Blog Chain: My Childhood Realm

Outside is a mysterious metal box, deep forest green with the image of an electric man. Jill across the street says if I touch it, it will shock me. But I play on it all the time anyway. I use it as a table for my rock and flower collages, and I stand there to sing my songs. Further up the lawn is the house. My bedroom window stands protected from the outside world by a pair of stalwart rose bushes. Red tea cup roses look so innocent, but nobody can get in or out of my window past those thorns. Is it a fortress or a cage? To the side, mangled branches stem from what used to be a pomegranate sapling. I've seen it shoot up wildly in my short lifetime, and now I smash its fruit on the bricks to see the plump ruby kernels inside. Some days they really are rubies fit for my crown. Before the front door are two red brick pillars, but you can scarcely see the color of the brick behind graceful vines of Star Jasmine, my favorite little white flower. It makes every day smell sweet.

Behind the door is the hallway and the front room with the piano. I practice... sometimes. Besides that, there isn't a lot to do in there. Behind the wall is the family room, and that's where the TV is. My favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. To the right is the kitchen, pantry, and table. But more often, I run to the left, down the narrow hallway decked with family pictures in plain wood frames. Everything is this way. The bathroom, and all the bedrooms. I share with my sisters: bunk bed, trundle bed. Three of us, making up games at night when we can't fall asleep. We get in trouble when we're loud, but if we whisper and close our eyes, we're almost psychically connected. Together we can make another world, and so we do.

This blog chain round was begun by Jonathon Arnston: 


Imagine the home(s) where you grew up, and start drawing a floor plan. As you draw, memories will surface. Grab onto one of those memories and tell us a story.

You can see I took a little liberty with the assignment. Be sure to check out Cole's pullout couch of dreams before me and Michelle H. tomorrow!

And if you try this writing exercise yourself, link it in the comments. I'd love to see it. 

Happy writing!