In the end, there was only a single, lightweight suitcase to take with her, but the pile of trash was enough to fill the entrance of the apartment.
Just as she was about to call the property management to arrange garbage pickup, a timid young girl next door approached her.
"Excuse me, Miss …? You don't want all this anymore?" The girl looked as though she had just moved in, not well-off, by the looks of her circumstances. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, glancing nervously at Ivana.
For a moment, Ivana saw herself eight years ago, when she'd first arrived in this city. The room she'd rented back then had been much worse than this apartment.
Back then, she, too, had timidly asked a girl who was moving out, "Miss, do you not want all of this anymore?"
Ivana answered, "Yes, I don't need it anymore. Do you want it?"
The girl's eyes lit up and she blushed with excitement, "How much do you want for it?"
Ivana smiled, "Nothing. Do you have any coke? If you do, an iced cola will do in exchange."
"Yes, yes, I do!" The girl hurriedly fetched a bottle of icy coke, her slippers dragging noisily across the floor.
After taking a gulp of the coke, Ivana's spirits lifted considerably.