Dreams
It was a lot scarier than she thought it would be on her own. At home, she dreamed of this moment, yearned for it with all her being, imagined every day playing out with her as a successful and respected adult. She would return home with medicine for her mom, be an ace chicken keeper, and all Rick would be able to do would be to apologize profusely and retract every mean thing he ever said, every doubt he had ever thrown at her. And somewhere along the way, maybe she’d cross paths with their dad and bring him home, too. In short, a savior to all.
Dreams rarely go as planned.
Popuri sat on her bed with her knees drawn up. She had meant to go to the store today and get herself a night light, but she had forgotten, and now slept with a door cracked open and hoped her roommates didn’t mind. Waking from nightmares was never pleasant, but Popuri didn’t even have her favorite stuffed animals to hold and comfort herself anymore.
All she wanted was for a few things to go right. Was that so much to ask for? And to see her family again, of course, though Popuri felt like she could never face them. Rick would be so mad at her! Her hands covered her face and she tried not to cry, but tears came so easy to her.
She wanted to go home.