“Ouch!” my palms reach for the mossy ground beneath me as my body aggressively launches forward. “Oh gosh, are you okay?” I look up and see my best friends quietly giggling to each other, their cheeky smiles and hands rushing to cover their mouths. In front of me is a small dirty hand with chipped off nail polish, revealing pieces of mud lodged under her nails. Her vibrant finger tips flutter, signifying to me. “Thanks.” I take her hand with a tight grip and shoot off the ground. Lightly I brush my hands along my navy, crinkly hiking shorts, making miniscule specks of dirt frantically fly around my long tanned legs. The sun beamed from the small crevices between trees and left my skin feeling hot and tingly. The sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling fill my ears. Every step I take aches more than the previous, the blister on the back of my heel rubbing rhythmically against the back of my shoes. My loose laces dance around my feet with the breeze. “Are we almost home?” My friend drags her lifeless, limp body towards an old decaying log and slumps her body down on it, dragging her bag on the floor next to her. She’s frustratedly rakes her dirty fingers along her tangled hair, which is barely holding up in her loose ponytail. She’s looking up, her chestnut eyes scanning the endless mass of forest around us, when suddenly her eyes widen, her lips part, revealing a sliver of crooked teeth, and she points into the distance. I trace where her index finger is pointed to, and notice a familiar looking cabin. She springs up from the log and enthusiastically makes her way towards the cabin, dragging me by the arm with her. I struggle to keep up with her quick pace and my legs trip over multiple branches until we finally reach home. The windows have bits of dust all over them, highlighted by the sun beaming onto them. I connect the key with the key hole and twist the key to the right, and the door springs open. I am greeted with the homely smell of mosquito spray and expired sunscreen, a scent I never thought I’d be happy to smell. Home at last.
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