My adventure

Chapter 4

"How long has she been asleep now?" says a familiar voice.

"A little over a day. They said she'll wake up when she wants to- no medical dangers or anything. That's why they sent her back with me."

"Thank goodness!" says the same familiar voice as I squint my eyes to see a fuzzy outline of Linda. 

After observing that neither of them were paying attention I begin to recognize my surroundings, and I don't like them. I shoot out of the bed and make a sudden and hasty escape attempt to the window, but the fog in my thoughts slow me down. My uncle and Linda were able to grab me and wrestle me back into my bed where they held me till I would stop acting like a wild animal.

"Let go of me!" I mutter only to collapse into my bed.

"I know you miss your parents, Hope! I miss my brother," Says my uncle.

"Stop! Let go!" 

"Please, Hope, we just want to be with you!" My aunt says joining the effort.

"Hope! If you ever really cared about your parents you'd stop right now!" Linda screamed yanking me back to reality.

I gave up and started crying. I felt Uncle Ron and Aunt Ann wrap me up into a hug, but it didn't feel right. 

"They're gone Hope. They've been gone for a long time," says Aunt Ann.

"No, they aren't. They're only gone because you let them leave..." I muttered. 

"Yes, because they had to go and we were there to take care of you then and we still are here to take care of you now," Uncle Ron says pulling me closer as I weep into his shirt. 

"We saw you've been doing great in school and they'd be so proud," Aunt Ann says trying to create a response. 

"I don't do well for them... I just have nothing else to do," I admit. 

"I'm going to step out and check the shop," Linda says walking out.

"We love you," says my uncle.

"Just stay with us, please," begs my aunt.

"I want them back. That's all I've ever wanted," I say. 

"That's all we've wanted too."

"Let's go have dinner together. I..." my aunt glances down at me getting off the bed. "I put the pizza in the oven awhile ago. Linda said you like pizza a lot now."

"I'd like that," I croak. 

We all walk into the kitchen together. All I see are the memories of my mom cooking cheerfully amongst the yellow tiles and potted plants. The plants have gone now, I guess my aunt wasn't much of a gardener. I miss the daisy's - they were my mom's favorites. 

I look in the family room where my dad and I would watch Disney movies over and over again. I could still hear us laughing and trying to imitate the characters. He was a funny guy who really loved flannel. Funny how past tense can make everything sound distant. 

"I know it's only been two years, but it feels so long ago since... since... they passed," my aunt smiles weekly handing me two slices of warm pizza. 

"It's okay," my uncle says looking at me. "We all miss them, but that's why we are here. I remember when you were little... You never wanted to spend more than a minute away from them. You wouldn't play with the other kids unless your dad played."

My aunt laughs and adds, "You'd only play tag Hope. You loved it when he'd chase you and pick you up, too."

We all giggled a little awkwardly at the memory. 

"I actually still remember your first word!" 

"No. No, not the word," I blush shoving more pizza in my face. 

"What was it she said again?" my aunt teased.

"I think it was something like 'Pooper'," my uncle says.

"I couldn't stop laughing when your mom called and told me that," says my aunt laughing at the memory. "They were always so proud of you."

We all stop for a second and stare at the pizza as memories flood our minds. 

"Do you guys want to watch a movie after dinner?" I ask.

"Of course," says my uncle.

We all ate for a little bit longer. After the table was cleared and dishes were washed we had a Disney Marathon. It had been so long since I had actually watched a movie. I still remember all the words and whispered them to myself as I watch. 

"Wait! What time is it?!" I say shooting up after watching another Disney Princess movie. 

"It's about 1 am... Why?" asks my aunt. 

"I have school! I have to study! I..." 

"Oh... You're off for about a week," my uncle says. 

"Really?"

My aunt adds, "You kind of passed out in school... so they said you're allowed to take a break. We also thought it'd be a great time to catch up and..." 

"What day of the week is it?"

"It's Saturday now... Why?"

"No reason," I say thinking of Mark and Melody. 

I settle back into the couch as my uncle popped in another movie. I look around again at my surroundings - all of them look familiar, but none of it feels the same. I keep resisting the urge to run. I guess I've been running long enough. This is my reality now. I'm with my uncle and aunt, Mark is with Melody and Linda... is loosing her shop. I couldn't let her loose her shop.