[23:40]

After a silent but not awkward car ride, they arrive at the Holladay Hostel. Ace looks back at the poster and then at the building.

Denarrow- 'The poster wasn't lying.'

The design of the building could not even be imagined in such an environment. It prominently stands out in almost all aspects. Midcity architecture generally consists of rectangular prisms with large sides covered with glass windows or concrete walls. The Holladay Hostel is the yellow sheep in the block flock. It looks like a Sbanish colonial building made entirely of wood, bricks, and clay, a rare combination in contemporary architecture. The building is colored yellow, dark orange, and white. It has columns, arches, and other features that differ from the average Midcity building. It also sits on the corner of a triangular city block giving it even more attention.

Brooklyn- "This is it."

Ace looks at the place in awe at how different it is from every other building. As he stands, someone walks by and says something.

Random- "Fuckhead."

Ace turns his head and sees the person keep on moving. Both Ace and Brooklyn knew that was directed towards him. Before Ace could say something foul in response, Brooklyn speaks.

Brooklyn- "You should probably want to take that off as soon as you can."

Denarrow- "This? Why?"

She's referring to the shirt that he was given by Captain Jacks earlier. It's a navy-blue t-shirt with POLICE in white on the back and front.

Brooklyn- "Are ya from here?"

Denarrow- "No, I'm from Alazka."

Brooklyn- "Oh, so you're new. Well, the peeps here don't like the porks that much here."

Denarrow- "The what?"

Brooklyn- "The porks, the police."

Denarrow- "I guess if I really think about it, I don't really like them either."

He then takes the shirt and throws it on the ground. Brooklyn turns confused because she meant "as soon as you can," meaning when they're inside, not immediately. But she doesn't think or care considerably of it outside her confusion.

Inside, the first floor has a communal kitchen and an open living room. To the right is the kitchen, placed behind the bar. There are snacks on just about every counter, a huge fridge, a stove, and just about every small kitchen appliance. Straight ahead in the living room is a couch, a couple of chairs, a coffee table, and a substantially curved flatscreen television hanging on the wall. To the left is a small seating area with four chairs and a bookshelf. An old man is half asleep sitting on a stool at the bar table playing Wordz, a game of guessing the five specific political words of the day on a tablet.

Brooklyn goes to the man sitting at the table. She softly taps his shoulder from behind, waking him up.

Brooklyn- "Mister Miyagu, were you waiting for me again?"

Mr. Miyagu- "Ah no, I was trying to avoid my wife, I didn't do the laundry like I was supposed to do hehe."

He laughs and then turns around to face Brooklyn. As he turns, the old man looks and notices Ace making his way and looking around. He then whispers to Brooklyn.

Mr. Miyagu- "Who's that? Why is he half naked? Is he here to take my mattress?"

Ace looks at him and squints his eyes in confusion.

Mr. Miyagu- "Is he a cat? He got good hearing."

Brooklyn- He's my new roommate."

Mr. Miyagu- "Oh, a man?"

The eighty-year-old gets off the stool, walks to Ace, and looks him up and down. Ace doesn't react to him in any such way. He then turns around, looks back at Brooklyn, and walks away.

Mr. Miyagu- "All power with no ambition, interesting character. The change in my mattress long been deflated in value anyways."

He walks to the elevator and leaves.

Denarrow- "Who's that?"

Brooklyn- "He's my first-floor tenant. Mister Miyagu's funny and old."

Denarrow- "So we go into the elevator?"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Brooklyn- "No."

Ace's second thought was that she was going to the stairwell right next to the elevator. Instead, she takes a left, going to the other side of the living room. She approaches the orange-yellow wall and puts her hand on it. The section of the wall swings opens like a door. Behind the door, there is a stairwell. Denarrows walks over and checks it out.

Brooklyn- "My room has its own separate stairway to it. The room is on the seventh floor which the other stairway can't reach, which is the tenant's own."

Denarrow- "Elevator too?"

They begin the walk-up.

Brooklyn- "No, that wasn't built into the remodel. My tenants have one but I don't, too expensive. So there is only one way up to the room."

Seven flights of stairs.

Denarrow- "Remodel?"

Brooklyn- "Before an apartment building, the Hostel used to be an actual Hostel. Then once Midcity became less unique and the TranPack stopped coming to the city, it began to be unpopular with less 'backpackers' and tourists in general. It was remodeled into an apartment building, but its name and exterior design is under protection by the city's list of landmarks."

Denarrow- "Makes sense."

