A/N: I envisioned Bella's house from the "Twilight" movie while writing this blurb, despite the fact that it didn't have any shutters. :-)
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The house was slated for demolition, having been empty and deserted for years. I couldn't let it go without one last visit, without saying a final goodbye.
So I found myself standing outside on the front lawn, staring at the rundown structure—a structure that had once been alive, vibrant and full of love.
It had been my home.
My heart clenched as I took in the peeling paint, rotting clapboards and broken shutters. A 'No Trespassing' sign was taped to the front door, along with a 'Condemned' notice. Overgrown bushes and shrubs practically obscured the first floor and threatened the bottoms of the second floor windows. Ivy covered the entire left wall, slowly creeping its way to the roof, silently enveloping and smothering the life out of the house.
But that had already been done—many years ago.
When he left.
Memories of happier times came flooding back to me. Closing my eyes, I imagined the house as it once was—bright, white paint, grass-green shutters and neatly manicured landscaping.
The inside was clean, cozy and full of laughter.
His laughter…our laughter.
But the laughter went away the same day that he decided to leave, and the house lost its heart, lost its purpose.
I eventually left too, unable to bear the loneliness and the memories of him.
Opening my eyes, I gazed upon the old house one last time. Turning around and walking toward my car, my eyes welled up with tears at the realization that this visit had not offered me the closure for which I had hoped.
No, there would only be one way to soothe this hellish ache, only one way to patch the gaping hole in my heart.
I needed to find him.
My journey starts today.