Autumn reminisced, pushing her hair behind her ears and trudging through the ruins of her home. The sun streamed through the cracked window and pigeons cooed in the near distance. From her back yard, she looked out onto the horizon and recognized a family of ducks moving from an estuary to the ocean. It was just after the start of July, and she had finally worked up enough courage to glance at the damaged structure, realizing that facing life’s challenges is inevitable. Even California, the golden state, received the occasional earthquake.

“She’ll get over it,” Autumn’s mother Acacia convinced herself. Autumn’s father Etemad replied “I’m sure you’re right. After all, you know more about the typical eleven year old girl than I do.” Acacia smirked, satisfied by her loving husband’s response as she usually is. The child recalled the main experience that made her resent her father forever.
It was March second, and Autumn was rearranging her parents’ work area as her dad had asked her to. The fifteen hundred square foot house was brown and without heating or air conditioning.
“Why on earth would you tamper with your father and I’s desk? Do you know how much time I spent organizing those files? All the hard work I do is for my family. Don’t make it harder than you already have,” Acacia yelped the minute she walked through the door.

“Dad is the one who told me to. I was trying to be helpful,” Autumn helplessly tried to reason as her mother strolled over to her and slapped her across the cheek. Tears gushed down Autumn’s face as she lurched her head towards her father reading the newspaper. He remained as he was, muted.

The young adult gawked at the ground, picking off the split ends of her naturally golden hair. Her teddy bear earrings tilted awkwardly on her icy earlobes. Despite the scorching temperature, Autumn couldn’t dispose of the chills bolting up and down her body.

Autumn rose to a yellow room consisting of flowers and the scent of cookies. Weekends at grandma’s were always this pleasant; every morning included a continental breakfast followed by a walk through the park for genuine bonding. This morning, however, differed from routine.
“It’s striking Nonna,” Autumn whispered in admiration. Her grandmother tenderly clasped the sterling silver necklace around her precious granddaughter’s neck. Nonna defended her gift with a humble, “No problem at all honey.” Autumn had never worn something as nice as this delicate piece of jewelry. Leave it to grandma to spoil her with that amount of love….
Rummaging through the demolished belongings that the earthquake left, Autumn discovered the necklace that once meant everything to her. A tear trickled down her cheek as she remembered the priceless times that her and her grandmother shared before heart failure took Nonna away. Acacia strutted over and ripped the necklace from Autumn’s hands.
“Have you heard me speaking to you for the last ten minutes? The least you can do right now is listen,” the cold woman exclaimed. She hurled the piece of jewelry into the trash can and Autumn began to hyperventilate. “We can’t afford to keep meaningless objects with the amount of space we have in our new apartment,” stated Acacia. What Autumn did next was an act she would’ve never dreamed of doing. She answered.
“If you paid attention, then you would know why that ‘meaningless necklace’ means the world to me!” Autumn screeched. She stormed out of the wrecked house, longing for the love that her grandmother felt for her.
Perched on a grassy hill, Autumn’s head shifted from left to right. All that her eyes spotted was a line of demolished homes. However, her property consisted of a demolished house. If her grandmother had been the one affected by the earthquake, her building would’ve appeared a home along with the rest. But because a home is defined by the people who inhabit the structure, all that Autumn could make of her lot was a house where people did nothing more than survive.