Back to Her Roots

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The old, angel-like fountain still stood tall in the front yard. The crystal clear water was slowly trickling down the sacred statue. The beautiful marble staircase still leads up to the eye-catching, bright red front door. The white colosseum porch still wrapped around the house like a giant teddy bear. Her favorite swing as a child still swayed in the mid-summer breeze. Her mother's large flower vases still sat around the porch. It was almost as if nothing had changed since she last moved across the country and away from all of her family. 

Rebecca had just graduated from college when she decided she needed to branch out and experience life from a different perspective. Her small hometown of Brevard, North Carolina only had a population of about 7,600 and she decided she needed to broaden her culture. Not only would it help with her job, but it would also add some adventure into her life. She came from a town where everyone knew everyone and nothing came as a surprise. Life often became boring for her as she got older. After a long process of looking at apartments, living costs, and drawn out conversations with her mother, she finally settled for Los Angeles, California. She obtained an interior designing degree in college and knew that widening her perspective on life would surely help aid in her job search. 

Saying goodbye to her family was the hardest decision she’s ever had to make. From the time she was little, all she could remember was always being surrounded by warm hugs, familiar faces, and the comfort of her family's support. Everyone in her town was friendly and constantly smiling. There were all happy with their lives and it made an impact on how Rebecca grew up. Now, moving so far across the country, she knew she wouldn't be able to come home as often to see the smiling faces of her family and her town. The cost of living was tremendously greater in California compared to her small town in North Carolina. It would be a challenge, but she knew she needed it. It was what was going to be best for her. She bought her one-way plane ticket, said goodbye to her family, and went out to start her new life. 

Back in her hometown, Rebecca’s mother and father moved to a new house a couple years after she left. They needed to downsize and get comfortable being alone. Around three times a year, Rebecca would try to travel back to their house. However, she never got a chance to return to her childhood home after her parents moved out. She had always wanted to just go back and visit. To relive some of the memories that the wonderful house gave her. Now, in the middle of the hot sunny day, she found herself back at the house she grew up in. 

The house went bankrupt after her parents moved out and it has never been touched since. Whatever her family left there was still sitting in the old house. Her parents only took about half of their things and just bought new items when they moved. She knew, out of curiosity, she had to go back and take a moment in the house. No one lived there anymore and it was still in perfect condition.

Rebecca slowly walked up the staircase and to the spot where she knew the extra key would always be. Her mother always kept it hidden inside her large vase of flowers that sat off to the left side of the front door. As she put her hand in the vase, she pulled out the familiar key. The key she used on so many late nights out with friends, study sessions, or food runs.

She turned the key in the door and the overwhelming sense of memories filled the air. Everything came rushing back to her in an instant. All of the laughs with her parents, movie nights, game nights, days of constant support, and her wonderful childhood replayed in her mind. As she walked through the foyer and into the living room, something caught her eye. It was barely protruding out of underneath the old couch her parents left behind. Its small reflection of the incoming sunlight gleamed on the coffee table. She slowly walked over to see what it was. As she got closer, her heart jumped.

She soon realized it was her favorite silver rhinestone ring that her father got her when she turned seventeen. The ring had a small band covered in dainty rhinestones. The centerpiece of the ring was a thousand dollar crystal that her dad had custom made for her ring. She used to wear the ring every single passing second. She had never been gifted something to her that held so much value and meaning. The ring meant everything and more to her. Rebecca never took it off. However, on the night of her senior prom, she misplaced the ring. She must have taken it off when she was at the party changing out of her dress. Rebecca was heartbroken for the longest time. She still felt awful that she lost something of so much meaning to her and to her father.

She slid the beautiful ring back on her finger. It still fits perfectly. 

Rebecca smiled as she reminisced on the memories it brought back. As the bright sunlight filled the living room, she looked around at the house. Left in almost perfect condition from the last time she saw it, she was overcome with a grateful feeling in her heart to have grown up the way she did. She had such a good life to look back on. Rebecca was extremely thankful for everything she had been taught. No matter how far away she was from her parents, they would always be with her. They would always be there for her… and that was all that mattered.