Part Two

Epilogue/Chapter Two?
Authors Note;
Now I intend on delving into why Layla is a hermit, how she got there. I feel if I need to adjust the first chapter I can do so with the help of past experiences I will make for her. This will probably be a vague outline of her past and not complete. So, let us begin!

Layla's Past

Four year old Layla sat on the front porch steps of her suburban style home. At her home soda was a necessity and her mother was about to go out to pick some up. She'd be leaving soon. Twiddling her thumbs, her stomach began churning that familiar, nervous churn whenever her mother was going to leave. She could faintly recall her mother leaving, saying she was going to get groceries and being gone for three days to a week. At one point taking a 'grocery trip' that lasted a week.

The door opened suddenly and Layla's bright blue eyes looked lovingly, yet scared, towards her mother. "Hey, sweety! I'll be back in just a little bit, gonna pick up some soda, mmk?" She leaned down and planted a kiss on Layla's forehead and skipped to her '95 Corolla Toyota.

That was the last time Layla ever saw her mother.

After that the years seemed to fade in and out. Her father was still around, though constantly working and barely keeping one bill up to date at a time. At the age of thirteen she delved into the world of pills, drink and pot. Along the way she met a few men who took advantage of her young mind and body.

At the age of nineteen she left a verbally abusive boyfriend and her old life. Money saved since she could start working at fourteen in a ma and pop head shop. A little over $7,000 in the souls of her boots. Along her one year hiking journey she found a small auction and bought a depleted shack and a few acres worth nothing except cheap wood. Over the next five years she worked as the small town's doctor's assistant. Spending many a late night in the local library finding cheap ways and resourceful ways to fix up her cabin and it her own.

copyright V. A. Knowles