She stood on her own on the sidewalk, a small duffel bag in hands and waited for a long moment. Nobody was coming, she knew that, but she still waited until the three other women got picked up by crying and laughing close family and friends.
The clothes on her back weren't her own but she had always been used to that, since birth her mother had only dressed her with hand-me-downs. The jeans were fine, only a few almost unnoticeable oil stains here and there, the shirt was way too big but at least it had no holes.
She turned one last time to look at the austere building, its high wall and barbed wire and gave a silent prayer.
Please. Let me die before coming back.
She took a deep breath and started walking.
After paying for the bus ride, she had little over three thousand and five hundred dollars left, all her earnings. She had saved every single penny made in prison for this moment. The bus ride was long but when they neared the city she had left behind so long ago, she felt her hands grow clammy and her heart beat faster. Please let her arrive peacefully.
She made it to the trailer park just fine. It was on the outskirt of the city, near the woods and thus she had avoided crossing through town.
The park was mostly abandoned and filled with trash. She recognized one of the last two inhabitants as drunkard Joe, who had been here since before her birth. He was too drunk to notice anything going on around and despite their past friendship, she was too anxious to greet him right now. She rushed to one of the most dilapidated trailer. It had always been in bad shape but since her mother had set sail after her arrestation, it looked like it had never been touched, not even squatted.
June closed the door softly and leant against it to allow herself to calm down and just breathe. This place didn't hold any good memories but it was the only thing she had left in the world. It was home.
She didn't Realize she was crying until she found herself on the ground and muffling big, loud sobs. She was home. The tears didn't stop and that's how she fell asleep that day. Her first day of freedom was spent passed out from crying on the dirty floor of her childhood home.