In my time, the rich people lived in cities or out in the middle of nowhere. Small town life was kind of looked down on, in the cities and bigger towns.

[Strange to think how things can change. Of course now, in Nadine's world, there are no rich or poor. There's just the remains of humanity trying to survive. But those aren't thoughts for the moment.]

I liked it, though. It was quiet. There was a lot of routine, usually. And a lot of wild places it was easy to slip off to.

[The forests and hills had provided a solace no foster family ever had. Probably why there's more forest and farmland than actual town here. It's only a few blocks of buildings around the town square with the white steepled church and the macabre carousel.]

It was a hell of a lot better than the children's homes in Manchester.