A Place To Call Home

Goodbye

Three Days Later

Ellie closed her garage apartment's door behind her, she breathed in the cold night air before she began walking across the backyard. She had been resting for the last three days, but now she needed to get out and visit Joel's house. She had been staring at his house for days now from her apartment's window, she was always hoping to see the kitchen's light on and Joel sitting at the table near the window. She use to see Joel every morning sitting at the kitchen table, he use to drink his coffee and eat his breakfast while he read a random book. She always use to wave to him every morning when they were on speaking terms, how she missed those days. She stopped at the porches steps and looked up at the porches light, it wasn't switched on anymore. Slowly walking up the steps Ellie remembered the times when she use to listen to Joel playing his guitar on his favourite chair, they had spent many summer evenings singing and playing their guitars together. She stopped at the side door and turned it's handle, the door was unlocked. She entered the house and closed the door behind her, the whole house was dark.

" Joel, I'm home..." Ellie said.

Ellie was half expecting Joel to answer her back, but there was nothing but a ticking sound coming from the wall clock in the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around herself while she walked forward, the scent of wood oil and pine lingered in the air. It was strange seeing Joel's house so quiet, he was always playing records or carving wooden animals in his study upstairs. Stopping outside of the living room Ellie's gaze wandered around the hallway, there was an umbrella in a stand and one of Joel's old coats hanging on a peg. Nothing had been torched in his house for days, this was the first time Ellie had been inside of his house since Christmas last year.

" Hey kiddio."

Ellie could still hear Joel's voice if she listened carefully, she could still feel his presences in the house. She sniffled and walked into the living room, the room was dark since all of the curtains were drawn in the room. It felt weird not seeing Joel in his favourite armchair, she could still see him if she closed her eyes.

" Hey old man." Ellie said.

Sighing to herself Ellie sat down on the edge of the couch, she wrapped an old thick blanket around herself and ran her fingers down it's soft hem. She remembered this blanket very well, it had been her comforter when she was sick and it had always been around when she was watching movies with Joel. The scent of soap lingered on it still, she breathed in the scent and closed her eyes. Many memories came flooding back to Ellie, there was popcorn and hot milk. A bowl of Maria's stew and some freshly made bread, there was a movie playing on the old television set. She could hear laughter and screams of people running away from dinosaurs, the scene where the Tyrannosaurus Rex was chasing the car had amused Ellie.

" Holy shit! There's an Ellie in Jurassic Park!"

" I guess I'm gonna have to start calling you Doctor Ellie."

" Fuck yeah!"

Ellie smiled to herself while a single tear rolled down her cheek, she had so many memories about watching movies with Joel. She wiped her cheek with the blanket and pulled her knees to her chest, she would do anything to just spend one more day with Joel.

" This one is for you, it's from me. I hope you like it."

" Thank you, Ellie."

Ellie's gaze wandered to the fireplace, the portrait she had drawn for Joel was still sitting on the fireplace's shelf. It only seemed like yesterday when she drew it for him, she remembered struggling with the shadowing and getting shading pointers from Cat. This room was full of memories, she never knew it until now.