It was cold. That's what I remember. As we drove the air got thicker and what I thought was fog became rain, which became sleet, which became ice. I rolled my window down and stuck my arm out, letting the wind guide my hands. I poked my head out as far as I could and opened my mouth tasting the fresh water and breathing in the icy air.
It was cold. And when we pulled in the driveway I took off my jacket and my shoes and I ran into the yard and under the willow tree where I sat in the grass, and felt the stems of the weeds that grew. I positioned myself where I could see where the Sun had once been, or I guess still was. I sat there for an hour, until the rain stopped and then I went inside and forced myself to enter back into the real world. Back into the pain, back into the anger, back into what was supposed to be my home.
"Terry?" Dr. Drove said. From the sound of his voice I could tell he was frustrated. I'd gone back.
"I'm sorry Dr. Drove. What was the question again?"
"What is your home like?"
"Oh uh. Pretty good. I eat three square meals a day. I say my prayers before I sleep and I brush my teeth twice a day... sometimes."
After looking at me like I had said the most outrageous response, Dr. Drove slowly jotted down words in his notebook.
"Do you feel safe at home?"
"Of course I do. I don't spend much time there anyway."
"Yeah I know as you said before you go to your quiet place. Tell me more about that Terry."
I perked up and leaned in closer to Dr. Drove like I was about to release top secret information. "Well Mr. Drove my quiet place isn't really a quiet place actually it constantly rains so not that quiet at all. See whenever I feel blue I close my eyes and I concentrate really hard on what makes me happy, and then one by one I began to hear things, a drop of rain here and there, a small rumble of thunder, a quick whip of wind, and then KABOOM! Everything starts crashing and colliding creating a storm." I sprinted to my feet and ran around the room spinning and mimicking the sound of thunder and wind. "By then the streets are empty and my mother would go light a candle in her room. But no not me. I go to my room and open my window and crawl outside and play in the rain." I retired to my sofa and stared at Dr. Drove. "So yeah. That's my quiet place.
"You're 10 years old right Terry. You aren't scared of the thunder and the lightning?"
"What's to be scared of? It's beautiful. The rain makes me happy. Don't you think so?"
"To an extent I guess." He jotted down some more notes while I played with the loose strings on my dress.
"What's your quiet place Mr. Drove?"
"Oh haha. I don't have one Terry."
"Of course you do. Doesn't everyone. There's something that has got to calm you down and makes you happy?" I cocked my head to the side and waited for a response, Dr. Drove seemed puzzled.
"Well Terry let's see. Whenever I feel down I usually just sit and read."
"Like read a book?"
"Yes Terry, like read a book."
"That's a boring quiet place. You should find something else to do with your time."
Dr. Drove smirked. "Well what do you suggest?"
"I don't know. Whenever my brother gets mad he goes to his room and slams his door. I hear gunshots in the background so I assume he is playing his video game. My dad closes his door but he says he needs a smoke before he goes in. Maybe you should do that."
"Terry, smoking is a bad thing. You should not do that."
"But my Dad does it."
"It is not good for you."
"Oh. Well I should go tell him that then."
"Well I guess you can still play the video games."
"Maybe but for now I think I will stick to my book."
