Is Home Here?

Dallas

"We're here, finally!" Kenna laughed, shaking my shoulders. I had fallen asleep. We had been on the train for what seemed like years. I looked out the window beside me, seeing a whole new world.

I only saw one or two trees as the train chugged to a stop, seeing people every where I looked. "Wow. Where's the trees at?" I asked, looking at Kenna. Kenna used to live in Texas. Austin actually. "There's not as many trees here as there is in Alaska, Olive," Kenna sternly said, ushering me up. "Get up! Let's go!" I nodded and followed her into the aisle, seeing all sorts of people gathering their things.

I didn't remember the last time I was around so many people. All I could think of was when Mom and I went to church. About a mile away from our cabin was a small, Baptist church. Only about 20 people came every Sunday. Sometimes only 5. But Mom and I refused to give up our love for God by living in Alaska. So we went every Sunday. When Mom got sick, I went alone. She told me that if I went it was almost like she was there in spirit.
"Olive! Hello?" Kenna yelled, me snapping back into reality. "Sorry!" I chuckled, clutching my pillow and following her off the train. The pictures I had taken before I left Alaska laid in my pocket, ready for whenever I needed it. I put my hand in my pocket to make sure they were still there, and they where.

Off the train, people of all ages ran around in hurries. There was a rough beeping sound coming from the other side of the fencing beside the railroad. There was lots of greenery and weeds growing beside the sidewalk, me admiring it. I remembered when Mom would take me into the woods before sunrise, both her and I admiring the flowers. Of course, the flowers weren't even half as beautiful here.
"Your Dad should be here soon. How are you feeling? It didn't look like you slept well." Kenna asked, me sitting next to her on a bench. "I had a lot of nightmares." I murmured. Mom always used to say that when you're having a nightmare, your subconscious mind is trying to tell you something. I guess my nightmare was trying to tell me that I missed Mom more than anything in the world. And I knew it was true.

Suddenly, Kenna elbowed me. I looked up to see a man with brown hair like mine, and green eyes. It had to be my Dad. I'd seen pictures of him before, but he looked nothing like the person he used to be. "Olive?" He asked, stepping closer to us. We were under the shade of the train parks ticket place, his face half sunlight, half shade. I hadn't seen him in 12 years. I was 13.
"Olive, this is your father." Kenna smiled, trying to push me towards him. My heart beat a thousand times a second, my legs shaking. "He doesn't bite." Kenna whispered in my ear. I stood up and looked at him straight in the eyes. Mom always said that the best way to get to know a person is by looking into their eyes.

I felt frozen in time as he grasped my hand, time stopping. "You're so grown up!" He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me for a hug. I didn't speak. I didn't even know where to start. "I'm so sorry about your mother. Ashley was truly an angel on earth." He released his arms from me, a weight being lift off my shoulders. He definitely had strong arms. "And you must be-" "Kenna. Kenna Jones." Kenna laughed, finishing his sentence. "Ashley and I met each other when they moved to Alaska. She was my best friend." She choked, trying not to cry.

Kenna was a strong woman, but one can only hold so much emotion inside. Kenna lived only a few minutes from us with her husband, Noah. Kenna and Noah where trying to have a baby before Mom died, and they planned on naming it Ashley. No matter if it was a boy or girl.
"I'm sure you and Ashley got along very well. You seem like the adventurous type." Dad smiled, Kenna laughing along with him. "I guess I am." Kenna then rested her hand on my shoulder, looking into my eyes. "I'll miss you, I hope to see you again." A single tear streamed down my cheek, Kenna wiping it away just like Mom would.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Kenna. I wish you and Noah would stay here with us." I cried. Kenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're going to be just fine, Olive. We'll see each other again." Kenna whispered, wrapping her arms around me. I wasn't much of a hugger, but I accepted hers. Oh how I would miss the days that Kenna came over to Mom and I's cabin to have lunch with us, or the days that we rode in her jeep till sundown. "Kenna, I want to meet little Ashley as soon as he or she is born." I smiled.

Kenna nodded and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Goodbye, Oli." "Bye, Kenna Jones." I watched as Kenna walked up the steps of the train, turning around to look at me again. We both waved at each other, trying to stay lost in the moment forever. But then, she was gone, and my heart stopped. This truly meant that I wouldn't be ever going back to Alaska. Maybe when I'm older.

"Wow. It looks like you two really had a connection." Dad chuckled, leading me to walk beside him on the sidewalk. I wanted to be with Mom, not Dad. "Listen, I get you're upset about moving here. I would be too. I know you don't really remember me and that's alright, you'll get to know me in time." I looked away, looking up at the cloudy, sunlit blue sky.

I sighed and followed him down the sunny sidewalk, feeling a new hole in my stomach.