"Her heart was a secret garden and the walls very high."

Two years. Two fucking years - and the criminal justice system only just released her for false imprisonment. Sure, some people had it worse than her but that isn't the point. Those two years she had been away from all her family and friends caused her to feel the deepest sorrows she had ever felt. The four walls that surrounded her for endless nights alone, trapped her cold, emaciated and fragile body. The night before she was escorted outside the prison block, she thought about the last time she had ever felt genuine happiness. Luna curled up into a ball in the corner of her cell, arms wrapped her lifeless soul and she casted her mind back to the times when she was only a little girl. She marked her mother's words "I'll always be here", but everything that Luna ever believed in soon turned into broken promises. That night, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her face bent down as the salty drops fell from her chin, drenching her prison dress that stuck uncomfortably to her body due to the sweat and blood that had dried up on it. Luna continued to think about the constant abuse she got from the other inmates, and right then and there those four walls inside her that held her up for so long collapsed. Luna slammed her head continuously into the wall she was leaning on, hoping that her bones would break and her limbs would suffer. Her hands trembled from the trauma she had endured, that turned a baby blue and purple colour the next morning from the bruises her inmates caused earlier that night. Help me. Make it stop.. Please... I am anything but guilty...

Institutionalised, corrupted, abused and neglected. For what? For nothing. No one knew the truth but her, that she was innocent. What had happened was, in the year of 1936, Luna's family had suffered a great deal of misery after multiple associates were gunned down. Luna's boss originally thought it was a rogue that escaped from an enemy base but she was accused of being the one to fire those shots. All because she was the only person away on that night, but it would still be ridiculous to even consider her as a threat since she had been the one to always hold it down for her family. Luna would take a bullet for them if it came down to that. But no.. after one silly accusation, she was tossed into the slammer for two years. No one would ever know that she had to take the fall for someone who had done something so sick and cruel.

Ultimately, however, Luna was sure that her family would never accept her back even after she revealed the truth so she tried to forget about it.

Who knew walking out of a prison cell and being released on parole could be so liberating, she felt herself come back to life again. Luna stopped outside the gates of the building, where she was stopped by a taxi driver. Luna bent down to meet the eyes of the driver. He looked unphased, like it was a normal routine for him to drop off ex convicts leaving them paralysed in a foreign place. The driver's eyes lit up and he offered a friendly smile nonetheless. "Where you off to today Ma'am?" 

"Pasadena, Los Angeles." Luna replied wholeheartedly. 

"No worries, hop in." He grinned. Luna thanked him and opened the door of the vehicle before plopping onto the soft cushion of the car seat. For the first time in two years, she had been treated with kindness and also, she got to sit on something comfortable. Luna suddenly felt herself get nervous about what the future has to offer. There was a few things she had her mind settled on. Number one was meeting the requirements of her parole which was to meet up with a man that reserved a spot for her in a halfway house. Number two was getting a job and making sure she would stay in that job for at least 6 months without committing any petty crimes. Luna was instructed that if she didn't comply with the orders given to her, then she would immediately be escorted back to prison. 

Luna looked out of the window beside her and she knew the buildings she saw were familiar. The driver noticed her grinning from ear to ear and he interrupted her train of thought for a second when he gleefully announced that they finally arrived to the City of Angels. "We're really here."She said to herself. The driver parked his cab outside of a halfway house, where a big sign was propped at the entrance. The words 'Safe Haven' made her palms clammy. Last time someone told her she was in safe hands, she was beaten down to multiple scars and bruises. Luna ran her index finger lightly over a left-over scar. She winced at the pain it brought, not because it physically hurt, but because it would be a constant reminder of her experiences in jail. Luna fought herself from crying again, knowing that the taxi driver would ask questions. She quickly got out of the car, forgetting to thank the driver. She didn't look back, only heard the sound of the engine starting and drifting away. Luna looked up slowly, and Luna caught a leaf which fell from a tree above her. She stared at it for a few moments, before crushing it in her hands. Luna held her breath as she looked straight ahead, heading towards for the door. She straightened out her shirt and knocks lightly on the door. 

After a few knocks, no one answered. 

She tried again. 

Luna was confronted by a man who looked like he was in his early thirties. His eyes were droopy. She thought she was tired, irritated or maybe disinterested. She put her hands in her pockets and looked at him shyly. She knew she looked a mess. The officers could only provide her a pair of tattered jeans and a white business shirt that was see through. The man could probably see her ribs that stuck out so clearly from malnutrition. She suddenly felt insecure so she hugged her waist, hoping it would conceal the amount of skin she was showing. "Goodness, you're so tiny. Anyways come in, I'll show you where you'll be staying for the meantime." The man instructed. 

