Mason and Maya, the inseparable twins, had a childhood filled with laughter and shared dreams. They were not just close; they were each other's confidants, partners in crime, and best friends. But their once-unshakable bond faced a grave challenge t...
Walking back to Max's apartment has been an eye opener. Denver is a lively city, something that Maya and I may never have experienced if we never left. We have been sheltered, I can tell, because nothing seems real out here. The warm weather is nothing familiar, it feels luxurious.
Our walk soon comes to an end, as we stand in front of a tall building that seems to hold many units. Max mentions this is where he lives and that we will be staying with him now. He holds something up to a little black box, which seems to unlock the door.
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Max leads us up to an elevator, he says it will be easier to take the elevator than the stairs. He presses the button labeled five in the elevator. A catchy musical tune is played throughout the ride up. Music is something we aren't allowed to enjoy, according to our guardians. The elevator ride comes to an end after almost a minute.
A few doors down from the elevator is a door numbered 512, Max tells us it's his place. He slides his key into the lock to get inside. Max was right, this is bigger than my old room. Stepping in, I see a kitchen area with enough for Max to survive, a mattress being held up on a wooden object, and a couch.
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I cannot believe it. How did Max get such a sweet place to live? Maya has a similar reaction to me, her jaw dropped. "I-I like y-your p-p-place, Maxy."
He smiles at her, "Aw thanks, Maya!"
"Y-y-you're wel-welcome."
I go and place our backpack next to the couch. Maya sits down and I sit next to her, while Max goes to sit on the rug. "We have a lot more we need to discuss, stemming from what happened at the diner." He starts but pauses.
"We talked about the basis of what happened to me, but I don't know what else has happened to both of you. I know it might be tough, but I want to know how you guys are here. That's been eating at me since I first saw you."
I guess I'll start, I look at Maya and she nods in reassurance. "A lot has happened, Max. We left the house last night and haven't looked back. Something felt off, I hadn't been punished or fed in many days. I hadn't seen Maya and talked to her in YEARS. I was a little kid last time we were together. I figured out how to break out of my room, and I took the chance and entered her room. She was very shocked to see me. We both had been convinced that the other secretly hated each other, causing resentment, and we learned that was a lie. Maya and I talked out how we felt, before deciding to make an escape from the house. We searched around, found this backpack, and packed whatever we thought was important in it. Stepping foot outside of the house was terrifying. We didn't know where to go, or what was going to be around us. We walked and walked, then we found a park with a giant wooden pirate ship, which became our resting place last night. This morning, we watched the sunrise and rested on the pirate ship, before walking aimlessly, winding up at your diner. We weren't going to eat anything, just hopefully get water. We weren't anticipating you being there. I wanted Maya and I to figure out how to survive."
