Journal#10: Rough Draft

The Sacred Chamber

By: Maddie Nguyen

It was finally 4 o'clock. The yellow school bus dropped me off in front of my house. The rubber tires screeched as smoke trailed from the exhaust pipe. I took a deep breath and smiled as my body began to loosen up from the stressful day. I started up the stone pavement pathway that led its way up to an elegant carved gate. Two white stone lions stared lifelessly at me, I felt as though the lions were my personal protectors. Upon the grass rested a big elderly oak tree that shaded half of the front lawn from the beating sun. I stared at the tree for a moment feeling grateful for the shadow that it cast against the sun. Like the stone lions, I felt as though the "grandpa" tree was my protector. 

 As I opened the gate, I took a glimpse of the front patio. A black table and matching chair set looked lovely on the stone floor. A cherry blossom tree shaded the patio and pink petals covered the floor. I also noticed my mom's hibiscus flowers was along the right side of the white front door. There were red, pink, yellow, and even purple flowers that flourished. Next to the flowers was a stone water fountain. It was so dazzling, especially at night when the twinkling christmas lights are on. Water trickling down from the top fountain, colored flowers blossomed, a radiant cherry blossom tree, matching black patio set, on a stone floor made me feel like I was in one of those romantic italian movies. It was a good place to be alone and reflect on my life.

Coming home to a dull red bricked house was a relief. I never got tired of coming home to my house or as I used to call it, my "castle". I took out my keys and started to turn the lock. I had to keep playing with the keys by twisting and turning too many times until it finally opened. As I stepped in the house a blast of ice cold air rushed outside. I closed the door behind me and enjoyed the cool air. I called out to see if any one was home. There was no reply. 

I quickly took off my shoes and let my warm feet touch the frozen marble floor. I made my way to the living room, which was covered in carpet. It was a break from the frigid floor. I was glad that the AC was still on. Everything was all clean and tidy. The tan sofas looked so inviting and the brown pillows on the sofa gave the room an antique but elegant look. A tan marble table under a unique patterned rug pulled the elegant look together. The colors were relaxing and settle. 42 inches of plasma screen hung above the brick fireplace. The plasma TV yelled out "Turn me on!". I tried my best to disobeyed the demand as I ran upstairs to change into a comfortable loose tee and my favorite cotton shorts. Once I changed, I rushed back downstairs .

For a split second I was afraid of being home alone. It was silly, but I rushed into a room in the house that I felt safe in. Out of all the rooms in my house I just wanted to go to the study room where i would go in and cuddle with a good book, read, hangout, watch a movie, study, play games and it is also my peaceful place i can go to to be alone but feel safe all at the same time.

 I turned the golden knob that held its place on the white painted door, anxious to get in. I brought the blanket that laid on the couch just in case. The thermometer besides the door displayed the red needle at 60 degrees. I felt the air numbing my face as I stepped in. My foot sunk into the fluffy white carpet. It felt like being on a dream cloud. I took a big whiff of the familiar cinnamon apple scent and I knew this is where i belong. My study room or what I call my "sacred chamber" resembled who I was. I did all my studies, growing up from immature to mature, and I learned new things everyday from the countless books on the book shelf. 

I noticed one of my favorites, Jack and Jill by James Patterson, still on the desk with a bookmark  in between the pages. Pictures of my family were framed and scattered on the cream walls. My wooden painting board was covered with splashes of paint and the brushes were set aside for later. In front of me was a game table that could be either turned into air hockey, foosball, poker or pool and I realized that the computer monitor was still on. Everything was exactly the same. 

To the right were two beautiful dark mahogany desks. One desk was for the computer and one was to work on. The desks were big... I remembered when I was like 6 years old I would use to play hide and seek with my little sister. So when I went to go hide, I would sneak into the "sacred chamber" and hide in the drawers below the table. Memories flooded back as I walked in the door. The book shelf was also dark mahogany and the books were organized by height. It seemed like the books were living happily all snugged together. As i made my way to the big leather chair, I couldn't help but stare out the single window where sunlight poured in. From the window, I could see the backyard filled with green grass and bright flowers that bloom. Banana, pear, papaya, mango, and orange trees surrounded the backyard (my mom has a thing with fruit trees). It was like a tropical paradise. The perfect view for (what I consider) the perfect place to be at peace. Sometimes I would catch myself staring out the windows for hours and not even realize it. Daydreaming or I would admire the beauty of the multi colored flowers that bloom. I even noticed the sun glistening on the dew of the grass. I saw many other things too, like the birds that would fly onto the trees, steal the fruits,and  chirp a symphony. Then my 2 dogs would rapidly turned there heads spotting the birds and go off barking. After, they would turned around satisfied at themselves. 

I sank down on the big leather chair and I felt like life made sense for once and I had this feeling like theres no one left in the world but me. It was as if an invincible bubble came up once I walked through the door and nothing depressing or irate could walk through. Happiness was now my new best friend. I can hear my own thoughts for once and I can hear it clearly enough to know what I want from myself or what the world has to offer. Confusing thoughts of exams and drama that lingered my mind throughout the day now disappeared. I was having those days where I felt like the whole world was against me and just wanted to see me fall. The emptiness in the chamber was a nice break from the cruel outside for once I felt like a protected princess in a castle. I rested my head on the seemingly comfortable desk and fell fast asleep.