> Beep beep beep< The morning alarm went. It was currently six am and the sun was just peaking over the horizon. The alarm clock slowly got louder and louder.
"Damnit Bradford why do you have the alarm set so early?" Ciceria yawned. She rolled over in an attempt to hit Bradford but ended up hitting an empty bed. The alarm topped out at its loudest annoying setting.
"Huh where'd you go?" She questioned. Next to the alarm sat a little note with Ciceria's name scratched on the front. It read: I left your clothes out on the couch. I hope you don't mind I pressed them. There is some breakfast sitting on the stove feel free to take what you want. About last night don't think this means we are hooking up I just didn't want you out in the cold getting sick. Oh and don't be late for work.
-Bradford
Ciceria crumbled up the note and tossed it in the corner of the room. After a few moments of sitting in silence looking out the window she had gotten out of bed. After she shut the alarm off the place sounded extremely quiet.
Ciceria made her way out into the living room. As the note had said her clothes were laid out on the couch and breakfast was indeed on the stove. She picked up her clothes and walked back into the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her. She sat down at the edge of the bed and began to cry. Ciceria wanted nothing more than to be there for Bradford, even though she really only met him yesterday. Years ago she had been through something similar.
It was an early Monday morning; the sun just rose over the horizon. The sea breeze brought in a fresh sea salt smell. Ciceria was just beginning to rise out of bed. Today was the day she was going on a beach trip with her friends. No one would have ever thought that an earthquake would strike.
At the first sign of the earthquake Ciceria and her friends just brushed it off, small tremors happened all the time. So they continued to swim and play at the beach. The second sign of the earthquake was the same, just another tremor.
They decided that they would stay a while longer and build themselves a fire. They exchanged laughs and stories of times they hung out. That's when the mother earthquake hit.
The ground shook with an emphasized force. Everyone immediately made for the car. Ciceria's house was the closest so that's where they decided to go, but the earthquake had proven to be too much. Cracks in the road made it too hard for the car to drive.
They were unlucky when they got to Ciceria's house. Cracks around the house had caused it to sink several feet down into the ground. Ciceria jumped out of the car and ran to the edge of the creator. Johnny her closest friend stopped her from jumping in after her family.
"Let me go damn it. My family is in there." Ciceria cried.
"It's too late for them. Look the house it's already falling in on itself."
"No just let me go I can save them." The tears began to roll down her face. "No... why them...tell me god...why!" She screamed to the sky.
But that wasn't the only tragedy to happen.
Hours later most of the town was engulfed by the earthquake. Ciceria had lost everything her house, family, and soon enough her friends. Losing her family drove her into an endless disparity. She pushed away those who only tried to comfort her. That's when she moved to Japan. There she secluded herself, keeping herself from any form of interaction.
It was Mr. Fugasaki that brought her back to society. He offered her a position on the team next to his daughter, hoping that it would ease her decision. Ciceria wanted nothing more than to be left alone, but eventually she began to run out of money.
She kept the thought of his offer in her head but never actually took it up. She did a couple of odd jobs at the dock which she absolutely hated, but it was money to keep her living. She put in a request to work at the local coffee shop, but was turned down due to her gloomy attitude.
She had hit close to rock bottom. Nothing to her name but the crappy little apartment she lived in. One night, sitting alone in her apartment, it hit her. I have to hide this agony if I ever want to live again, and that's just what she did. The next morning, she got rid of it all, everything that reminded her of her past life in America. Ciceria was beginning to turn her life back around.
In the afternoon she went to the local barber and had her hair cut and dyed. It was a beautiful red and cut just above the shoulders. It made her happy to see herself again in the mirror. A whole new wardrobe was in check so she went shopping. A couple of dresses, jeans, shirts, other girly things, and a lamp to help brighten up her apartment.
She showered and dawned one of her new dresses. She walked over to her broken mirror and looked at herself.
"I am happy." She told herself, but it wasn't the things she had bought that made her happy, it wasn't the job she was about to get at the coffee shop, it was the thought that she was finally getting her life back together.
Ciceria spent a couple years at the coffee shop when overheard a couple talking about the accident at Mr. Fugasaki's gaming company. Speak of the devil, Mr. Fugasaki walked through the front door. He had been to the coffee shop many times before to ask Ciceria to join but this time was different. When he asked her to join, this time it sounded like he really needed her, and so she said yes.
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