5 Years Before

The storm drove the waves, back and forth just like before. Elena sat on the deck of the ship watching, what used to be home, disappear into the distance. What could a penniless, homeless and jobless girl, her age do, now that she had been driven out of her home?

The ship rocked steadier now, the crashing waves had calmed and the rain drops had stopped thundering down on the wooden planks of the deck. She lay in the bunker below, star gazing through the slatted, wooden door that let up to the deck.

Elena thought about home, how her mother used to stuff as much straw as she could, underneath the put outside the house, so that she could cook dinner and how her father would come home after a hard day and tell her stories of the jobs he under taken. They had nothing, they were poor and practically starving however, they were happy and no amount of money could buy happiness.

She was unaware of where the ship was travelling, where she may end up or what she would do once she did get to its destination. The first thing she’d need to do was get herself some proper clothes and shoes, as she was freezing.

The ship jolted to a halt - it threw Elena across the bunker, her head knocking against the wood on the other side at such force, a bump formed then and there. She had wondered whether she’d have any sort of good luck, at all, ever. She made her way off the ship and into the village before her.

Present Day

Elena was elated to be going back home, she’d tried so hard, searched for so many years, still nothing from her parents. She’d left home with just the clothes she was wearing and was now travelling home a very different person.

Opening her leather, tapered bag, she thumbed they change in her hand, ready to pay the gentleman who was looking after the ship. He’d let her on last minute and let her have her own quarters, she gave him a little extra so that he was able to take food home to his family.

Elena took in the fresh air, the feeling of being back where she’d grown up, breathing in the air and taking in the surroundings. It was winter, the cobbled pavement glistened in the cool, crisp sunshine, revealing the deadly ice that blanketed the pavements. She walked slowly, fastening her fur lined boots, ensuring she had everything.

Watching her once friends, walking by her in flimsy sandals and loose clothing. They were freezing and did not have enough to keep themselves warm and fed over the winter season. Reluctantly, she followed where her feet took her, the same route back, the same houses along the way. Elena froze when she came face to face with her old home’s door. Cautiously placing her hand on it, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.