The night before her bus departed, Sharon could hardly sleep. She lay awake imagining what her new life might look like.
Would she finally feel at home somewhere? Would the haunting loneliness that had followed her since childhood finally release its grip?
As the first light of dawn peeked through her window, Sharon said goodbye to the only place she had ever known. She steadied her nerves and headed to the bus station, ready to greet her new life.
Sharon boarded the bus to New York with Brandon's smile still lingering in her mind. She didn't know what lay ahead, but she was ready to find out.
The bus ride was long and tiring, but Sharon's excitement kept her energized. She watched the landscape change outside her window as they traveled from the flat lands of Illinois to the rolling
