Helen was so pleased with the librarian's kindness. They had many books for different businesses, apartments for rent, houses for rent or sale, real estate agencies, and many more. A lot of them had pictures of the houses or apartments. She picked up one of each and left the library. It was noon now. She was hot, hungry, thirsty, and afraid. She sat on one of the park benches under the shade of a tree looking at the apartments in the book. It was so wonderful that they had more than just picture; they had the size, the price, the amount of deposit... and everything that she needed to know about the apartments. She began marking some of them.
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One week later, she was settled in a one bedroom apartment on Mimosa Road in Richardson. She paid cash for the first month rent and deposit. But the manager of the apartment told her that she needed to open a bank account. She asked Helen for three references. Helen told half lie and half truth:
"I'm from Chicago. Just came here to go to school. I don't know anyone here yet. So you had to go without references; unless you want someone from Chicago."
She wrote names of her two cousins and an aunt as references. She did not remember their numbers or addresses. She kind of guessed that they would never contact those people; so she wrote phony numbers and told them that she did not remember their addresses.
She did not lie about her identity. She thought about it, but with false identity, she could not open a bank account or get a driver licence. She was just happy to have a place to live. She had spent the last five days in a hotel. Having her own place was like moving from hell to heaven. She still did not know how much money she had. When she opened a bank account in a bank not very far from her apartment, she only deposited one thousand dollars. The rest of the money stayed in her little, black bag, which she took it with her anywhere she went.
She bought some modest furniture and filled up her small place. Everyday she bought a newspaper. She kind of expected to read something about Roger or Mark. So far she had not heard a thing. On day eleventh of her running away from Roger's home, she knew that she would never hear from him again. That evening as she was watching the local news on television, she suddenly jumped from her seat with a big scream:
"Oh, my God...!!!"
To be continued
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