There's no place like HOME

Woah! Ouch! You wake up. Your head's pounding. You hear laughing in the distance. Suddenly everything comes back to you. You remember walking down your street. You had a horrible day and you were thinking about everything that had gone wrong at school. That morning, you had gotten braces put on and you could not eat anything all day. Hungry and irritated, you were lost in your own thoughts walking home when you slipped on the icy sidewalk. WHAM! You hit the ground. The next thing you know, you’re waking up dazed and confused. Your knee is stinging in the cold, and you feel dizzy. How long have you been sitting here? Has it been hours or just seconds? In truth, it was only a minute. You stand up and start walking shakily to your house, hurting all over. You reach your front door and take out your key. It rattles in the lock as you try to slot it all the way in. At last, the door swings open. You half walk, half fall through the doorway and stagger to the couch as you drop your bag on the floor. Lying down, you sense that something is wrong. Brr, it’s cold in here. What should you do? A special fuzzy grey blanket perhaps? But the stairs look much bigger and farther than usual. One step, five steps, eleven steps, just one more. There, you are at the top. You get your blanket and make your way all the way down those same stairs. FLUMP, the couch feels so cozy. Sleep comes to you the moment you close your eyes… dreams of hot French Onion soup and chocolate ice cream fill your imagination as you doze away. Suddenly, a bright light makes you blink, once, twice. The dream is gone and suddenly you feel anxious. “MUM?!” You shout. “Yes munchka?” You turn your head and there’s your mum, right beside you, looking into your eyes lovingly. “It’s okay, you're safe” she says, putting a warm towel on your forehead and an ice pack on your knee. “Ahh, that's nice”, you think. “Here” says your mum. She hands you your headphones. You put them on and press play to your favorite audiobook as you close your once more. This is home.