The Girl Who Made Life Worth Living

Chapter 1: At The Base of a Sycamore Tree

Hey!! This is the first book I've ever posted so I'd really appreciate any engagement, especially comments. But go easy on me!
Also note that I may change the name.
Please make sure to read the CW in the book description! Now let's get into it c:

- Erin (author, they/them)

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The time was droning on. First days were always boring, but these Chickenz training videos were especially bad. Finally it was 4:30pm. Finn could leave. But there were 7 more minutes of the last video. He could finish it; show them he's committed to the job. Finn had cycled through so many entry-level jobs in the past 3 years.. anything to help him look better to the boss. He powered through, then closed down the computer and grabbed his bag. On his way out he thanked the staff and clocked out at a register. Today's manager seemed to like him well enough. Maybe he'd be able to work at Chickenz for a good while.

Once outside, Finn took a deep breath and looked around. Then down at his phone. His map app showed a few ways to get home; all a combination of walking and a bus ride. Just like with every new job before, he'd try out each route once and then decide which to regularly take. Today's was straight down the road to his left, past the shopping center and a park, to a bus stop on the corner.

Finn turned to start walking towards the bus stop. It was a cool spring day, but the bright, falling sun made it seem warmer. He focused on the path but couldn't help noticing the families and groups of kids excitedly going places, getting food, and going into shops all around him. It was days like this Finn felt that familiar underlying sense of grief. He wanted to be apart of the happy family he saw through the ice cream shop window. He wanted to laugh with friends like those kids trying skateboard tricks together in the corner. But he hadn't had either for years now.

Finn finally passed the last of the shops. The open, unpopulated space of the park was comforting in contrast to the shopping center scene before it. No more stupid happy families to watch. As he continued down the sidewalk he looked over the park's features; where the trees were placed, where the slope was especially steep, where the different paths went. There were a few people speckled throughout. A couple of men in the distance looked to be fishing at the edge of the small lake connected to the park. Another guy was jogging by. Why he was wearing reflective athletic gear in the sunlight, only he knew. It shined in Finn's eyes which darted away, and onto someone sitting at the base of one of the largest sycamore trees, in the crux of two large roots. A kid or a woman? He couldn't see behind the large notebook in front of their upper body. As he got closer his view improved. A young woman probably. Not actually that small, just thin; a petite-looking frame on a decently-sized human. The notebook dwarfed her, which likely made her look smaller initially. Her lower back was pressed against the tree and her knees were up, with her thighs supporting the notebook. Her shoulders and head were hunched over it so closely her face was entirely blocked. Finn noted her warm brown hair, cut to a blunt bob just below her shoulders. She was wearing a white shirt, baggy blue jeans, and basic black and white vans. A worn out army green canvas backpack was slumped against one of the tree roots beside her. Her left hand looked to be gripping the side of the notebook for dear life. Finn wondered what her face looked like, but that was enough on her. He had slowed down to take her in, but he didn't want to miss the 5:00pm bus. Oh shit, it's already 4:57! He picked up the pace and made it to the corner. As soon as Finn sat down at the bench, he saw the bus making its way down the road towards him. He looked back in the mystery woman's direction as he got on, but the trees blocked his view of her.

Finn wasn't the type to get hung up on someone. He'd had a few girlfriends in high school but they were never that serious. He was like a child then; looking back he was so naive of what life was really like - what it took out of you. Finn wouldn't put effort into someone like that again unless it really meant something. He didn't have the energy or the time to waste.
Although the mystery intrigued him, once he got home he didn't think of the woman again.