I. Warmth

Sometimes going home isn't the problem. It's what you find there, and what you don't.

Her breath came out in a cloud, shivering molecules of air expelled unwillingly into the frigid night. The flakes of snow tumbled earthward, layers of white covering the world.

The lights of the house were on, a golden stream spilling outward. She stood in the shadows, rooted like a statue to the solid pavement.

There was a time when she would have flown up the stairs, tears staining her cheeks, and thrown herself at their feet with her tale of woe.

Tonight, Serena simply sighed, the brittle crunch of ice the only sound as she turned and walked away from the illusory warmth of that window.

II. Aeternum Vale

Home isn't just a place, but a feeling of belonging.

Serena walked somberly into the empty courtroom.

Pulling back her old prosecutor's chair, she sat down, feeling the cold wood through the thin material of her skirt. She closed her eyes and saw Jack, hair more salt now than pepper, smelled the faint whiff of cologne, and gasoline from his bike as he sat down beside her.

The back slates of the chair seemed to push into her spine, push her up, out of its hard comfort. It no longer fit her.

Standing, she wiped away a stray tear, then turned and walked out, her clicking heels a farewell dirge.

III. All That You Leave Behind

Funny how a life can fit in a few cardboard boxes.

The last of the boxes sat waiting in the middle of the room. Her life relegated to a few squares of brown cardboard. The rasping scream of the packing tape sealed more than the boxes.

Tomorrow they would be in Montgomery, in a tranquil white farmhouse, red tin roof glowing warmly under the shade of old oaks. Not here in this city of glass and concrete.

She'd like to think that she would miss it, but she couldn't.

"We can always come back, you know?" The beautiful woman in the doorway reassured softly.

"No, we can't," Serena stated with a sad smile, slipping her hand into her partner's and gently closing the door behind them.

Sometimes home just isn't home anymore.