1 Leaving

31st December 20XX – 12 a.m.

Kano Station, Ning City, Hua Xia.

On the cold eve of the new year, when everybody rejoiced in the celebrations and looked forward to the future, not everyone was fortunate enough to indulge in this celebratory atmosphere.

HONK! HONK!

Came the sound of the train that passed through the deserted Kano Station.

The train moved on like a gust of wind, unstoppable, leaving just dry leaves and dust behind in its wake.

As the train gradually left the station, one could see the fluttering of a black skirt on the metal bench of the almost deserted Platform No. 1.

A girl with her head down could be seen sitting on the worn-out bench with her luggage surrounding her, clutching the ticket tightly as if her life depended on it, waiting for the train that would take her away from this city which spelled nothing but doom and gloom for her.

*Sigh*

Huan Fan Xing heaved a sigh of relief at her preferred choice of station.

The peace and serenity that this station provided was quite rare for a big place in the center of a metropolitan city like Ning City.

But she was thankful for this little grace as this was exactly what she needed most at this time.

A place to think in quiet.

She need to sort out her thoughts and calm her heart without the hustle and bustle of other people twittering and chattering about in her vicinity.

And Kano Station was exactly one such place.

It was a barely populated place and those who worked here were either demoted from their previous posts, or, were from the lowest rung of the society who were in desperate need of money and were thus working out of helplessness.

Other than these reasons there were only a few gutsy people who were fearless enough and looking for an adventure so, didn't mind being posted here.

This station was rumored to be haunted because it was built upon a cemetery of the olden times and was also the main bearer of many an unfortunate accidents and suicides.

Hence, despite its capacity to serve as one of the biggest stations of Ning City, many people avoided this place like the plague.

Clutching at the coat around her, the girl fastened the belt of her overcoat in order to better shield herself from the gusts of wind that passed by.

Sitting alone Huan Fan Xing gave off a solitary vibe.

The edges of her skirt fluttered along with her long hair.

She appeared lost in her thoughts.

Her untied hair, which fell from her head cascading down her shoulders and reaching her waist, obscured her cute and dainty face which was quite pale and unwell at the moment.

Her black eyes curved like a beautiful blue jays' were downcast and foggy.

She was not some national beauty which could bring the downfall of a nation, but instead, was pretty easy on the eyes.

Her looks helped her out in her profession as a surgeon, as her face gave quite the reliable and kind-hearted impression to her patients.

With a top covered by an overcoat to shield her from the cold, a long skirt paired with woolen tights for coverage and boots for warmth, she was dressed from top to bottom in black clothes.

Her depressed and melancholic aura coupled with her outfit didn't call for any attention but instead screamed to be left alone.

Her whole posture curved inwards, as if shielding herself from the brutality that the world had thrown upon her.

She kept looking down in a daze.

Her stiff body shivered and twitched from time to time as if in spasms, whether this happened due the cold winds blowing or her own congestive emotions one couldn't tell.

As she kept looking down, her gaze moved from her feet to her pale and slightly shaking hands, which held her ticket out from this godforsaken place.

In an effort to stop her miserable shivering she shifted her attention, from her depressed and wandering thoughts, to the black beaded bracelet on her right wrist.

The thumb of her left hand grazed against the runes carved on each bead one by one.

This action helped her control her strangled breathing which evened-out after a while.

As she cooled down and her shivering ceased, her gaze shifted from the bracelet to the imperceptible tattoo on the inner side of her right wrist.

The markings were of a pair of a phoenix and a dragon curved into each other as if embracing and made up a full circle just at the end of her palm.

It had a diameter of 3 cm and was just one shade darker than her skin tone.

Her bracelet covered the markings most of the time so if a person wasn't a keen observer or was specifically looking for it, they wouldn't be able to see it.

Huan Fan Xing had this tattoo since her birth, so technically it was a birth mark, but it looked so vivid that a tattoo was what she could relate it to the best.

The markings pulsed from time to time with an invisible energy, as if moving in sync with her pumping blood.

It was a very odd sight, because it looked as if the tattoo was alive.

Some might find this pulsing to be unusual and kinda creepy; but this was a regular sight to the girl.

In fact, Huan Fan Xing was happy, that despite her circumstances, some things never changed.

The pulse of her heartbeat which she felt through the markings on her wrist, had kept her heart stable and grounded for many a year and had remained unchanging through the countless tribulations that she had gone through in her short life of 28 years.

She had always looked at it for solace and comfort for as long as she could remember.

Whenever she brushed the end of her fingertips along the figures of the pair of these mythological beasts, her blood would zing, as if it was zapped by a low-charged electric current and then there would come a tug, which would pull on her heart.

After this peace would wash over her mind and she could settle down enough to focus and start thinking rationally on how to deal with the situations presented before her.

She couldn't explain it clearly, but it was a marvel feeling.

As if, come heaven or hell fire this mark wouldn't leave her.

'Something which will never betray you despite your shortcomings', is the kind of vibe these markings gave her.

It just felt right, the kind of reliance that she had on her birthmark came naturally to her, like this was how it was always meant to be.

Now this practice, of calming herself down, had become so habitual that she couldn't imagine coping without it.

Twirling her bracelet along the tattoo and circling it along her wrist, Huan Fan Xing, was lost in her own world when the sound of the train's arrival announcement broke her reverie.

"Attention all passengers. Train number 12930 from Ning to Xin is arriving on Platform No. 1. Please take care of your luggage and kindly get ready to board." Spoke a female computerized voice.

As the train entered the platform, Huan Fan Xing sat up from her crouching posture and shoved the ticket in her handbag, which she had placed beside herself when she sat to wait for the train.

She got up from her spot on the metal bench and started grabbing her bags hastily, she didn't want to miss this train by any means.

She had a big handbag which had all her essentials, wallet, mobile phone, identity cards and keys.

A khaki shoulder bag, which was placed on top of one of her suitcases, it had her laptop, DSLR, electronic gears, water bottle, chips, biscuits and some other survival supplies.

And two huge suitcases, which she had placed beside her legs, they carried all her clothing, certificates, documents and other miscellaneous items.

After collecting all her bags, Huan Fan Xing made her way to stand behind the yellow line on the platform as she waited for the train to come to a stop.

Her heart became more and more restless as the trained gradually slowed down, she couldn't wait to get out of this hellhole of a city.

She had overstayed her welcome in this city, more than was necessary.

The anticipation of being free was killing her.

As the automated doors slid open, she schooled her features, straightened her back and calmly made her way across the train's threshold.

Her luggage dragged behind her in an orderly fashion.

She looked so confident and suave, that if one hadn't seen this transformation for themselves, they wouldn't have been able to link her to the pathetically shriveling person she was posing as just a few moments ago.

After settling her luggage in its designated area, Huan Fan Xing removed her boots and leaned back on her seat with her legs outstretched.

She had booked a ticket on an AC 2-tier sleeper class train, as the way towards Xin City's station would take her a whole night's worth of journey.

Xin City was the biggest city in the south which neared her hometown.

It was the last stop that the train would make.

***