Episode 1: The Home of My Childhood

We were in a car going uphill on a gravelly road between green valleys and chilly mist. Sometimes we would pass through the clouds and with the windows down, I could feel the moist, cool air enveloping me. I felt a little weird and a little excited. It was the day we were moving back to Meadow Town, to our old house, a place we hadn't visited since I was twelve and now I was twenty.

"Roll the windows up, you will catch a cold", Mom said from time to time and I ignored her like always.

Just a few minutes more.

"Welcome home," Dad said from the driver's seat.

I didn't know what to expect. My heart beat loudly inside my chest. I was anxious and excited and a little nostalgic. This was the home of my childhood. The home that came in my dreams and left a kind warmth in my heart that lingered as my something-happy for the rest of the day.

He was standing on the doorway, smiling at me. His eyes gleaming of happiness. A little sparkle; a tear had appeared at the corner of his eyes.

"I missed you, Grandpa," I cried and ran to hug him. So long. It had been so long. His arms though weak and old, held me protectively like I was still his little girl. Maybe I was. And to me he was home.

The house hadn't changed much since I last lived here. Or if it had, I barely noticed. I found my old scrapbook on my shelf.

Ella.

My name was scribbled in a childish handwriting with pink glittery ink. Joanne, I remember, had written it for me. She was my bestfriend in pre-school. She and Larry cried buckets when I moved away. I wondered if they still lived here.

I found my old bicycle in the garage. Not mine specifically, more like a hand-me-down. It was too big for me to reach the paddle when I was young and yet I wouldn't let anyone else touch it. But I could reach 'em now.

I took it out of the garage and started taking slow strolls in the yard. I felt free and fresh and lively like I hadn't felt in months.

"I am going for a ride. Will be back before dinner," I called and rode along the hilly path, crossing the valleys and beautiful meadows until I reached the edge of the forest. Surprisingly, it was still there. I hadn't really expected it to be but there it was. Just on the edge of the forest beyond the meadow, it stood, in the midst of dandelions, my - our old treehouse.