Shreesha Pant
Everything in this house was eerily quiet except for the grand clock in the living room ticking so loudly you could hear it from each of the rooms in the house. The house was a cozy space consisting of a spacious living room with a grand clock, a kitchen, and three bedrooms but there I didn’t find a sense of comfort in this house. We had been living here for the past month and the house never warmed up to become a home for me. Maybe I just feel that because I have left everything behind to come to this place.
There is neither the hustle and bustle of the people nor the loud car honks here like in New York and to be fair I do like it. I’ve always loved the peace and quiet but it seems unsettling here maybe for the mere reason that I’ve grown accustomed to the city noises. I didn’t know I would miss New York so much, but I did. Nothing has helped me so far to feel at ease in this town. I tried roaming around the town to get to know more places and the people here were nice and welcoming too but something about the town hit the wrong spot in me.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found out we were moving. Excited, even. However, when I got here nothing seemed right. It started on the day we were moving. I lost my necklace given to me by my late grandfather. I was heartbroken as it was the last gift he had given me. On top of that, when we arrived in this town and unpacked the boxes, every ceramic thing was broken. We, being the typical Asian family, thought it to be extremely ominous. But there wasn’t much we could do about it.
Since I got here, not one night have I gotten a sound sleep. I always wake up after a nightmare at 4:44 am. In Chinese culture, the number 4 is considered unlucky. The number, when pronounced in Chinese, sounds similar to death. I have always been waking up at that time and it freaks me out. I told my mom about the unsettling feeling I have gotten since we got here and she replied saying, “Ava, you are just adapting to the new place. Don’t expect to love this place right away. Besides, your father and I love this place. We have always wanted such surroundings for you to grow up and now that we are here we are so happy.”
I frequently visited the town’s local grocery store with my mom to buy groceries when we were running out of some. This time I met a charming girl to be quite honest. She looked a few years older than me, so she was a teenager. She introduced herself as Joanne and well I found out she studies in the same school my dad enrolled me in a few weeks back. I was happy to have met someone who was in my school before I even started going to school. I guess that could help me with school and adopting to atleast that part of the town.
I was on an occasional stroll along the sidewalks of the town again when I saw Joanne in a cafe through the glass windows. She waved for me to come over and I went in pleasantly surprised seeing such a great ambiance of the cafe. It was extremely pleasing. Joanne asked me to sit with her and she briefed me about our school and it sounded fun. She told me I should hang out with a girl named Susan from my class. I bid her farewell and went on my way home. I saw a park along the way and I couldn’t help noticing how cheerful and lively the people were there. All the old men and women laughing and chatting, kids running around and dogs playing together. It was quite the sight.
The next day, I woke up without a nightmare. It was surprising. I hadn’t gotten such a good sleep in ages. I went to the kitchen and found mom making breakfast. “Waffles, your favorite!” my mom said. “Wow, what was the occasion?”, I asked my mom if I was forgetting some important date and she said no. Guess, it’s just my lucky day today.
My dad dropped me off at school and it was my first day here. I found Joanne in the hallway and she showed me around the school. I met Susan in my first class and she and I hit it off the moment we met. Susan was so lovely with her words and so open with her thoughts. She didn’t care what anyone thought of her and I instantly loved that about her. She invited me to her birthday party next week and I gladly accept- ed the invitation. I was finally making some friends. I think that was what I needed all along. Company of people who would make me feel at home. I went home and told my mom and she was ecstatic. “See, I told you things will be fine. You just have to make an effort, dear.”
Maybe things were getting better here. and a few weeks after Susan’s birthday party, I found my lost necklace in our backyard. I probably dropped it off when I was helping my parents move the boxes. and the house, well, it started to feel like home. Susan and Joanne used to come all the time to my house and my parents loved having them over.
I am starting to like this place more than I thought I would. Maybe, the general idea of moving here haunted me. That is why I couldn’t concentrate on anything hap- pening in my life. With time, I have settled here and made my home. I am glad we moved here.
