Chapter Eight
On our way to West Virginia I made sure my trash bag full of stuffed toys sat beside me in the seat. I didn't want them to be thrown in the moving van and take the chance of the bag busting and some falling out and getting lost. The bag held my way out once I was old enough to leave.
When we got there we pulled up to a trailer. Mom said that that was to be our new home. I didn't mind it being a trailer, I just didn't like how small it seemed to be. There was however lots of woods around to explore, and a river close by. I couldn't wait to venture out and find spots in them to claim as my own. But before I could do that I had to help unload the stuff and get my stuff unpacked. I liked the new bed I got because it was a set of bunk beds. So I put all my stuffed animals on the top bunk and chose to sleep on the bottom one. This was so I could keep my eye on all of them. Once I got them all arranged and my clothes put away I asked if I could go exploring. Mom said yes, but to be careful.
The first thing I found on my exploration was this cool tree that had a branch low to the ground. It was curved and bent into the perfect seat, and it hung out over a little creek. When sitting on it you could let your feet dangle over it and it looked like you were hovering in the air over water. It almost felt like flying. I also found this old abandoned shed. It was sitting in the woods besides what looked like a burned down cabin. There was a big tall chimney standing perfectly, and pieces of burnt logs laying all around it. I immediately inspected the shed and deemed it worthy of being my own secret hideaway. There wasn't much in it, just a few rusted out cans of stuff on a set of shelves and what looked like a giant empty thread spool. That became my table. I couldn't wait to clean it all up and add my own touches to it. It was going to be nice to have a place to get away to. I knew that I would need one sooner or later. Things were going to good for to long. I knew it probably wouldn't last too much longer. They never got along for that long before.
It was starting to get dark so I headed back. I couldn't wait to explore the burnt cabin part to see if anything usable made it through the fire and got left behind. When I got back home mom was still unpacking and dad was setting up their bed and the furniture. It took what seemed like forever for him to get done. We were all worn out from the long drive and moving.
The next day I didn't get to explore because mom wanted me to help unpack boxes so it wouldn't take her as long. Dad had to get up early and go to his new job, so if I didn't help her it would be just her doing it. She said we would take a break around noon and go see her mom and dad (my grandparents) because they just lived up the road from us. She said they couldn't wait to see me and how much I had grown since it had been so long. I was nervous because I didn't know who they were or how they were. I just hoped they were nice people and they would like me.
Maybe it was because of my nerves, but it seemed like we had just started to unpack and it was already noon. Mom told me to clean up and get ready to go. We walked to their house. It was a big white house with black shutters sitting on a hill. It looked like a mansion compared to all the places I had seen and lived in. That made me even more nervous. Mom didn't even knock before going in. She just opened the door and went on in.
The smell that hit me as soon as we went in made my mouth water instantly. I didn't know what was cooking, but it smelled amazing. Mom led me through the house until we got to the kitchen and dining room. The dining room table was covered in all kinds of yummy foods. There were also a lot of people setting around it eating.
When we got in there everyone stopped what they were doing and greeted us. I had a lot of cousins, aunts and uncles I never knew I had. My grandparents gave me a big hugs. They seemed to really enjoy seeing us. Mom showed me where the plates and forks were kept and everyone shifted around the table to make room for us. The food looked and smelled so good. I didn't know what to eat first, so I took some of everything. It was all very good. I almost licked my plate clean. If I hadn't been so stuffed from the first plate full I would have gotten more.
It was kind of nice being at a table full of people that were all laughing, talking, and happy to be together. I loved how welcoming and normal it felt. It was almost as if we had never had any time or distance apart. They all talked to me as if they had been around me my whole life. It was also as if my whole life hadn't been bad. At least that's how they made it seem. Then again maybe they didn't know how things were in the past. After all they had lived in another state the time it all all happened. Maybe mom never told them about any of it. Maybe when she spoke to any of them she made out like everything was god and normal. I didn't know. Either way it was nice to be around people that didn't remind you of it if they did know.
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