The sun was brighter than usual on this particularly warm August afternoon; it literally blinded Emma's eyes to the point where she had to walk away from her seat near the kitchen window to rest on the dingy couch.
She sighed as the couch squeaked under her presence. Taking a glance around her living room, Emma felt somewhat accomplished over how well she had cleaned up the house since she had first moved in about a month ago. When she first got the house, which had not been inhabited for almost fifteen years, the whole of the interior looked grimy and dilapidated. Doorknobs were falling off, floor tiles were aging, the refrigerator worked half the time, the list went on an on. From the moment she stepped inside, Emma made it her mission to clean up this mess so it could be suitable for herself and her baby girl to live in.
The house had actually belonged to her late grandmother in the 90s, before she had passed away. After that, it had been left empty without any residence, until earlier this summer. Emma had moved from New York City back home to South Carolina, where she had grown up. Actually, her childhood residence was only five minutes away from here, but that home has since been sold to another family. After Emma quit her job in the city, she decided to return home with her daughter and continue the life she felt she would have lived had she not left in the first place.
The last time Emma was in Pickens, South Carolina, she had just graduated high school and was ready to go to college. So much - so, terribly much - had changed within the ten years that had passed. Major heartbreak, a shift to the city, a child - these were only few of the things that had happened in Emma Sinclair's life. She was now 28 years old, fairly young for a woman, yet she felt so old.
Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was almost 4:30. Tomorrow morning, she would start her new job as a first grade teacher at Hagood Elementary School. But until then, she would have to get some rest.