As the car pulled up the driveway, Annie saw that her home was as magnificent as she had imagined, for a suburban family. She got the details correct, except she missed the flower bushes near the entrance. Mostly correct.
Mother parked her car in the garage. Then Annie followed Mother into the house. Mother had insisted on carrying Annie's bag of clothing for her.
The inside of the house felt cold since the heating was off. Annie stepped into the living room just beside the entrance. On the shelf, next to Second Sis' basketball trophies, was the familiar photo of Annie with her sisters. Annie vaguely remembered the scene that time. It had been summer and the girls had been in summer dresses. The picture had been taken at a park on a sunny day.
The other things in the living room was familiar. She recognized the sofa and four matching comfort chairs, the coffee table, the stereo, the plasma television on the wall, the magazine racks and bookshelf.
Somehow, though everything was familiar, she felt like she did not belong there. Yes, she was acquainted with the place but somehow she did not feel like she had been here before.
Annie followed Mother up the stairs.
Mother dropped the bag in Annie's room then turned and asked, "What do you want for lunch?"
"Something light would be okay."
"How about pie?" Mother suggested.
"Okay." Annie gave a small smile.
"Come downstairs when you're ready," Mother said before leaving.
Annie closed the door and surveyed her room. It was quite large, with pink and yellow wallpaper of a flowery pattern. The ceiling was plain with a pinkish tint. Was pink her favorite color?
On one side of the room were three cupboards, her bed and the closet. On the cupboards and on the bed were a few stuffed toys. There was a desk with a computer on it. Next to that was a dressing table, which had a large mirror at the back against the wall. On the table was several cutely-decorated boxes stacked on it and a small chest.
Then her eyes fell on the red bare-shouldered dress hanging in front of one of the cupboards. Annie ran her fingers over the silky soft material and examined the bow and laces. It was beautiful. Why was such a nice dress left out in the open?
She took it down. Holding the dress in front of herself, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The dress would look good on her. She admired it once more before placing it in its cover and hanging it with the rest of her dresses in the closet.
Opening her clothing bag from the hospital, Annie sorted out the clothes for washing into a basket and brought it downstairs.
"Oh, thanks," Mother said when Annie brought the basket into the kitchen. She nodded towards the back door, "Just drop next to the machine. I'll take care of it later."
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