City Lights

A dim orange glow was cast across the room of Magda Chambers' bedroom. Her tiny portable television was playing that evening's episode of Hollyoaks, though the volume was low, so whatever drama was going on in the characters lives couldn't be heard. She was the only one in the house, she didn't know why she was tiptoeing around as if someone would catch her.

Outside the air was like ice. The ground was soaked from the rain that had poured that afternoon. A few light snowflakes drifted down, catching Magda's eye. She sighed heavily and looked out at the navy sky, the empty street and the orange street lamp standing tall across the road. She'd be out there soon, freezing to death.

Looking around her bedroom, she nodded. She walked over to the small black suitcase that was sitting on top of her bed. It was open, fit to burst with her essential possessions. Well, maybe they weren't all essential, but they'd be much needed and wanted. She zipped it up, making sure all her clothes were stuffed inside. She dragged it off the bed and placed it on the floor, pulling the handle up, ready to transport it down the stairs.

Her brown eyes scanned the room one final time, before she nodded again, her gaze landing on the pile of white envelopes, each one addressed to her. She swallowed hard. Just looking at them made her feel like a failure. Every university had rejected her. She'd failed herself and her parents. They said it didn't matter, but Magda knew it did.

This was it, rejection had fueled her to do this. It was the reason she'd purchased a train ticket, the reason she'd stuffed as many clothes as possible in a suitcase and was the reason she was leaving without a trace.

She struggled with her suitcase down the carpeted steps and into the hall. She flicked the light switch, darkening the landing upstairs and the staircase. She slipped her feet into her worn Converse and pulled her coat on, buttoning it up to the top, ready to brave the cold.

Her keys jangled as she picked them up and unlocked the front door. She stepped out into the cold, locking the door behind her and pushing her keys through the letterbox. She wouldn't need them for a while.

"Hey, Mads," a familiar voice echoed from the top of the drive. Magda spun around to see her best friend standing at the top of it, her own suitcase packed beside her. "Ready to go?"

Magda took one last look at the house standing before her, nodding her head. "Yeah. Let's go."

This was it. She was leaving Sheffield, and everything and everyone in it.