When Luna stepped inside, she felt a gush of relief. It was clean. Back when she was in jail, hygiene wasn't included on the list of priorities. Luna turned her attention to the man and smiled. "Uhh... I'm sorry, I haven't washed up. Do you mind if I.." Luna suggested. The man's eyes widened and he nodded his head quickly. "This is your home now darl. Here's the keys to your room." He replied, probably eager to get away from the stench she invited into the halfway house. Luna took the keys from him and thanked him before heading upstairs. The hallway was eerie... It looked abandoned as she no one entering or exiting their rooms. She shrugged it off and searched for room 25. Finally, she drew nearer to her room, which was located at the end of the hallway. Great. Alot of walking before I get to mine. Luna turned the designated key into the lock, and pushed the door open slightly like she was scared that someone was going to pop out of nowhere and shoot her brains out. She shook her head. There was no time for that, she had to pull her head in the game now. 

The walls were painted white and the navy blue carpet complimented the coloured pillows placed neatly on the bed. The bed had a white mattress. Luna figured that all the rooms were this plain. It was good, she thought. Luna quickly made herself at home and placed her begs on the bed. Luna wanted so badly to lay in the soft, white sheets but she really needed to wash the smell of rat droppings away. She lifted her arm up and put her nose close to her armpits. Luna scrunched her nose and pulled away. "Damn rats." 

She then threw her keys carelessly onto the only table that the room provided. It was small, but she didn't have too much belongings anyway. Luna rushed into the bathroom paying no attention to the fact that she forgot to grab a towel from downstairs. She ran the water, making sure it was set to a boiling hot temperature. It was a sadistic thing, she thought maybe she was the only one but realised that other people like the feeling of being skinned alive. For Luna, she wanted to do it not because for the lack of warmth but to cleanse her soul. Luna lifted her chin up and opened her mouth to catch the water droplets. She drank the water and giggled. Luna felt childish but she didnt care - she was somewhere safe where there was clean water too and thats all that mattered. Luna used a scrub from the sink and used it to rub soap over her whole body. She lifted her right leg and rubbed aggressively, she wanted to reach all the crevices. She almost let out a moan from how pleasurable this was for her. Luna realised that she had been in the shower for longer than expected, and not wanting to get a complaint about the water bill from the kind man, she quickly turned off the water. 

Stepping out, she glanced at herself in the tall mirror on the wall. Luna flinched at the sight. She hated seeing herself like that. She could probably live in a fridge from how small her appearance was now. Luna stood there for a while without a towel, just observing her body. She squinted her eyes shut and thought she was going to start sobbing again. 

Help me.

Luna tried to fake a smile, but she couldn't stop the paranoia that was haunting her. Anytime now, any one of her previous family could show up and shoot her. She desperately wanted to tell someone, anyone, that she was innocent. She just wanted someone to look at her as innocent for once. "Fuck." In a moment of frustration, she couldn't fight the urge to not hit the mirror in front of her. Luna lifted her arm and her fist collided with the glass mirror, the cracks digging into her knuckles, causing blood to gush out. Luna was shocked that she done that. She was in a state of panic, and again she fell into hopelessness. It was back to being in jail again. She had no one to keep her sane. Numb to the bone, she slid down the wall of the bathroom and hugged her legs to her chest. Her head was down. She was screaming, but at the same time she was voiceless. 

Suddenly a few knocks on the door woke her up from her depressive state. The man from before couldn't hear her respond so he opened the door with one of his own keys. He had forgot to ask for her name from before and planned to get it later. The man walked in casually, but then he froze upon seeing Luna limp on the bathroom floor. "What are you doing down here, darl? Get up, come on. On the bed..." It was then Luna felt herself dig deeper into her depression and she let out the tears that she held in for so long since she got out of jail. "I need... Someone... Help... I'm so-" Luna whispered. 

The man was breathing rapidly as he lifted her up from behind her legs and the back of her neck. The cold touch of her skin made him shiver. "Be right back. I'll grab a towel." He placed her body gently onto the mattress and tried to calm her down by telling her to breathe slowly. Luna was then left alone, fully naked and drenched in her tears. The man entered the room again in a rush but he noticed that she had already drifted to sleep. He felt sorry for her. He didn't bother to get to know any of the convicts that walked in his building, but he only imagined what Luna went through during her time in jail. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to believe that such a tiny and seemingly harmless girl like her was ever incarcerated. But for what? He wondered. He didn't want to leave her undressed as she slept, knowing that anyone could walk into her room so he wrapped her in the towel - not peeking at any of her bits. 

He had a few clothes that other people have left in their rooms, after their parole expired. The man laid a clean pair of underwear, socks, jeans and a couple of shirts next to her. It would be a new day tomorrow, and the man only hoped that he would still see her here in the morning and not wanting to find out that she had ran away because she couldn't take it anymore.