"All I need now is a hot bath," I say to myself, scrunching up every face in my body.
I opened the door to my room and in the same second a flood of happy memories came flooding back, making me smile. I quickly went into my room, closed the door and looked at every corner. My mother hadn't changed a thing, it still looked like the room of a teenager full of dreams to be lived.
After a few minutes I walked around the room towards the bed, put my suitcase on top of it, opened it and started to put things away in the small closet I had there and after everything was put away I finally went to take my long-dreamed-of shower when I entered the bathroom I saw that nothing had changed there was also a toothbrush in the box on top of the sink clean towels and boxes of soap too.
"Mom, you always think of everything," I said, smiling.
I put everything away and then took off my clothes and walked towards the shower room. As soon as I got in, I turned on the shower and the hot water falling on me made me sigh.
"I really needed a shower like that," I said to myself, still keeping my eyes closed in appreciation.
After a few minutes I finally finished my shower, grabbed the towel that was on the rack next to me, wrapped it around my body and left the bathroom, heading straight for the small closet in the bedroom. As it was often cold in Kelson due to the town being in the middle of the mountains, I grabbed a set of sweatshirts and quickly got dressed, because even though the heater was on, it still had a chilly wind.
As soon as I finished, I heard my mother calling me and telling me that the soup was ready. This was one of my favorite dishes and my father's as well. This thought made me feel nostalgic for when he was still alive and for the happy times that the two of us spent together, even though it had been four years since his death, it was still painful for me and much more so for my mother who constantly missed him.
"Dad, you've been missed so much - he stared at the photo on the bedside table.
I wiped away the tears that insisted on falling and then walked to the door, passing through it and taking quick steps down the corridor because I didn't want to keep my mother waiting for too long. When I reached the stairs, I skipped down them step by step and heard my mother's footsteps and as soon as she saw me, she broke into a huge smile because that's how it was every time she saw me, even when I was traveling around Europe to take part in baking competitions.
"I was just going up to call you," my mother said with a smile on her face.
I smiled back at her.
"I'm already here," I said to her, making her smile and shake her head.
"Were you crying? - my mother asked with a frown.
I let out a sigh.
"You know that every time I think of Dad or see a photo of me with him, it's hard to keep my emotions in check," I told her as we walked towards the kitchen.
"I know what it's like," my mother said with a sad smile.
As soon as we entered the kitchen, the pot of soup was already on the table, and we both sat down and began to serve ourselves, we sat facing each other, I looked at my mother with a smile and she smiled back, and we began to eat in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
"So, daughter, what are you going to do now that you're back? - my mother asked, breaking the silence.
I was sure of what I wanted to do, even more so now that I had the money from all the cooking competitions I'd won.
"I'm going to set up a bakery," I told my mother with determination.
"I have a perfect location then," my mother said, clapping her hands and smiling.
I smiled at her excitement and was curious to know which place it was.
"What is this place? - I asked my mother curiously.
"It was actually your father's. He had planned all this for when you came back, but unfortunately that damn illness took him away from us - my mother said and at the same second she started to cry.
I got up from around the table, crouched down and hugged her, and we both started to cry. It had been two years since my father died, but I still missed him terribly.
"Dad will always be watching over us," I said to my mother, still hugging her.
We held each other for a few more seconds and then pulled away, sat down again and went back to eating in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. I looked around me and felt happy to be back home again, the place I should never have left.