a shoot from home.It started as a simple hobby, until photography became the course of education for Akira. She enjoyed it so much that she practically had to beg her parents for it (they wanted her to major in accounting), invested in it, practiced it, graduated with a degree in arts, and worked several gigs with other jobs on the side so she could move to the city and qualify for a small savings account.When she decided to begin treating photography as a serious source of income, Akira barely got booked and it was extremely difficult financially and mentally. Here she was, living in a cheap crammed dorm with nothing but a single professional camera, a laptop she had been using since college, and a constantly throbbing head thanks to her obnoxious roommates.Akira’s dream of thriving in her craft hung by a thread and she wrac

AKIRA was torn whether or not showing the article to Tonya was a smart thing to do, but the dark side won.If Akira’s senses were right, Tonya would react the same way Akira did when she first read about it.“I was shocked too, but then I was laughing.” Akira grinned. The younger woman half expected that Tonya would cry or curse or leave.To her delight, the older woman burst out in teary laughter – the kind of laughter that made Tonya press her hands against her stomach. She couldn’t even read it with a straight face.It was her ex-husband on the article, hospitalized after the woman he cheated on Tonya with, cut his genitals off because she caught him with another woman in bed.“That’s so horrible but so funny at the same time.” Tonya giggled, catching her breath as she wiped her eyes. “Another woman? At his age? Really?”“He’s fortunate that she used a knife. Straight

RINGING in Akira’s ear was the cash register’s unlocking signal, next to the sharp clinking of coins as the next shift began. She hurriedly shoved her things in the bag and pocketed her phone before turning to her coworker Nathaniel – or Nathan – who just walked in, fresh in his uniform. “Boring night?” he asked, and Akira responded with a tiny shrug while she handed Nathan the keys of the convenience store. “Sort of.” Akira let out an uncomfortable laugh and then her eyes glazed over the racks at the back of the counter. “A few call-center people, drunk people, just-came-from-a-wake people… the usual.” “Hey, I know you can see and hear me!” the stray beside her interrupted. He was talking and screaming and whining non-stop, and Akira’s head began to ache. Of the short shift she worked in this 7-Eleven, it sure felt like a thousand days with this tireless, lost soul. Shut up, shut up, shut up! “’Just-came-from

TOSSING and turning in bed was what Akira did most of the night. Gian, sweet and supportive as he is, tried to stay up with her for as long as he could. Near 4:00am, they were still telling stories about how their individual days went and it took Akira’s mind off of strays effectively. Under normal circumstances, any other long-term couple like Akira and Gian would end the day like this: talking about what happened with them while they were apart. Indeed, very normal, very long-term… except theirs happened during ungodly hours on Thursdays and Fridays. This is Akira’s favorite part of being in a stable, sane, relationship. Not the dates, or the sparkle, or the grand gestures, but the boring. She loved that Gian and her could be so into each other that their plain conversations and watching television and homemade dinners were a hundred percent satisfying to the heart and soul. Perhaps it’s the eye that made her crave whatever normal is, for y