This Home


Time moves slow at this home. It savors and stills with these people. A day like this could go on forever.

Days like these, Mike wishes it does. He just knows now with all the certainty that his ten year old body could ever muster up, that this is his family. This is his real family. And this new place, was his real home.

His uncle is ecstatic, laughing a little too maniacally, squishing him in his bear hug. But he isn't afraid. No, he's never been afraid of his uncle. He laughs too. Not because shooting a can with a slingshot is unbearably fun for him, but because he's just so innocently empathetic that suddenly, he's having such a wonderful time too. In his arms, Mike is at eye level with his uncle. He mirrors his laughter, the intensity too. The yard and the world is alive once again.

A black car creeps into his vision, and his smile fades. His hand grips the slingshot tightly. Whoever it is, he'll protect them.

Uncle Linc is so absorbed in the moment; he can see it in his eyes. He's been so… calm lately. His shoulders are relaxed, and they never were before. It must be this new home, he reasons. Everybody has been happier since.

The car crawls to a stop right in front of them and the window rolls down.

"Hey Burrows!"