nostalgia....

The snow started to fall in a swirl as she stepped out into the street of her childhood neighborhood. Tonight was the anniversary of her father's death, and tomorrow would be her mom's. Both died just one day from each other but about 22 years apart. The home where she had lived during her early teen years was still standing.

Another family lived there now, of course. They had looked at her a bit warily when she explained who she was, and how she had lived there so long ago, and had just wanted to see her old family home. They were an immigrant family, the mom had on a headscarf, and the father, though he tried to look stern, looked more weary and exhausted than anything else.

There two boys and one older girl, who looked solemnly on as Tess walked into the home, her eyes looking for familiar signs of her old life. The house had been repainted, but the old wallpaper in the small dinette area was still there. Little yellow flowers on a white background, cheerful despite the shabby used furnishings. Tess explained how she had grown up there, after moving in when she was 8 years old, and how her father had died at age 16, leaving her and her Mom without much resources. She talked about how she rode her bike through the neighborhood with her friends during the summer, and how Christmases here tough because they had little to give, but there was always love in abundance, despite her father's illness and her mother's anxiety.  The family listened kindly, and in their broken English asked her to stay for dinner. Tess hesitated, wondering if they had enough to spare, but accepted.  The kindness of strangers always amazed her. 

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sneakers: KiB Designs, JinxElla sneakers

mesh, for men and women

jeans: Vinyl , Blake jeans