There was beauty in simplicity as some would say, this I truly agreed with. I enjoyed a life where morning would be greeted by right warmth of sunlight and wind blowing beyond my windows, the leafy alluring scent of trees and fragrant flowers that clung into the air and when I got up to pull the curtains to the side, my eyes would be pleased at the sight of expansive greenery across my humble home, the trees and shrubs grandfather once planted in his youth which now in its full bloom and being sturdy. Beyond the land there were more trees, meadows and wildflowers—I loved seeing children run around without fear.

The roads were not dense with cars, I could cross them anytime without needing to look left and right warily because I knew I wouldn't get roadkill.

Simple was the best to describe my beloved hometown, small and quaint yet an air of contentment—no hustling, bustling and chasing after time like one would at large districts with towering infrastructures. My third degree relatives would never get tired telling me to move out and find a high-end loft or condo beyond Evergreen, a new job with a higher pay too; to them, this simplicity wasn't enough. To them, what little my hometown had was bad.

I respected their point of views, to each their own.

But I would never leave Evergreen.

I already pictured how my future would be here once Paulo and I graduated.

Romantic and cheesy you may refer to me but I wanted a white picket fence home of our own, a little front yard for my flowers and plants to grow, porch where we could sit, relax and drink coffee in the morning. It was dreamy.

But alas, I should have seen this coming.

It was my fault for being too engrossed with my plans ahead to notice the strangers' shadows approaching from behind.