The Varn is a big place. It was actually supposed to be named ‘The Barn’, because of its purpose of storage and temporary animal housing, but the man who named it…couldn’t really spell. And had an accent.

It’s a really short walk there; through the rows of metal container houses, some really big, some small, around the park, down the river, and it’s right there. Cube shaped barrels and metal boxes run down the dirt road, labeled and ready to ship, with more coming. As the boss quietly speaks to workers, she catches my eye and aggressively motions for me to come quicker. I jog up to her as the workers she’s speaking to lug their packages away.

“Hal,” She says, looking a bit annoyed. “Nice of you to show up today. You’ll be taking a bit of work off your brother. He’s been doing twice his load now.” I gape at her. “What!” I say, confused. “I was only gone a day!”

“So you were gone. Your brother has been working the same he usually does.”

Shoot.

“Yes. I was off——”

“I don’t want to know. What I do want though, is for you to be present, so that no one does have to go home late.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. You’re off today, you’re too late anyway. You can go help someone else go home early, or you go home early yourself and finish packing.”

“Yes ma’am.”

I trudge back to my dorm, feeling stupid. Packing! So fun. I think. I don’t even know what I’m packing for. Boss says that we have to move out of our buildings. Says that she found a new place that would benefit us more. “Make it less work for us”, she says. I don’t know if I believe her. We have to empty ALL the stuff. It’s gonna take months!

I open the door to my room. The musty smell of decaying wood greets me. I don’t mind. Over the years, this place has become a home to me, a place I can come whenever. “Hal! You want noodles?!” Sean shouts from the other room. “Sure! Thanks!”, I yell back.

I open my closet. Four long sleeve shirts, four short sleeve, a black vest, two long cargos, two short ones, and a weathered pair of black work boots.

Might as well pack everything, I think. Not much to pack.

I grab my duffel from under my bed and fold all my clothes inside.

I scan my room, a blank, plain grey paint, encasing it. The one, blue-framed clock hanging on the right side. My bed is practically bare, with baby blue bedsheets and half-stuffed pillow. My window sits behind my bed frame, shedding warm, summer sun onto my bed.

“Hal! They’re ready!”

I zip up my duffel and head to the kitchen. “Hey, thanks. Can I have some mushroom sauce please?” I say to Sean.

“Yup. They were kinda frozen, so it took a bit to thaw them out. I know you like your cold noodles.”

I smile.

“You took yours cold?”

“Hell no! I am not a cold-noodle-liking weirdo like you.”

“Hey,” I laugh, “Now that is not nice. I also like warm noodles thank you very much. Maybe you should step out of your comfort zone and try eating something a different way.”

I can feel him roll his eyes.

“Did you get to work really late?”, he asks, as he chops the mushrooms.

“Well…not really late. More like kinda late. I think. Boss wasn’t that annoyed.”

“She give you night shift?”

“Night shift? No?”

“What! Really?”

I nod.

“I swear she goes easy on ya Hal. Pass me the sauce?”

He pours the diced mushrooms into a bowl.

“Easy? She gives you night shift when you’re late?”, I ask.

“Well, I’ve never been late, and you know that. But my friends often complain about a brutal night shift every other morning. No excuses work for Boss.”

“Wow. What sort of stuff do they do on night shift?” I ask, curious.

“They can’t say. Told me that the Boss said it’s only supposed to be known by the ones who deserve the punishment. Everyone else ’lives in sweet bliss’, as she said.”

“Wow.”

“Yep.”

Sean mixes the mushrooms with the sauce. The condiment makes my mouth water.

“Well, not being told kinda makes me wanna find out.”, I say.

“Please don’t. You will get in a lot of trouble.”

“I already do.”, I mumble under my breath.

“Well, you don’t need more Hal,” Aves says, and I whip my head around. Aves is standing by the door of the kitchen, and I’m still wondering, as I always have, how he gets around so silently.

“Hey dad,” Sean says, still mixing the sauce.

“Hey. Hal, Sam, you guys packed?” Aves asks.

“Well, I did,” Sean starts. “But I don’t know about Hal. That room was out of my limits, number 1, soo I couldn’t even pack for the little—“

“I… I um, I started packing,” I say nervously, “I’m mostly done, but still have to check if I have anything else.”

I don’t want to leave, I think. My lie probably won’t do anything but delay the move by a mere 10 minutes. I hope that neither Sean nor Aves catch my lie.

“You’ve never really been the thorough type, but okay? Go ahead and check. You’ve both got an hour to finish up everything. As in, absolutely everything. We have absolutely no reason to be late. Better to be a week early than an hour late.”

Aves leaves the kitchen, heading to his room, probably to quadruple check. Again.

I sigh and trudge back sadly, thinking about my new life. Slowly, I make my way back to my room, dreading having to leave this place I've called home.

As I start rummaging half-heartedly through my drawers again, I spot the gleaming pocket watch I had found earlier. I pull it out, mesmerized by how the light catches the intricate case and sparkling stones. What is something so beautiful doing here? I wonder. As I gently open the case, the clock hands start swiftly moving backwards. Suddenly, rainbow lights flash rapidly in front of my eyes and…

I slowly come to, my head pounding. I'm lying on scratchy grass, the smell of dirt and plants filling my nose. Where am I?