Broken But Never Forgotten

On the summer morning of August the 4th, a small red truck pulled along side the porch of the abandoned Dalton home. It had been over ten years since the trees heard the foreign sounds of an engine but that was all about to change. Lynn stepped from the red Ford truck and gazed at the remains of the small mansion.

The shards of glass which remained in the windows reflected the morning rays, while the rest of the window allowed her a glimpse into the darkness beyond. The wooden porch was weathered and dry but didn’t show any visible signs of being compromised. For being discarded in the wilderness for ten years, the house was in remarkable condition.

Lynn took a deep breath and opened the rear driver side door, retrieving two buckets from the back seat. These were her weapons for the day. One bucket held cleaning solutions and chemicals, and the second held a feather duster, trash bags and an assortment of other materials she thought she would need. She closed both doors as gently as possible with the heel of her foot and walked up the porch steps. She set both buckets down, and was about to head back to the truck when something caught her eye.

Lynn followed the porch around the far side of the house. Her face broke into a smile when she turned the corner. Hidden in the midst of tall grass and overgrown vegetation was the swing set from her childhood. The memories of the blue and red swing set had all been erased while she lived in the city. However, now as she stood on the porch of her childhood home, the memories came flooding back.