Pyrokinesis|Andrey

She had long since stopped thinking of home as a place to return to. As a child, she thought home was warmth and safety, but instead, screams and slamming doors echoed outside the walls, and she learned to remain silent and become invisible.
She was told that family should be loved no matter what. She tried to forgive, even when there was nothing left inside.
As an adult, she moved to another city, hoping to start a new life. But the past wasn't left behind. It returned at night, hiding in other people's words and casual intonations. She tried to cope on her own, then asked for help.
She began wandering the streets at night for hours, just to escape the silence of her own apartment. She wanted to find a place where she wouldn't have to fear the past and prove herself worthy of love. In her mind, this place was named the Emerald City.
One late evening, after the hospital, she again wandered aimlessly. The rain had almost washed people off the streets, and the light from the street lamps was blurred by puddles. That's when she met a stranger. He didn't ask questions, didn't try to correct her.
Just walked alongside
After that, they began to meet more and more often. They sat silently on rooftops, wandered around the city, and sometimes she told him about her family, childhood, and her imaginary city. He didn't laugh and once said that every person should find a place where they want to stay.
She began to search for him in earnest. She traveled to unfamiliar places, boarded random buses, and looked for a door she hadn't yet noticed. But gradually she realized: she wasn't looking for a city. She was looking for a state in which it wouldn't hurt to be herself.
One night, a road appeared outside her window that hadn't been there before. It led into thick fog, and ahead, a huge green gate glowed. The stranger was waiting for her there.
She stopped, not daring to touch the handle.
—What if there is nothing there?

• then you'll build it yourself
  The gates opened. There was no ideal world behind them. She took a step, then another. And for the first time in many years, she walked not away from herself, but towards herself.
  tgk-@ksshhellxx