Jessie

Jessie ran her finger softly over the covers of the books in the ‘O’ section of the public library. She had gotten all too used to sneaking into places after hours to get away. Her pointer finger finally landed on the dusty book: Oxford Dictionary. Excitement that couldn’t be pinned to a reason shone on her face. She opened the book and skimmed through the pages until she landed on the letter she needed, the letter ‘H.’ She slowly spelled the word in her head, skipping pages till she found the word: home. It said, ‘the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.’ “Huh,” she huffed. “No wonder I don’t feel at home. I don’t live anywhere permanently.” Her family had never had enough money to rent or buy, so they stayed at homeless shelters. Occasionally, she and her sister would stay with a relative or at a kind volunteer’s house to help take the load off. She finished her train of thought, and with soft, fast hands, began to flip to another ‘H’ word. The word she was looking for was house, not that far off from the previous word. This one read: a building for human habitation, especially one that is lived in by a family or small group of people. The difference, though small, shook Jessie’s mind for a little while. She came up with an idea that she thought was smart. “People can live in a building, or they can live freely and permanently where they feel they belong. That’s the difference between the two,” she said softly. “One is a place you can be free; the other is just space, though maybe full but feels empty.” She smiled softly and put the book down, finally figuring it out.