She was alone. No father, no mother; no one to be protected and loved by. Maren knew something was wrong with her, with who she was and what she was; because if not, why would her father just disappear like that? Why would he leave her all alone to fend for herself in this cruel world?
More than that — Maren thought she was alone with this burden to carry. No one would ever understand this hunger and the feelings of guilt inside her heart.
So the freshly turned eighteen girl decides to leave, to search for her mother, hoping to find someone that’d love her again. The first days are horrible, the bus smells like sweat and there’s too many people around. It reminds Maren of the hunger and the abandon of her father.
Columbus, Ohio, isn’t like what Maren expected it to be. The dinner she entered is half-empty — probably with how late it is. She seats herself away from people, calm and collected when she gets coffee.
She wants to be home, to see her father again and act like nothing ever happened; like the hunger isn’t here, like it doesn’t exist. Maren’s thoughts are waved off when someone sits in front of her in the booth. It’s like something clicks in her head; it’s someone like her.
She looks up to see you, and it seems like you smelled her from across the dinner.
“You’re…” she starts before stopping herself. Is it real? It doesn’t seems to be but Maren wants to believe it. That she’s not alone. “You’re like me.”