By Sofia Crook | Senior | Utica High School
[This work comes from the Art of Storytelling class, taught by Julia Satterthwaite.]
For years, the abandoned industrial buildings of rural Grand Rapids, Michigan, were consumed by nature. As the overgrowth of greenery and fungus breached the concrete, the buildings became increasingly uninhabitable. The creaky floorboards and the skittering of wild animals are unattractive to most. However, what turns away others attracted Audrey Mills and her family, but why?
Mills has an answer:
Mills’ dad met his girlfriend, Hannah, four years ago and Hannah quickly formed a close bond with Mills.
Mills reflects fondly on the memories of visiting Hannah’s farm in rural Grand Rapids, and as time went on their bond continued to grow stronger than the connection Mills has with her biological mother.
Mills often visits Hannah’s workplace. The environment that surrounds her office attracts Mills as old industrial buildings are scattered around the property waiting to be refurbished by Hannah’s real estate company.
Mills is continuously exposed to an ambiance found nowhere else when exploring; the overgrowth, large windows and mushrooms in frigid weather resemble a ‘video-game’ like scene.
Mills enters the buildings without worry of a threat. Perceiving the experience as pursuing an interesting activity rather than putting herself into a threatening situation that others may fear.
And so Mills continues to explore the buildings surrounding her. With the connection she has built with Hannah, Mills was able to develop a certain admiration for the buildings that were once abandoned. Those who glance at the old buildings while passing by may perceive them as threatening. What they don’t know is the interesting stories these buildings have provided for people like Audrey Mills.