Less Cold, Colder (open)
Apr 7, 2011 1:58:16 GMT -5
Post by jimmylost on Apr 7, 2011 1:58:16 GMT -5
Crystal Smith:
He had left the window open to cool the room off. It had gotten that warm. It had gotten so warm the snow was melting into the little underground room creating a permanent puddle where old water damage stains had rested. Crystal had started cleaning them as well with a heavy heart because she knew it meant she had to leave. She had found this place when the weather started getting unbearably cold, an animal instinct had driven her toward the warm smell of laundry. She knew some of the better gyms had uniforms that where cleaned by the workers of the gym, these where the kind of gyms Crystal would have never been let in. How times change.
That night nearly two moths back she had thought she was going to die. She hadn't expected the sudden cold snap in the middle of the night and could already recognize the early signs of hypothermia when she set out to find someplace warm. Not too easy on the streets. The last thing she remembered she fell in through the the basement window into the laundry room and landing square into a pile of freshly dried clothes passed out instantly. When she woke up that morning she had every intention of just leaving and moving on like she always did but the freezing wind flying in through the window she had left open changed her mind. Putting off leaving the building she began going through the clothes around her.
A week later she was still there, something of a silent agreement had been reached between her and the aging man who worked for the gym. He would pretend like he didn't see her obviously hiding behind sheets and doors when he walked in before she left for the day, and she would clean whatever he hadn't gotten to that day. It had been so long since she had a warm bed, even if hers was nothing more then a pile of clothes she didn't want to give it up. She was no fool though, she was ready to leave after that week. Then she was hit with the worst cold she had ever had, coughing, shivering, wheezing. She spent days hidden under the piles of clothes sure she was just going to die. Every day she stayed longer she kept her unspoken promise and dragged herself through her 'chores'.
She had gotten through it but afterward she was hesitant to immediately go on her way. She told herself that as soon as the weather began to warm she would move on. She stared at the water dripping in through the window for a few seconds, this winter had been almost like having a home again. She pulled herself out through the small space the only thing weighing her down being the pockets full of change and small objects she had collect from the career pockets. Those objects where another reminder that she never had noble intents coming here, first priority was survival and it always would be. She didn't look back as she re-entered her life as a girl on the streets of District One.
First stop was the pawn shop to get what she could for her winter long collection of unwashable nick-knacks. She walked right in keeping her head down and waiting her turn. She only looked up when she felt a pair of eyes on her.
