The Sacred Chamber
By: Maddie Nguyen
It was finally 4 o'clock. The yellow school bus full of screaming kids dropped me off in front of my house. The rubber tires screeched as smoke trailed from the exhaust pipe. The excessive yelling was faint now, but my head was still throbbing. I took in a deep breath, my eyes half open as the muscles in my shoulders tightened from the stressful day. My heels were sore and raw as I started up the stone pavement pathway that led to an elegant gate. Two white stone lions stared lifelessly at me, It seemed as though the lions were my personal protectors and I was the helpless princess.
Laughing at the fantasy, I felt relief coming home to my house or as I used to call it, my "castle". I took out my keys and kept twisting and turning it until the door 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 shouted out to see if any one was home. There was no reply.
I took off my shoes and let my tensed feet touch the frozen marble floor. I shivered for a brief moment and then made my way to the living room. The living room, which was covered in carpet, was a lot more suitable for my sensitive feet then the frigid floor. I looked around and everything was clean and tidy. The tan sofas looked 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. 42 inches of plasma screen hung above the brick fireplace. 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 thats when 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 usually go in and cuddle with a good book, read, hangout, watch a movie, study, play games and it was also my peaceful place i can go 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 feet sunk into the fluffy white carpet. It was like being on a dream cloud. My tense shoulders were loosened up once I took a big whiff of the familiar cinnamon apple scent. 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 creamy walls. 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. Even the drawers were comfortable because I feel asleep in there numerous times. Memories flooded back as I walked in the door. The book shelf was also dark mahogany and the books were organized by height.
I made my way to the big leather chair but came to a stop. 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 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 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 continued walking until I sank down on the big leather chair and let out a big sigh. Life made sense for once and I had this feeling like there’s 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 and once again I felt like a protected princess in a castle. I rested my head on the seemingly comfortable desk and slowly began to close my eyes because I knew I was safe.
