Hearts stepped from the bus hesitantly. She had saved up all her money from the small dinner in Cleveland to come here, come here to Philadelphia. So, taking that final step into the city she would call home was a bigger step then anyone around her even knew. She could feel her heart thump in her chest, a mix of hesitation and excitement swam through her veins. As soon as she had both feet planted on the sidewalk she breathed in deeply, but was interrupted as the bus started to pull away from the curb startling her. Hearts picked up her suitcase and told herself that everything would be okay. 

The Greyhound that brought her into town, wasn’t the same kind of bus that could bring her to specific places in town. She learned this when she asked the driver why he was dropping her off at the depot and not the street address she asked him too. He looked her up and down and did something rude with his eyes before telling her no. Of course, she should have figured that out. The Greyhound wasn’t a local city bus, it was a city to city transporting bus. Hearts leaned her body to look down the street, there was a bus stop. 

When she got to it, about a block away from where she had initially been dropped off, she stood among three other folks. Hearts pulled a piece of crumpled paper from her pocket. Sloppy cursive had written out gibberish to any other person, but it was direction for her. WFG4L. Her heart sunk a little, looking at her mother’s hand writing. It had only been a month since the funeral, but there was still a wound inside of Hearts from the loss. It might have been even worse leaving her father, not because he cared for her at all, but because he didn’t. Though, with her not being there anymore the bottom of the bottle would engulf him. It was her worst fear, but there was nothing left for her in that town and she had to get out. 

She followed her mothers directions, the ones she gave Heart verbally over and over here and there for the last couple of years. “My sweet Penelope, if you ever need help contact,” and she’d pause, drawing the letters into the steamed up bathroom mirror where Hearts would get her hair brushed after a bath as a child. “Find this man.” Later in life the same letters would be written in the sand at the lake house, on the dust on a dirty car, spelled out in uncooked noodles in the kitchen. But always brushed out of site from Hearts’ father. It was like their little secret. 

As Hearts grew up she learned through her father’s drunken rage that before he got together with her mother she was in some sort of criminal party. Hearts figured the letters written in the sand hand something to do with her mother’s previous life. So when her mother gave her the same guidance, but this time wrote the letters in pen on a piece of paper, Hearts kept that paper like it was the only thing holding her to this earth. Everything unraveled itself, any stability Hearts thought she had, she had no more. Now, she sat on a bus going to address she had found in her mothers things and hoped it would bring her to this WFG4L. 

Her second bus ride of the day dropped her off in front of a large building in the rain. Hearts hadn’t noticed it start, but it sent chills through her as she clutched her coat around her body. She went up to the building and gave a knock on the door. A large man opened it and she showed him the note shivering. At first it looked like he was going to turn her away or maybe that was just her fear creeping in and discoloring her thoughts. The tall, brawn man gave her another look and opened the door for her.

“Any weapons on you, kid? Need to be handed over to me.”

He said to her once she was fully inside. She shook her head no, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

“Alright, follow me.” 

He directed Hearts down a hallway and then another one. Finally, he stopped in front of a large oak door and rattled his knuckles against it. 

“Boss, I’ve got a young girl out here.”

‘Come in’ was heard from the other side and her tour guide turned the handle and held the door open for her. Hearts walked into the office, her nerves crept onto her skin in the form of goosebumps. A man sat behind a desk, he hadn’t yet looked up from the papers in front of him. 

Hello….sir. 

Hearts managed to squeak out.

I…I was uh sent her by my mother. She said you could help me if anything ever got bad. 

Hearts didn’t go into any details. No names. This man was impressive, a busy man, a business man. If he didn’t know what she was talking about so far, she didn’t want to give anything away that would make herself seem unstable.

I’m looking for work.

She said with more force hoping this would catch his attention. She hoped for the best.