Searching For A Home

Living in the Past

A ten year old child was running in an open field, laughing as he looked for a place to hide. He stopped to scan the area, observing his options. He could hide behind one of the many trees around him, or maybe two large boulders, and there was also among the tall grass. He was small enough he could drop down on his belly and be hidden within the grass.

Diego, the ten year old boy, heard the phrase "Ready or Not Here I Come!" He dropped down, choosing to hide in the grass. Diego, with his head faced down, accidentally tasted the dirt. He was spitting it out until he felt someone nearing. He held his breath as he felt someone run by. Diego brought his head up just high enough to see his little friend running towards the trees.

Diego smiled when he realized he made the right choice. He began to crawl towards the way out of the open field. The moment Diego reaches the pavement, he wins the game of hide and seek. Diego could try to make a run for it, but his friend was faster than him. If his friend was close enough, he'd definitely tag him before he made it to safety. So Diego crawled until he heard some more movement. He stopped, putting his head down.

"Diego," called out his friend. "Where are you?"

From the sound of his friend's voice, he was only standing a couple of feet away. Diego put his hands over his mouth, trying to stop his laughter from giving away his position.

"Where are you Diego?" yelled out his friend.

Diego saw a small rock in front of him and grabbed it. He quickly threw it to the side and hit one of the boulders. The noise caught his friend's attention and he made a run towards it.

It wasn't until he felt his friend was a good distance away that Diego stood up and made a run for it. Diego was about eight feet away from winning the game as his friend saw him and gave chase. They were both laughing as Diego's foot was just about to touch the pavement and his friend tagged him.

Diego woke up.

It had been ten years since he and his friend used to play hide and seek. The dream made him smile. It was a good memory of a time of innocence, but the world was a different place now.

Diego had his back to a stone wall as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. The sun was hitting his face and he could feel the warmth on his cheeks. The first thing he noticed was the tall grass he was surrounded by.

"That's why I had that weird dream," he said to himself as he stood up. He had his hand on the stone wall to steady himself. He remembered his friend from his dream and the memory made him smile again. "What was his name again?" he thought to himself.

Diego walked around the wall and looked out into the distance. The world was so green around him. The place looked like someplace you'd see in an adventure movie. The area was covered in grass, moss and trees. It looked like a ruin of an ancient world long forgotten, but it wasn't. Diego remembered how life used to be. He was standing in a place which used to be a shopping center.

Diego stretched out his arms and back as he looked at the ground where he was sleeping. He reached down and picked up his tomahawk. He strapped it to his belt before reaching down and picking up his bow and quiver with arrows. He reached inside his quiver and pulled out a plastic bag. From the bag, he pulled a can of food and shoved the bag back into his quiver. He strapped the bow and quiver to his back and walked towards the shopping center.

Diego used his fingers to pull out spam from the can and ate it. The sound of pleasure escaped his mouth as he continued to eat. He cleaned out the can by the time he reached the shopping center and dropped it on the floor. He walked past every store, searching for one with food.