Molded

45: Starting Anew

As the landlady led you to the small room on the second floor. She was right, it was disgusting, even thought it had been cleared of all items.

Bum lived in... this? Absolutely rancid. I can't believe I was able to keep the house clean with someone so messy living there. You thought to yourself.

"I know, it's pretty bad. But I do have plenty of supplies for you to clean it. Follow me back downstairs and I'll show you where I keep everything. You'll need to know anyway for cleaning up around the complex." She turned around and walked back downstairs. Obediently, you followed behind her. Eventually, through multiple twists and turns, you arrived in front of a door labeled "Utility Closet".

"Well... this is it. I'm sure you'll become very familiar with it in the next few weeks. Trash bags, vacuum, mop and bucket, you name it, it's in here. There's also a lot of different chemicals in here, so be sure to read the instructions. Always open the windows, as well. The smell can get overwhelming." the landlady continued talking, but you were getting more and more tired. "Oh my, you looked absolutely run down..."

"Gi-ae." You figured that you never properly introduced yourself. "Goo, Gi-ae."

"Goo... Goo... Goo... Where do I remember that from?" She muttered to herself.

This was your first mistake. You should've made up a last name. You knew that you were classified as missing. Now all you could do hope she didn't come up with the right answer.

"Ah, such an old lady brain. Anyway, let's go pick up some sheets, blankets, clothes and pillows for you from my room and then you can just relax the rest of the day. I'm not so heartless that I'd make you work after this."

Nodding, you went and collected the multitude of fabrics. As you marched back up to your new room, you tried to convince yourself that cleaning the room would happen first thing in the morning but you felt like sleeping for the next week. Stepping into the room, you realized cleaning was going to have to be prioritized to this moment because there was no way you could sleep with this stench.

Step one: flip the mattress. There was not much you could do about it right now, seeing as you wanted to sleep on it. That meant hiding the stains. Unfortunately, it was a double bed and you weren't incredibly strong, so it took you more than a few minutes to finally flip it.

Step two: sheets on everything. This was quick and went without incidence.

Step three: open the windows and turn the ceiling fan on. Anything to get rid of the smell. As you did this, you found the bathroom. Beyond disgusting. You were going to have to clean that ASAP, but you had done everything that was absolutely necessary for you to at least get a few hours of sleep.

So that's what you did. You laid down on the old, stained mattress, that was covered by plain, white sheets. You didn't have the energy to change into the old pajamas you were given. Instead, you laid down, closed your eyes and drifted into a dream of happier times.