Thanks to @cherybear13 for the picture of Mikyla above ^

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The cold evening air whipped across Mikyla's face as she continued her pursuit of comfort. Thin tendrils of hair plucked themselves from their confined restraints with each resounding pound of a footsteps and swayed within the wind, gliding on the silent melody of being unbound. On and on Mikyla went, no goal in mind, thinking of nothing except escaping as she ran off; away from her mother, away from her home and hopefully away from all restrictions.

Mikyla ran as fast as she could but with the emotional weight in her heart as well as the physical strain on her arms from the bucket it wasn't long before she slowed to a jog which eventually retired to a slow walk. She looked around her and noticed that everything looked different at night, it looked like a ghost town and with the curfew about to begin in a few minutes, lights started to fade away one by one, plunging everything into a thick blanket shrouded in darkness.

Mikyla watched in wonder as each light slowly went out, like a life snuffed from a candle. Ironic as it may be, this was her worst yet also best part of everyday. It was during the twilight hours that Mikyla's Nana always used to tell her wonderful stories before she would go to bed; stories full of wonder and magic where people travelled to distant land and dimensions. Where ordinary people could become extraordinary and where the poor could instantly become rich in the blink of an eye. She used to tell wonderful stories that could keep one up all night and then into the early hours daydreaming of lost fantasies but no matter how hard Mikyla tries to recall them she only remembers one thing: the night she found out about her Nana being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Nana had been diagnosed for a number of months by the time Mikyla turned eight. She was a strong woman but suddenly one night, Nana awoke screaming and was rushed to the hospital where she was treated immediately. She barely recovered but, when she did, she awoke with her head clouded with amnesia. Nowadays her Nana is a ghost in a shell, a mere shadow of what she used to be. She hardly talks, eats or even moves and the doctors fear for another outbreak of dementia. Nonetheless, buried deep within the sea of trauma is a vivid memory, the only one strong enough that keeps Mikyla's vision of her Nana alive. The only memory that wards off the haunting screams that echo in the dark crevices of her mind.

* Flashback *

"Have I ever told you?" Nana asks with her kind raspy old voice.

"Told me what Nana?" Mikyla asked curiously. It was just before bedtime, Mikyla's favorite part of the day where her Nana would always tell her a story full of wonder.

Nana chuckled a little before letting out a small fit of dry coughs, "Are you okay Nana?"

"I'm fine child, don't you worry a thing about your old Nana." She replied with a small smile, showing off all the wrinkles of what she would describe as proof of the happy times, "Tonight I want to tell you something important."

"Another story of your past?" Mikyla asked excitedly.

Nana scratched her chin lightly at where a few thin wispy hairs protruded from. "Not quite, but it's something you should remember." She answered with her mouth pulled down at the corners and with a distant look.

* End of flashback *

At the time Mikyla merely thought that her Nana was tired but as she reflects on the past she wonders if her Nana knew that the time had come. Mikyla's eyes start to water slightly and she digs her nails into her palms which only makes the situation worse. She was a giant mess. What happened to the confident Mikyla that stood up for others? What happened to that bright ray of sunshine that was deterred by nothing? Mikyla sniffs hard and wipes her puffy red eyes. What was she crying for? She had to be strong like Nana was, no, like Nana is. She wouldn't let something like this pull her down, after all Nana wouldn't have wanted this and although she had no memories of Mikyla left, she was still alive.

* Continue flashback *

"What is it, Nana?" Mikyla inquired again.

"A little impatient, are we?" Nana kindly chastised while running a hand through Mikyla's long black locks.

"No Nana, I'm just really interested."

"Hmm, I see... You remind me a lot of myself when I was young with my Nana. If I remember correctly, it was a starry night like this that she told me what I'm about to tell you." Mikyla nudged in closer to her Nana to make sure she didn't miss anything, "Do you see all those stars up there Mikyla?"

Mikyla nods as she stares at the stars through the window behind her.

"Do you know what they are?"

Mikyla shakes her head.

"Well, some people say that they are just like our sun but very far away so they don't hurt our eyes when we look at them but in our culture we say they are the spirits of those who have passed on and that whenever we are lost they are there to guide us."

"But can't compasses do that for us?"

"Yes child they can but we believe that the stars not only guide us when we are spatially lost but more importantly when we are lost here." Nana says bringing her hand towards her heart.

"Oh." Mikyla mouths to which her Nana laughs loudly.

"It looks like you're still too young to understand yet, however, one day you will. One day you will."

