Elara adjusted her glasses and rubbed her sore eyes, staring at the endless rows of numbers glowing faintly on her computer screen. It was already past eleven in the evening, yet her office floor was still littered with fluorescent light. A few cubicles away, another overworked colleague yawned, while the hum of machines and the occasional tapping of keyboards echoed in the background.
Her fingers cramped slightly as she typed in the last batch of reports. She leaned back, stretching her arms until her shoulders popped.
"This is… enough," she muttered under her breath. She saved the file, logged out, and shut the screen. For a brief moment, the reflection of her own tired face appeared in the dark monitor. Twent-two years old, barely holding herself together, but surviving.
Elara packed her worn-out tote bag. Inside, squeezed between documents and her water bottle. The only thing that made her smile these days is her phone, currently paused on the farming game she always played.
She pulled it out as she walked toward the elevator, tapping to check her little digital field. The sunflowers she had planted the night before were in full bloom. She collected them, the cheerful chime of coins filling her ears through her earbuds.
Her lips tugged into a small smile.
"At least someone's farm is thriving."
Ever since her parents passed away when she was barely eighteen, Elara had been running on nothing but survival mode. She hadn't finished college, hadn't chased any dream beyond earning enough to pay rent and put food on the table. Work, sleep, repeat—that was her life. And in between those grueling hours, she found refuge in the little pixelated farm on her screen.
If only I could live like that…
She often thought.
Plant, water, harvest. Live under the sun instead of fluorescent lights.
At least the countryside isn't suffocating like this city.
The elevator chimed, dragging her out of her thoughts. By the time she stepped outside, the streets were quiet. The towers loomed above her like steel sentinels, their windows glowing cold white. She shivered lightly.
Down the block, she spotted headlights waiting at the bus stop. Relief washed over her.
"Thank goodness there's still a bus at this hour," she sighed, jogging lightly until she climbed the step inside.
The vehicle was old, its floorboards creaking faintly as she settled into a seat halfway down the aisle. She noticed immediately that she was the only passenger. The faint hum of the engine and the driver's low radio filled the otherwise empty space.
She exhaled, leaning her head against the cool glass window. The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable.
"Late night for you, miss?" His voice was gravelly yet calm.
Elara nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Just got off work."
"Mmhm. Sit tight. Next stop's Fenridge Town."
She blinked, a little confused. She didn't remember ever hearing of a town by that name on this route. But she was too exhausted to ask. Instead, she pulled out her phone again, returning to her farm.
The bus jolted forward, the city lights slowly thinning as it made its way down unfamiliar roads.
Elara's little character on-screen watered neat rows of strawberries. She tapped the icons absentmindedly, imagining the soil's texture, the warmth of the sun, the satisfaction of a full harvest. With every second, the desire ached deeper inside her chest.
Her eyes grew heavy. The screen flickered strangely, like static washing over her crops. She frowned, tapping the phone once and then twice.
"What the…" she whispered.
The bus rumbled louder beneath her. A wave of drowsiness pulled her under, heavier than any exhaustion she'd felt before. Her grip on her phone loosened.
The last thing she saw before her eyes shut completely was the faint reflection of endless fields stretching beyond her reflection in the bus window.
When Elara woke up, warmth brushed her face.
She squinted, startled to see sunlight streaming through the bus windows. It was bright.
Too bright.
She sat up quickly, her tote bag nearly falling to the floor.
Her phone rested in her lap. When she lit up the screen, the farming game was still open. Except… the crops swaying in the breeze on-screen seemed too vivid, too real. She shuddered and turned it off.
Her gaze darted to the window, and her breath caught.
Outside stretched vast rice paddies, their water reflecting the morning sun like sheets of glass. Farmers with wide-brimmed hats bent low, tending to the fields. Birds soared lazily against a pale blue sky. And in the distance, rolling hills, the dark green of mountain forests, and the faint shimmer of the ocean.
It was nothing like the grey, choking city she had left last night.
Her pulse quickened. "Where… am I?" she whispered.
The driver's voice interrupted her thoughts. Calm, matter-of-fact.
"Morning, miss. Fenridge Town is just a few blocks away."
Elara turned her head sharply. The driver met her gaze in the mirror, his eyes strangely warm, like he had been expecting her all along.
Fenridge Town.
Her mind replayed the name. Her lips parted. Somehow… it didn't feel foreign.
She looked back out at the scenery, her heart racing. It looked too familiar. The neat plots of farmland, the dirt paths winding between fields, even the tiny wooden scarecrows by the dikes.
Her phone buzzed once in her hand. She unlocked it. The game loaded, but instead of the usual cartoonish graphics, the screen displayed the exact same scenery she saw outside.
Her breath hitched.
No way…
Elara's fingers trembled around her phone. Her farming game wasn't just a game anymore.
The bus turned down a dirt road, and as they passed a row of cherry blossoms just beginning to bloom, her lips curved into an involuntary smile.
For the first time in years, she didn't feel like she was running away from something. Instead, it felt like she was finally arriving.
Fenridge Town here I come!