If someone asked Lauren what she wants more than anything in life, she would confidently answer that she wants peace and quiet. Lauren was 17, and her life was like endless grey days without any joy. It all started after Lauren’s mother died.

Aunt Gabriella moved into her house with her son, Nick. Lauren’s mother passed away after a long illness, and two years earlier, she had lost her father. The girl had been living alone for a while in the house left by her parents, until one summer morning, her aunt and cousin showed up at her doorstep.

After making it clear to Lauren that they were not going to leave, Aunt Gabriella and her son began to set their own rules in the house. The first thing they did was to sell off what was left of their parents’ belongings. Lauren tried to stop her and showed her the will left by her mother, which said that all the property belonged to her daughter.

But Aunt Gabriella immediately snatched it from the girl’s hands and tore it into little pieces. Lauren’s cousin Nick, skinny and tall, laughed approvingly and rubbed his hands shaking with a hangover. Lauren, looking at her relatives with a look of hatred and pain, jumped out of the house and rushed into the woods to her father’s gatehouse.

She climbed onto the creaky bed and wept for a long time, cursing her fate. All her classmates were getting ready for graduation and waiting for a new life to come, and Lauren had no money for this happy life. The funds left by her mother were not enough to move to the city and go to college, and Lauren was doomed to live in this forested village under one roof with her aunt and her constantly drunken son.

She could not rely on anyone’s help. She had no other relatives except her aunt. Her neighbors and acquaintances could not do much for her.

There was only one way out. Wait for things to change and believe that everything would be okay. But time passed, and still there was no change in Lauren’s life.

Two years passed, and she still lived side by side with Aunt Gabriela and suffered her numerous reproaches. Her aunt assigned all the housework chores to her niece. From early morning until late at night, Lauren did the housework.

Cleaning, cooking, laundry, ironing, cleaning the floors, and shopping. One day, after another quarrel with her aunt, the girl went to a gatehouse in the woods, where she often went to have some alone time. Lauren sank heavily on the bench and threw her head back.

Clouds slowly drifted across the sky. A gentle breeze chased them far, far away, and Lauren really wanted to fly with them in the sky. While dreaming, she unnoticeably dozed off, and suddenly woke up by a loud shout.