Return from N. Z.

I was alone for the first time in a month. I had been traveling in a campervan with Holly in New Zealand. This was the first night home after getting off the plane. She went to her condo and I to my house. It was after 1:00 A.M. and I was still awake unable to shake this eerie feeling. I was alone for the first time in a month. Traveling in a campervan in New Zealand, Holly and I had no choice but to be with each other twenty-four hours a day. One would think that two people living this way would get sick of each other rather quickly but not Holly and me. Shockingly, we had become accustomed to living this way, maybe because we knew it was only temporary.

Now, there I was alone for the first time in what felt like a year. My brother, whom I live with, works nights and therefore wasn’t home. I was alone in the largest space I’ve occupied in a month. My house was extremely spacious compared to the campervan. In fact, my bedroom itself was much larger than the campervan. I laid in bed listening to the silence of the house. Thinking that I would hear something, my attention perked, but it was absolutely nothing, at least I hoped. There was this ominous hum of insects outside and the occasional passing of a car to break the silence. There was this insistent orange glow from the street light to break the darkness. God I hated that light. It shinned directly into my bedroom window and would force my eyes open if I didn’t shut the shades. And I hated shutting the shades because of how dark it got. I couldn’t wait for the sun to come up. I wondered if Holly felt the same way.

My house smelled of laundry detergent.