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Kai wasn't lying to me, the house I was going to stay in for a few days was indeed made up of mirrors. The old man was kind but I can't trust people. It's not that I don't want to, but it's that I want it so much I'm scared to mess it up. By now in case my mother had reported my missing report the officers would have begun searching for me. I can't go back, which would only lead to the prophecies turning into reality. The old man smiled softly towards me as he watered his plants. 

"Where are you from?"

"Ash Ville"

"So you escaped from your home?" I looked at him but his expressions were still. He looked at me, waiting for my reply. He was already thinking so deeply of all the possible answers and how he was going to converse further. 

"I left my house so that a prophecy doesn't come true. I know it might sound incoherent to you or even may consider me insane for believing in such theories." 

"It is your belief that will be life for you, for then you can scale problems up and down to bring optimal outcomes. It's your belief and I am no one to judge you. Insanity can be sanity if you do it right and keep all your intellect intact." And as the hours go by it becomes the best conversation I've ever had too, it flows, with listening and intelligent responses. 

After taking a nap, I decided to roam around the place. The old man, that's how I referred him as he had forgotten his name, decided to sleep some more as he was tired of working more than his daily routine. 

I went to a cafe which served cheap beverages. The ambience of the cafe, its homey aroma, draws my soul into its cocoon for a few blessed moments. My mind drifts to the night when I escaped from my home. I knew for a long time that I would have to do this one day. Still, it wasn't a simple task as I thought it would be. Before leaving, I went to my mother's room. She wasn't in her room, which helped me to take a few bunches of money from her shelf. She was a pretty blonde woman, with some baby fat on her cheeks. She rarely smiled and  always had a stern expression put upon her face. She wasn't like that when I was a kid, not until my father left our family. That night, in that room I found a picture of my childhood along with a girl who looked a few years older than me playing by the seashore. The picture had contrary emotions than the present day. The carefree, happy me was lost and could be only seen in memories. 

A girl wearing a white crop top with ripped dark blue cotton jeans with a denim overcoat walked into the cafe. Her hair was messed up while she didn't put on makeup on her face. The girl was deep in thought, journeying through some creative stream only she could sense. She's undeniably beautiful, nose so freckled and her bangs overlapping her black orbs. Her smile was warm with a hint of shyness. Placing her order at the counter she sat next to me.

"Boy with the backpack, right?" She said, tilting her head slightly. "I saw you on the bus last night." she continued. I just nod my head and continue sipping my beverage. 

"You must be in your eighteen. When I was about your age, I had escaped my house just like you." 

"How do you know that?" She simply pointed at my backpack. "A normal boy of your age would choose to roam around freely down the lanes rather than carrying burden over their shoulder. When I was about your age, I ran away from my house to follow my dreams. My parents weren't supportive then, nor are they supportive now about me making a career in music. Never mind, what's your reason for the great escape?" 

"I didn't escape. I have just come to explore this place." I lied. She pursed her lips and nodded her head agreeing to me despite the fact knowing that it wasn't the truth. 

"Well, I am Haley but you can refer to me as Hope. What's your name?"She questioned.

"Levi." 

"I can bet that's not your real name." She laughed off. Taking a pen from her purse, she scribbled down something on a chit. 

"If you need help, you can contact me. Do not indulge in any illegal stuff." She said with a constant smile and left the cafe, taking her order. She lacked the guile and complexity like others, what you saw was what she was. 

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