story from creative circle group:

 New York

Refried hopped off the train that she had ridden on about five times before. She had a suitcase and a pillowcase that she had when she went to camp as a child and had it signed by other campers.  Someone had written in permanent marker, “Your funny,” and Refried liked this old compliment and had kept it.  Refried got into a cab and gave them her address. It was her new address that she had just signed a lease for a month before.  Her key worked, and she completed her move to New York City.  The floor was hard and at first she did not have an air mattress.  She woke up with back pain and had to look for an air mattress at a local 99 cent store.  She found one within days and felt better. The moving van came a few weeks later and Refried unpacked all her belongings into a new apartment that she would live in for about 7 years. It was in the neighborhood of Inwood, at the top northern part of Manhattan.  There were a lot of people from Dominican republic there, and some restaurants, a starbucks, and a CVS.  It was also near New York Presbyterian Hospital, which she had to go to sometimes for gallbladder problems.

While living in that neighborhood, Refried went to social work school, attended two social work internships, and volunteered with New York Cares for four years.  Refried also wrote some books of poetry and stories and published them on amazon.

After the pandemic, Refried had less money and had to move to supported housing for mental illness in the Bronx.  That was also a cool place and had a good grocery store nearby.  Refried stayed there for the rest of her life and was thankful to live a good portion of her life in New York City.  During that last part of her life, Refried attended a lot of online groups for mental health, creative writing, and other clubs.  Refried also kept writing and publishing, and walked to the post office a lot to mail free books for people.  For the last few years, she took comedy classes. It was a dream come true to be a humor writer and comedian, and in heaven she will try to find the new New York City and be happy with all the other new yorkers from all time.