The Rules

Chapter 2

The bounce of the plane gently woke Ami up. Rubbing her eyes she looked out the window, the lights of Seoul were shining back at her. "I am back home." she thought to herself.

It was about midnight when the cab turned down the lane and stopped in front of her new house. Her parents had left her some money when they died, and she had saved it so she could return someday. The house was small, but it was perfect, and it made her smile.

She unlocked the door, walked in, and fumbled for the lights, the smell of dust and stale air hit her nose making her sneeze. The house had been closed up for a while but after doing a quick inspection, she determined it just needed some cleaning and freshening up. "Maybe some new paint", she mumbled.

The house had one bedroom, a sitting area, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. It came with some furnishings that had been left by the previous owner. A bed, dresser, kitchen table, and a tired blue chair sat in the corner of the room.

The nap on the plane coupled with the time zone change gave her a second wind, and she didn't want to sleep yet. Instead, she decided to start cleaning the kitchen. "There will be time to sleep later," she thought to herself as she got to work.

The old chair creaked with protest as she crashed into it. It was almost noon and Ami just smiled as she looked around. She was covered in sweat and dirt, but it felt good. The dust and cobwebs were replaced with clean and sparkling floors and walls. Fresh sheets and blankets were on the old bed frame and the windows were open to let in the fresh air. The house felt new and alive again from its long slumber, and now it was time for her to sleep. The jet lag was quickly moving in and she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, and she quickly drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

The sun was starting to set and its warm hue was starting to stream through the windows. She woke up to the sounds of people chatting as they walked home from work. Her body ached as she pulled herself out of the musty chair. She didn't mean to fall asleep where she did, but after the long flight combined with late night cleaning, she didn't have a chance to fight off the overwhelming jet lag.

Her legs and arms protested as she pushed herself up. She felt a small headache start to come on, "probably from the dust and dehydration" she thought to herself. Pulling out a clean glass from the cupboard she drank 2 glasses of cold water. Her body thanked her, but now her stomach was starting to cry with hunger. "I need to go shopping, but first a much-needed shower." she trudged off to the bathroom as she started to peel off her clothes.

She tossed her dirty clothes in the corner and slowly climbed into the steaming water. Hot water poured over her aching body as she noticed everything was starting to hurt, while the dirt and sweat started to wash off down the drain.

The anxiety from losing her parents, moving away from her aunt and uncle in London, and moving back to the city where she grew up was too overwhelming to not acknowledge anymore. She was good at pushing her feelings aside to do what she needed to do. She had been independent for a long time, but sometimes the feelings caught up with her.

Slumping down, she wrapped her arms around her knees as the hot water continued to shower down. She reached up and grabbed the necklace around her neck that her mom gave her when she was young. She never took it off. Ami cried as she thought about her parents, her old life, and the uncertainty of what is to come.

The hot water tank couldn't keep up with how long she had been in the shower and started sending cool water through the pipes, so she pulled herself together and climbed out. She tossed on one of her long summer skirts, and favorite shirts grabbed her bag, and locked the house to walk to the market up the street. She just needed some quick groceries to see her through the next couple of days while she got settled.