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Dorothys red shoes

"Be safe okay I love you." My mother says. She's wearing blue jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. She's about to leave for her own flight.

"Bye mom!"

I walk off and get onto the plane. I'm so excited I could probably run all the way there.

I find my seat. It's a window seat luckily. Besides me is a little boy and besides him is a little girl.

I assume there siblings. Probably like 5 or 6.

I love kids. I'm also crazy good with them. Like crazy.

Like I go to the pool with my friends and random little kids ask me to play. I've never met anyone else it happens too. But it happens absurdly often to me.

I wanna run my little own studio for kids when I'm older.

I put my headphones on and fall asleep before we even take off. When I wake up the boy has fallen asleep on me and the little girl asleep on him.

Would it be weird if I took a picture?

Cause this is adorable.

I decide wtf and snap a picture of us.

Eventually the boy wakes up. I smile at him and he stares at me.

"I'm love planes," he says.

"Yeah they are pretty cool."

"Where are you going?"

"To my dad."

He smiles big at me with cute blue eyes.

"Us too! I'm Jack! This is my sister Julia! We're twins! But I'm ten seconds older!" He grins at me.

"Really? How old are you guys?"

"We are both five!"

"Where you mom?"

"Oh she's sitting behind us! She couldn't get a full three seats."

Oh... I woulda traded her but we only have like 30 minutes left so there's no point.

I look back.

"Your sister and mom are really pretty. You handsome too." I smile at him. He cheeks turn pink and then he smiles more.

"Thanks! But my sister is a toad." He frowns and rolls his eyes. "Your really pretty." He blushes and kicks his own shoe.

"Thank you." I grin.

"How old are you?"

"17."

"Oh, your too old for me." He frown and shakes his head and I giggle.

For the rest of the flight he tells me about him mom and dad and there divorse and how he has like twelve huge fake planes at home cause he loves them so much. He also tells me about how his sister is scared of them.

By the time we land he gives me a big hug bye. I grab my stuff and practically skip out. I have the biggest smile.

It hurts my face it's so big.

Then I see him.

He see me.

I run and jump into his arms and start sobbing.

We both cried the day me and mom left. He still calls me every Friday. Asking about life.

His the only parent I consider an actual parent.

"Hi my little ballerina," he says. He's got tears too.

I sob some more.

••••

Eventually we pull up to my old home. My current home.

It's exactly how I remember it. It's a small house. With two stories and three bedrooms. It white and it's got blue flowers by the porch.

There's a wooden bench swing hanging on the porch.

There plants everywhere.

We go inside and I smile. It smells the same.

Like fresh coffee and vanilla.

When you walk inside you see the living room. The walls are blue with the off white couch. There's a yellow lamp and a red table. An old looking chandelier hangs from the ceiling. There green and yellow and orange pillows.

This house. Exactly how I remember it. So full of life and color. The only difference is the pictures on the walls. Some of me.

Some of Joanne. His new wife.

And of River his stepdaughter. She's my age. I see her in a picture. Shes got gorgeous red hair and bright blue eyes. She's got the most perfect smile you've ever seen.

I think of my tooth gap and cringe. Mom wouldn't ever get me braces. And then after we moved she was never home enough for me to ask. Eventually I gave up.

One day I'll get it fixed. I remember when I was a kid, putting a rubber band on my teeth trying to get them together more.

Never worked.

"Hey, c'mon my little ballerina, I'll show you your room." He leads me up to my old room.

It's a light yellow. A small twin bed in the corner, a pink bed. It's got a dark brown night stand and dresser and a closet with mirror doors where I used to practice. There posters on the walls.

Mostly ballerinas. Preforming what I used to think were the most amazing jumps. I smile.

Dad hugs me and kisses my head. Tells me to shower and then come down for dinner.

I sigh and sit on my bed.

Home again.

I smile and cry tears of joy.