The bakery was shut, but I could smell the aroma of bread. I still remember the days when it was still opened. Through the years, though, the sweet smelling sent of freshly baked bread still hasn't faded. This, was the place where I grew up, where I had lived, for most of my life, a place that was once my home. Or was it?
I used to love looking into the mirror, because I always find a pair of blue eyes staring back at me. Blue eyes that looked as deep as the ocean. The eyes were my shred of hope of one day escaping the wreaths of my broken family. The scars of the lashes from that threatening and commanding wand were still etched on my skin and in my heart. I would hide behind the counter, and the timer on the oven would save me. It bought me time.
I would use that time to hide, and run, run away from the pain... but I would never have got far before they caught up. Wailing and screaming while tucked underneath their arms. Home again.
It always happened around evening. There would be shouts everywhere. I was scared. So I cried, cried out of desperation. They said I was naughty, that I was to shut up. And when I didn't my most hatred friend came. Long and slender, they would bring it down on me. I might be saved by a customer too, but it wouldn't last long.
I was about to give up, and to give in to the suffering. Then the tables turned. It was a fire, the fire that gave me a chance to start anew. I started out, like a leaf. Trembling at first, hesitant. Then I began to soar, fluttering in the wind. Awed by everything in sight. It was all like a whole new world, full of adventure. A place so unknown to me.
Then. That was ten years ago. Now unconsciously I have walked back to the same spot. I have never been that far from home after all. I glimpsed through the door and took a deep breath.I walked in. There were rows and rows of the most delicious pastries and desserts ever known. Then I saw the eyes. The blue eyes that peeked out from below the counter. Soon the little girl with the deep blue eyes slowly came out from hiding. A small smile was on her face.
Unconsciously, I found myself smiling too.