After seven flights of stairs, they reach the top. Brooklyn opens the door, and inside is one room with a bathroom in the corner. The place is more like an attic than a bedroom. The room is clearly divisible even without a wall, with the left side decorated with art and full of standard living stuff, including a bed, desk, and clothes. While the other side is barren, dusty, and empty. Only a mattress with a clean white sheet on it serves as furniture. Not even a box frame for the bed. It doesn't even have windows, whereas the other side does. Ace stands in confusion wondering where his room is. He looks around and enters the bathroom, hoping to find his own room.

Denarrow- "Where's my room?"

She points at the mattress without saying anything.

Brooklyn- "Do you need a blanket? Oh, probably a pillow too."

Denarrow- "I don't mind either, but…."

He pauses and finishes the sentence in his head.

Denarrow- '...but do I stay in the same room with you. She doesn't even know me, I don’t even know her. I'm a good person, I think. She seems to be a better person. But this is sort of… different.'

Brooklyn- "But what?"

Denarrow- "We're staying in the same room?"

Brooklyn- "Yeah."

Denarrow- "Do you trust me?"

Brooklyn- "You saved my life."

Denarrow- "Yes…"

Brooklyn- "You're my friend right?"

Denarrow- "... sure, but-"

Brooklyn- "Then I trust you."

He looks into her beautiful yet absolutely earnest eyes and turns dumbfounded. He cannot wrap his mind around the fact that she wanted a stranger to live just about seven feet apart, with no wall in between. So he does what he does best by ceasing to think.

Denarrow- 'I got nothing else and I'm already here right now, fuck it.'

Denarrow- "Okay."

Brooklyn- "Perfect."

A smile so calming and gut-feeling happy appears on her face.

Brooklyn- "Then it will be 1,175 dollas ah month."

Denarrow- "Huh…"

Monthly rent of 1,175 urodollars is not expensive in any sense, especially in the city, it's in fact very pretty cheap, but Ace is what one would call 'pocketless,' 'broke,' or in other words, a man with no money and no job.

Brooklyn- "Ok, I'll make it 1,075 urodollars, nothing lower. I don't need you to put down an immediate deposit either."

Denarrow- "Perfect." 'I don't have any money.'

Brooklyn- "I have the lease papers on my desk. If I can just see your McID and Number."

Denarrow- "I was just at the McRC getting those."

Her eyebrow raises.

Brooklyn- "How long have you been in Midcity?"

He checks the microwave clock in the corner.

[23:59, 04/11]

Denarrow- "For like twelve hours."

Then she looks at the clock.

[00:00, 04/12]

Then she then looks back at him.

Brooklyn- "Then it's technically your day ones."

[----]

Midcity is a remarkable city for many reasons; it is open to any and everyone, it has so many Paradisians, it is its own state, and numerous other reasons. Nevertheless, all of its feats and glories have a dark side to them. Gangs, terrorism, brutality, and exploitation are not unheard of in the city. Even though the city is relatively new compared to the rest of the world's metropolises, sin has still found its way onto this playing field. However, ironically, there is light in the middle of this pool of darkness; there is the Stones. The Stones are a lovely young small family living as a shining diamond in the rusty and shady urban neighborhood where few can shine just as bright.

There's the father, Spade Stone, the mother, Breya Stone, and the daughter Leya Stone. Breya lives, teaches, and works all at home. Unlike nearly all of the women in the city, she is a working housewife. She partly teaches and helps her daughter with any and everything, from minor to major, from arts to math. Spade Stone works an office job twelve hours a day every day. One may think he is overdoing it, but he is content working that much. In the office, the office rumor describes him as a lonely man who says few words. He never interacts with people or acts in any way outside of his job description on and off shifts. He is friendly but responsibly stays on task. Although he is shy, he still speaks when he needs to, always does his work, and never looks overworked.

At home, he is an excellent playful husband and father. He cuddles, passionately interacts, and smiles with his wife and daughter. Every night he attends to his daughter with a bedtime story and never misses a time that he's not with her at any time he's not sleeping or working. In addition, Breya Stone performs around-the-clock cooking, budgeting, parenting, and teaching at every chance she gets with Leya outside school.

This small family loves each other with all of their hearts. It's not uncommon that after a couple years of marriage and a child, parents are no longer actively in love and fall into a passive sense of love merely connected by a piece of paper, financial circumstances, and/or their mutual offspring. But they continue to actively love. Spade and Breya still act like how they first fell madly in love with each other. And their daughter is fortunate enough to be caught in their loving crossfire.

Love is no longer memorable when the memories are no longer loved; thus, in replacement is hatred.