Post 1

         The day started with the soft hum of an old charter bus at the end of it's long career. The bus, capable of 56 passenger, held 12 passengers who each sat alone. The silence on the bus helped each passenger sleep soundly, until the early morning sun shone threw the old dusty windows and woke a man in a old brown leather coat that clearly had numerous years of wear on it. Sticking out of his jacket pocket was a large yellow envelope, which was obviously stuffed to capacity and had a coffee stain near the right upper corner. The man's graying brown hair showed hints that he was around the age of 40 but he had a strong look of youth in the way he carried himself. He awoke with a jerk of the bus, sat up and stretched his arms out. He looked down the aisle at the emotionless driver staring at the one lane road. The man in the brown leather jacket looked out the window for some sign of location. Down the road a lone sign stated "______ 10 miles" appeared in front of the rows of fields of an unknown crop. He yawned and looked at his watch again. 7:13. Time was moving slow. He heard the woman across the aisle from him speak a word in her sleep and he chuckled to himself. The woman turned away from him in her sleep and the man focused back on the road.
         A moment passed and the man found himself staring at the slowly advancing skyline of a small town. He adjusted himself in his leather jacket and continued to focus on the view, beginning to make out the shape of a building much larger than the others surrounding it. Unconsciously holding his left jacket pocket, he remembered the envelope and slowly pulled it out. Upon opening the envelope, he pulled out a folded letter. He began reading the heading when the bus driver pulled into a Bus Stop with a big 17 on the sign. The man slowly got his small plaid suitcase from the overhead compartment and shuffled off the bus. The other passengers looked on as he moved toward the front. The man nodded his head at the driver and the driver nodded back. The bus remained silent.
         The heat blasted the man as soon as he stepped off the bus. The early morning sun beat down on the back of his neck, causing him to wince. Immediately, the man pointed his nose to the sky and sniffed the air. A smell floated around him, teasing him as he tried to place what it was. He gave up, but the familiarity of the smell wafted in his mind for the rest of the afternoon. He stood and searched the deserted streets for some sign of direction. The streets were eerily quiet and there was no movement in all directions. He saw at the end of the street was a green street sign. He moved closer, unable to see from his distance. "H and Popular," he muttered to himself. He looked into the intersection and down both ways of Popular. He saw what looked to be an old abandoned factory across the intersection, which sparked some curiosity in him. The man had not felt like that in years and noted to himself about this rekindled emotion. He crossed the street and walked toward what he was looking for. The building he saw from a distance stood before him, tall, clean, and handsome. He felt excitement, another feeling that had been forgotten, as he walked up to the base of the building. His new home awaited. His new life awaited. Otis Baumer entered the Castle Apartments.