'….' I always prided myself on being someone who knew how to stay calm.
Yet right now my entire body was riddled with nervousness as if my blood had turned icy cold. I climbed the stairs and stepped onto the porch while lifting my heavy suitcase behind me, I paused for a second staring in silence before I finally clenched my right hand into a fist and reached up knocking on the wooden door.
Knock
Knock
Knock
I tapped my foot while waiting anxiously but the door remained closed even after a minute had passed. I raised my hand once more and knocked yet nothing changed making me frown. I moved over toward the window to the side and cupped my hand around my eyes to peak inside, Unfortunately I was blocked by the closed curtains.
'Is no one home?' I clicked my tongue but guess I couldn't be too surprised since it was the middle of the day.
'Should I just wait?' I glanced out toward the street as I tried to decide what to do.
'Maybe…' I narrow my eyes before reaching up and grabbing the door knob and giving it a slight twist.
"Ah…" A small exclamation left my lips as the knob fully turned and the door cracked open silently.
"She still never locks the door" I smiled remembering how my mother used to say it was pointless.
She claimed it was a small town and that theft didn't happen like it did in the big cities. She wasn't technically wrong but I couldn't help but feel slightly worried about a house full of women not locking the front door, Of course I knew that was just me overthinking things but I felt I should bring it up at a later time.
"Hello?" I spoke out cautiously as I pushed the door open and I was greeted to the view on the inside.
I saw a familiar living room that matched my memories with the only difference being that the furniture seemed newer. I could see the same brick fire place that we used to roast marshmallows over, I smiled although no one responded to my voice and I didn't notice anyone in my view.
'What should I do?' I hummed with my eyes darting around while I started to subconsciously feel like a burglar.
'It's really hot….' Honestly I didn't want to wait in the heat especially since I was wearing jeans and a jacket.
After a lot of thought I decided to quickly step inside and push the door closed to avoid the eyes of anyone who might walk by. It was a small village after all with less than a thousand people living here, Everyone knew everyone and they would undoubtedly recognize their neighbors and i hadn't been here for more than half a decade which could lead to confusion.
"is anyone here?" I shouted out just to make sure as I looked around with a warm feeling in my chest.
It looked very different yet incredibly similar at the same time leaving me with mixed emotions. I pushed down the handle of my suitcase leaving it at the door and stepped forward with cautious footsteps, I slid my hand across the back of the couch that was facing a small television that hung just over the fireplace. The wooden floors creaked beneath the weight of my footsteps until I paused near the entrance of a hallway.
'This….' I smiled seeing the edge of the wall that was marked with multiple lines from top to bottom.
'….' I reached up and my fingers slid across the craved out lines that had the names of me and my siblings next to them.
I let out a small sigh before continuing down the hallway while reminiscing about my childhood. I moved slowly while taking in every inch of the home, It was much different from mansion that I had lived at for so long but not in a bad way. I was so caught up in my emotions and thoughts that I didn't even hear one of the doors creaking open until I saw the light from inside.