Leaving home was undoubtedly the hardest thing I had ever had to do. I had always tried to imagine what it would be like and how I would get to say goodbye to both my parents. I had always thought that it would have been a joyous occasion, something for my parents to celebrate and be proud of.

I had imagined that I would've had the most beautiful Glow surrounding me. I had spent many sleepless nights wondering what my path would like and where it would lead me. Above all, I thought I would be happier.

It was not. In fact, 'Happy' was the last word I would use to describe what I experienced. The last few moments I spent with my mother were stressful, tense and sad. I essentially had to sneak out of my house, avoid my father and not be seen by anyone.

My mother said she would tell anyone who asked that I was so unbelievably excited that I left almost immediately. It was common for many people to do this, to be so consumed with the thrill of excitement and wanderlust that they wasted no time in leaving their homes.

However, there was one definitive moment that changed everything for me. It was something I had always preferred to not think about. or me, I knew that this would always be the hardest part of leaving. It was called 'The Dissolution of Familial Relationships'.

Essentially, my mother had to cut all familial ties with me before I left home. The Leaders said that this would help us leave the past behind when moving on with our new journey. As if their policies were not flawed enough. This was what I had the biggest issue with, again, why did it have to be this way? What were The Leaders so afraid of?

That was not the only thing weighing on my mind. My mother had bent the rules. Hell, she had twisted and broken the rules for all I knew. What was going to happen to her if The Leaders found out? What would happen to my family?

I closed my eyes and squeezed them tightly shut to prevent more tears from slipping out. Thinking back to he last moments I had had with my mother reminded me of her painful last words.

"Goodbye Mother", I said solemnly.

She turned away from me. Purposefully avoiding making eye contact with me.

"Goodbye Giana. It was a pleasure raising you", she whispered softly.

After what seemed like hours, she lifted her head and her eyes met mine. I knew what was coming next and I dreaded every second leading up to it.

"My name is Anura A, I have fulfilled my duty as Mother to you, I wish you all the best on the rest of your journey", she said.

Her expression was made of stone, her face appeared to be frozen solid. She did not move or utter another word to me.

I turned and began the unsteady climb out of my bedroom window, with nothing but the duffel bag she had given me on my back. I swung my left leg out of the window and balanced myself on the windowsill. I stared up into her sorrowful eyes.

"Good luck", she mouthed.

I swung my second leg over the ledge and looked back into my room for the last time.

It was empty.

I had barely been away from Home for five minutes before I had to stop, sit down and gather my thoughts. I found a secluded pathway which I am almost certain led to The Forest Sector. I checked that no one was around before breathing a sigh of relief. I needed a plan. I knew I was getting nowhere if I kept holding onto the past.

I remembered the duffel bag my mother, Anura - I did not even know what to call her anymore - had given me. I reached behind me and pulled it off my back. I pulled the zipper open and peered inside at its contents.

I smiled at the silver packaging filled with all of my belongings. At least I'd always have the memory of that with my Mother. I realised that I actually had no clue what else my mother had given me in the duffel bag. I tried rummaging through the contents, but there was way too many unidentifiable objects in there. I tried to figure them out for a few more minutes before eventually giving up and spilling the entire contents of the bag onto the damp ground.

I had always worked better this way. I started analysing the contents of the bag to see what I could recognise and what I could not. It took at least five minutes to sort through everything. Once I had finished this, I started picking up each object to try to determine what it was.

The first thing that caught my eye was a rolled piece of parchment-like paper. It was yellowed and burnt around the edges. It was rolled into a small coil and held together by a red and gold adorned ribbon. I slowly unravelled the ribbon and unrolled the parchment. I gingerly pulled the sides of the paper outwards to reveal its contents.

It was a map. It had about a dozen different routes scrawled upon in it black ink but there was one that stood out. It was a long, curved line depicted in bright red ink. I was fascinated by this because not only was the line bright red and mesmerising, it also seemed to move. A thought suddenly popped into my head, and my curiosity got the better of me.

I quickly repacked the contents of the duffel bag except for the map and swung it onto my shoulders. I carefully picked up the map keeping a very close eye on the bright red line and took a step forward. As if by magic, the red line on the map turned green and began to emit a faint glow. I knew enough about all things to do with Glows to know that green was definitely a good sign.

I began to take another a step forward but at the last moment instinctively changed direction and took a step to the right. The Glow became brighter. I smiled, finally some good fortune had come my way and given the day I had had, it could not have come at a better time.

But the map would not foresee what came next.