Ten years.

              Ten years since I’d stepped outside the comforts of my shell of a home, risked peeking through the cracks of the red front door that had once been freshly painted, but now was weathered and creaky. I knew every whine of every floorboard, the exact time the AC would kick on, every nook and cranny where things had been stored over the years. Everything was mine. It was simple and precise, calculated and expected.

              But out there…

              There was nothing out there that was predictable.

              I slowly shut the door behind me, listening to it click shut. I hesitated, taking a shaky breath. This was it. This was the end of ten years in solitude. Ten years of pure isolation, of loneliness and boredom, the curtains drawn shut and the world unaware of my existence.

              I made my way down the cobbled steps, down the pathway, looking around at my surroundings. A lot had changed since I was out here. The forest that had once felt so new and scary was now lit with streams of sunlight. The trees stood tall and full of life, their green leaves swaying in the gentle breeze. And the grass. I took off my shoes and socks and stepped onto the cool earth, feeling the soil beneath my feet, tickling my toes. The birds chirped and flew overhead, bees buzzed as they flew lazily from one wildflower to the next.

              It was nothing like the songs I played on my record player, nothing like the ac whirring to life or the steps to my bedroom groaning with each step. No, this was the sound of life. And oh, how I’d missed it so.

              And before I knew it, I found myself running, my shoes in my hands, not even bothering to put them back on. Down the cobbled path, through the trees, the cool breeze blowing through my hair. I had to tell someone, I had to find people, my family… What would they think when they saw me? Would they even recognize me in such a state?

              I reached the opening in the path, the light streaming in as if to welcome me back, to bring me home…

              I stopped in my tracks as I took in the sight. The sky wasn’t a bright blue, but instead dark and stormy, polluted even maybe. There was no grass under my feet, but hard, cold dirt. Buildings were left in shambles, weathered like my front door. There were no birds chirping, no bees buzzing, no melodies to be heard, no life to be seen.

              And I couldn’t help but say to myself, “What happened while I was gone?”