Hearts in the Hallway

Sheees baaaackk

- Lena -

"I took a simple breath of fresh air as I stepped out of my mother's car, just as I did every other drive. And yet, this moment was unique. It wasn't bad- nor was it good. The feeling seemed to be much less complex than that. It just was. I felt new, like my past wouldn't burden me anymore." I paused, pondering how to continue my diary entry. 'Wow I write dramatically,'  I thought to myself as I read over my own words. I placed my pen on the empty book, standing, as I heard the sound of the moving trucks outside. My feet casually pushed through my open bedroom doorway.

I moved past my brother's new- mind you- massive room as I found my way through the unfamiliar house, intending to help my mother with the impeding load of boxes. As usual, Ali didn't feel as empathetic towards our sweet, sweet mother as I did. Instead of yelling at him per my typical reaction to his jerk-assery, I crouched beside and whispered to our 6 year old Taliah. She sat simply as she played with her dolls in the upstairs hallway, where I had been standing, so I asked her to see if Ali had wanted to play along. Ali could say no to a lot of people, but Taliah was not one of them.

Now that my brother was satisfactorily annoyed and disrupted from whatever stupid video game he was playing, I could hum myself down the circular stairs and outside, where my mother had been able to successfully bring two boxes into the doorway of the house. I made my way to the two 6-sided cardboard containers. 'Kitchenware', got it, I read on one. My gaze remained steadfast on my own feet, my back arched a little to carry the weight, carrying the box into its designated room. I repeated this with every box my mother carried to the door. Good thing I managed to only break 2 plates and one cup. They were actually replaceable. Unlike the television incident. I shudder at the thought.

"God, I need some ice cream after those trucks. You want any, mom?" My mother grinned, and I knew her answer in an instant. Then, I turned to face the stairs and bellowed a "LILI! WANNA GET ICE CREAM WITH ME?" And before I knew it, there was a squeal and I had a giggling Taliah rushing down the stairs. I stepped forward, slightly worried that she could fall, before she jumped gracefully onto her small feet. I tend to forget the girl does gymnastics. I lean in close to Taliah's ear, "let's not tell Ali that he isn't getting any, yeah?" Taliah giggles again and puts her index finger in front of her own, and my lips. I grin against her tiny hand. "C'mon, we wanna be fast. No dawdling, okay?" I said in my kids YouTube channel voice, my hands sitting on my hips. Taliah jumped up and down in excitement, and pulled my hand, followed by my body, out the door.