Page 100 - My Home on the Earth

‘I’m finished coming here. I might as well live on my own, and I refuse to get involved in your hare-brained schemes.’ With that, John left the apartment. For the first time, he was eager to get back to his shed and decided there and then to contact his dad. He felt slightly uncomfortable with himself for walking out on her but soon changed his mind. Why should I feel guilty? It’s she who has walked out on me.
John had never paid any heed to the weather, but today the breeze coming off the bay felt warmer. He couldn’t help noticing wild flowers popping up on the heathland and smiled. From now on, he thought, I’ll take care of myself and do everything I can to get away from here. A heavy weight had lifted from his shoulders and he felt cheerful, and recalled his recent adventures with a grin. His cellar was a chance discovery when he fell through a sheet of rotted timber in one of the factory buildings. Luckily, he’d landed on a pile of dirty crushed cardboard boxes and had stumbled to get to his feet. Finding it difficult to focus in the darkness he’d waited until he could see more clearly. For him, the room was an Aladdin’s cave full of metal boxes, benches and tools. Some things he didn’t recognise, but those he did went into a battered metal box to take back to the shed. On his third visit , he discovered a working cold tap in the same room. From thereon, he visited the cellar every morning to fill a four- litre plastic milk bottle, ensuring no sign of spillage was visible to unexpected visitors.
Stepping through the gap in the fence, his feet seemed to float past the buildings, and debris no longer bothered
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