Holiday Memories - Live in the moment, enjoy the breeze, insect bites & the silence

One swipe through her gallery and she saw them. The small cottage deep in the woods where she attempted to run away from twice, the sturdy tree house where she first sprained her ankle, and the cozy bedroom where white linens had been used for curtains and bedsheets causing her to stay awake in fear every night because she imagined them to be ghosts.

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A soft smile touched her lips as she swiped and came face to face with quiet Aunt Elma; firm at first, but eventually sweet and kind. Then there was Joseph, fondly called Jo; who wept his eyes out when she was leaving. And Karen.

Karen was the reason she could never forget Hurtonsburg.

“Tanya!”

Tanya groaned, dragging the covers up along with a pillow she used to cover her entire head. It was soon yanked away from her.

“Mom, I get it! I'm up!”

She climbed out of bed murmuring about how she had barely gotten any sleep the night before and how she was glad she would soon leave for college.

“Hey munchkin”

“Stop calling me that dad. I'm 17!”

Her dad pulled the glasses one inch down the bridge of his nose to take a closer look and mouthed “Does she have cramps?” At his wife who threw her hands helplessly in the air.

“She's not buying the Hurtonsburg idea,” Katherine said sliding into the seat next to her husband on the patio.

“But we agreed she was going to spend some time away from New York before college. She's been here her entire life. She needs to go someplace new…”

“I know” Katherine picked a slice of toast and generously spread butter on it before taking a deep bite. “She's just…” she stopped to wipe at the corners of her mouth “she's just not buying the idea….”

“You both know I can hear you. Right?”

The adults fell silent when Tanya walked through the patio doors and took a seat at the table. Her father took her hand in his.

“Tanya darling, we talked about this. We..” he indicated using his index finger to create an imaginary circle “...we all agreed that you'll go someplace nice just before college. Hurtonsburg is a nice place for you to reflect on your life before college just like you said you wanted to.”

Six hours later, she was in front of the cottage.

It was worse than she had imagined. There were about a hundred flowers just in front of the house, with some plants crawling up the walls of the cottage. She couldn't hear a single sound except for occasional tweets from calling birds.

“This is Hurtonsburg?” Her face was as white as chalk. Her mother nodded excitedly then proceeded to knock on the front door.

Tanya ran her eyes through cookie cookie-stained apron that hung on her bulky aunt's waist. This was the infamous Aunt Elma?

“Alright then. I'll leave you two to it” Katherine kissed the top of Tanya’s head. “Take care of yourself honey. Call me if you need anything”.

Tanya couldn't believe it when she was given a pail to get some water from the hose in the garden “The water situation is bad around here” her aunt had simply said thrusting the bucket into her hands.

By the time she realized she had to do a 30-minute walk every morning to get milk and bread with Jo and Karen, she packed her things and sneaked out through the window one night but returned early the next morning when she nearly froze to death on the road.

But then there was Karen who starred in a film with Hollywood three months ago. She too was a cousin who came to visit and according to her, “spend some time away from the bustle of the city”.

“Hollywood is such a busy place. Even when you're sleeping, you're dreaming Hollywood.” Tanya stared into her green eyes. “I came here three months ago and I'm planning to stay for three extra months. Here there's peace, a deep connection with self and nature. It's like you can feel the essence of life”

If there was anybody who shouldn't cope with the plainness of this place, it was a celebrity.

“Just live in the moment here. Enjoy the breeze, the insect bites, the silence.” Karen had told her when Tanya asked how she survived away from her usual life.

A couple of days later, Tanya was climbing trees and engaging in bicycle races. She even took a swim in a swamp once, beating Jo to the bank.

“I'm going back to Hurtonsburg after my first holiday at college,” she told her parents as she packed up.

“Errr, we thought you would love to come home to us honey”

She merely shook her head.

“Well then, Hurtonsburg it is.”