* End of flashback *

"What should I do now Nana?" Mikyla whispered as she looked up at the stars, "What should I do?"

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in a cluster of stars and Mikyla thought that maybe her ancestors were looking out for her and that her life would finally turn out for the better. As she continued to stare in awe she felt something deep well up inside of her and wondered what this feeling was. She tried to figure it out and eventually realized it was... -disappointment.

The bright light flashed again and then again but each time it only got further away. It wasn't a star or a bird or superman and it definitely wasn't her ancestor. Instead, it was a giant hunk of flying aluminum, in other words; a plane. Mikyla felt her heart shatter into a million pieces and felt a compelling urge just to run again. Run as far away as possible. Run to the far edges of thr world. Somewhere, anywhere but there and as if subconsciously, she found herself somewhere where she had never been before. A different side of town.

Puzzled by her new surroundings Mikyla breathed in the cool night air to calm her nerves. Her arms and legs shook from fatigue and she remembered it had been a long time since she had run so much without anything to slow her down. She was used to running to the bus late with a heavy bag on her back, used to running in the school hallways with a pile of books in her hands and used to running in the cafeteria with a plate of food to escape from the scornful eyes of the lunch matron. Now she was free from any physical burden but the one in her heart was still as heavy as it has ever been.

Unbeknownst to even herself, Mikyla's body had dragged her towards the mouth a narrow alleyway. She cast a quick glance to her surroundings before shrugging. Every bit of netter knowledge warned her against the signals propelled towards her legs but she had had enough of rational thinking, enough of the laws of society, enough of the shoulds and musts. As the shadows swallowed her corporeal form she felt a wave of ease wash over her like a raging tsunami of peace. The feeling was refreshing to say the least and as Mikyla shifted her weight against the wall behind her she started to comprehend that she had finally got what she wanted. A place where she could be alone.

Blinking her eyes in euphoric satisfaction Mikyla slowly painted her gaze qcross the dusty red bricks and felt the pang her chest return in realisation of having let her guard down too soon. She should have known. Even in the outskirts of society where her kind has been forced to live, the unescapable truth is still graffitied with prejudiced artwork, as deeply engraved into the crimson stones as it is into the roots of her culture. As she fixed her eyes on each painting, Mikyla wondered how something so collective could turn out to be so individual.  They were all the same yet different in their own aspect, different in the way people designed them, different in the message they told. On the surface none of them alluded to the false sense of modern slavery yet the nature in which they are depicted shows shallow restraints; the evidence of subtle indoctrination. Whilst Mikyla resumed her angry glares at the blasphemy before her she couldn't help but wonder why is it that the same people would restrict each other? Why would they brand them like items in a supermarket but make other things so unique? Why do people have to be so discriminative?

Mikyla felt herself slipping, slipping into the abyss of her own mind as well as down the alleyway wall until she was crouching down against it. She felt herself getting smaller and smaller as she tucked her knees close to her chest yet although she made herself smaller to the predator which is society, she couldn't help but feel all the more secure. She felt something she had never felt before. Privacy. One thing she had never had since birth and now that she had obtained it she didn't know what to do. It was almost laughable. This was something Mikyla had been searching for throughout her entire life but now that she'd found it she was lost.

Whilst Mikyla didn't know what to do her body certainly did. Without further warning tears started to stream down her face and her body was racked with sobs. She cried out into the night and it itself joined her with the occasional rumble of thunder as if shouting out against the unfairness of society. Mikyla let out all of her feelings she had been bottling up for years, let out all of her frustration and anger as the sky slowly darkened. It started raining again but she didn't care. As long as she could be herself she didn't mind getting wet, soaked or even drenched. Her dark hair, now fully untangled, fell against her face and her shaggy clothes sagged around her. Her eyes became red and puffy and she held her head down. It wasn't even the worst day of her life, the news she received prior made sure of that. Nonetheless, she couldn't imagine her curent predicament getting any worse than it already was but she just had to jinx it didn't she?

"Mikyla?" A voice called out from the end of the alleyway.

Mikyla abruptly stopped crying and hunched her shoulders. She was caught.

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Word Count for Chapter 2: 1905
Total Word Count: 3338

Authors note:

And that's it for the reupload of an UNEDITED chapter 2. Don't forget to press on those magical stars to light up Mikyla's future path and leave a comment telling me what you like so far or what you don't like. Thanks for reading so far.

Happy reading
~ Dracollavenore