#memysimsandi

“Welcome home, ma’am!” The delivery driver smiled as he dropped off her bags at the top of her porch steps, waving goodbye once finished and leaving Eleanor with sweaty palms, staring up at her brand-new-to-her house.

It was a cute little two bedroom cottage at the end of the street, facing straight down the dead end of Foundry Cove Lane. It was a gentle pink color with white trim and deep green shutters, and while Eleanor wouldn’t have painted it those colors in particular, she felt a deep affection for it; the charm radiating from the home undeniable.

Outside, a teal truck sat in the driveway, not having been turned over in probably months, but still in good shape. Along the edges of the house were numerous beautiful flower bushes, the lawn having just enough space if she wanted to put down a planter or two. Altogether, the house truly said: home.

The air outside was weighted with humidity from the threat of incoming rainstorms, and considering Eleanor loved them, it made her feel she was in the right place at the right time. This truly was where she was meant to be. She palmed the cold metal of the house key in her pocket, her feet moving on their own as she climbed the stairs until she reached the front door.

This was it. The moment she had been saving three summers for. Her grandmother's voice played in her mind from a memory, and she smiled softly.

“The day you get there, you'll know if it's home or just a safe place until you find home.”

She was ready.

A click, a gentle creak, and a flick of a light switch illuminated an open floor plan consisting of the kitchen, dining, and living room. The three areas were furnished and looked as though time had simply stood still. Pink lined the walls, the couches, the rugs, and her stomach churned slightly at just how much pink there actually was. Her bedroom sat just beyond and to the right, with what was going to temporarily be guest room straight across and a bathroom in between. That was it.

With the door shut behind her, the rain just beginning to fall outside beneath the darkening twilight sky, and the gentle hum of the air conditioning kicking on, the desire to crawl into bed was overwhelming. Exhaustion had crept into her body since she landed, but now the adrenaline was completely gone, leaving her completely drained and heading straight for the couch that already had a blanket and pillow on it.

She fluffed the pillow, set her glasses and phone down, and climbed under the blanket, wiggling to settle down. It wasn’t bad. The cushions were soft enough, the blanket was warm, soft, and big enough, and the pillow was convincingly cloud-like. Seconds or minutes - who knows how long it was - quickly took over, leaving Eleanor completely asleep as night began to fall. The Next Morning

Birds chirped softly, pulling Eleanor from the depths of her slumber the next morning. She wasn't used to the peak of sunlight that poured through the glass of her front doors, landing on her eyes quickly shielded by hands that rubbed and rubbed. For a few moments she couldn’t recall where she was, the scent of the house unfamiliar as she removed the sand of sleep from her eyes until it came flooding back.

She was free.

For the first time in so long, she smiled. There was not a single drop of dread in her body as she stretched herself awake. No worries of a silent, tense breakfast. No being forced to watch her parents fawn over her brother.

Nothing but actual peace and quiet.

This was her house, her life, her new start without the weight of an invisibility cloak holding her back.