There would be no letters of goodbye. No warning would be given. Come Noon, Midori’s mother would find an empty bedroom, its bed never to be slept in again. That thought didn’t even bother Midori in the least. They’d had enough of living with their mother. It was time to leave that life behind. And so, a plan would be set in motion.
Over some months, Midori saved some money and stashed it in an envelope, tucked away in the back of a bookshelf, behind the collection of manga they’d amassed over the years. This was the ideal location to hide money as their mother would never suspect hidden funds could be found there. They also took this time to make sure to save anything important from social media, and art websites. They deleted all of their online accounts, informing only those they trusted that they would be doing so. Midori figured they could always create new accounts once they’d settled into a new town.
As a final act of flipping the bird, Midori had made sure their room was spotlessly cleaned. It was a way to say, “This room will forever be clean, since I won’t be living here.” Midori had always had a messy room. This would be a way to really drive it home that they were gone for good.
To make sure her departure was as quiet as possible, Midori decided against packing a suit case. Carrying it would risk making noise, which would put their plans in jeopardy. No. Her departure would be made in the wee hours of the morning, when most of the city would still be asleep.


Midori sat on their freshly made bed, taking one last look at the room they were about to leave behind. They would miss many of the things in the room, but these could be replaced. The one thing Midori could not leave behind was their laptop. They placed it into a carrying bag the night before. The envelope of money lay on Midori’s lap, it’s contents counted and re-counted many time. Maybe it was paranoia, but Midori just wanted to make sure that every bit that they had saved was in the envelope.
The bedside clock was showing it was six in the morning. Midori’s mother would surely be sleeping until past noon. It was time to leave. Midori carefully placed the envelope into the carrying bag. Once they’d reached their bedroom door, they took one last look, turned off the lights, and gently closed the door.