Growing up Hadley

Everything was different now. Hadley was home. Though after years of staying away, she hardly considered this her home anymore. She never planned to come back, but after a curious phone call, here she was. Driving down a perfectly paved road, surrounded by equally spaced cookie cutter homes with manicured lawns and identical mailboxes. Growing up, this was a rough dirt road that split an expanse of beautiful, rolling fields. Long gone were the green acres Hadley once loved.

She had no intention of prolonging this visit. She planned to sign whatever paperwork she was handed and head right back out of town. The woman who called yesterday divulged no details, she simply informed Hadley there was outstanding paperwork that must be signed in person. She could only imagine what kind of mess her father left behind.  

Desperate to get the day over with, her foot pressed against the pedal while her fingertips tapped on the steering wheel. After rounding a corner, she noticed a small open field bordered by a wooden fence on her left. It looked out of place, but it was something finally familiar to Hadley, so she decided to pull over and get out. She spent a few minutes slowly walking along the fence, inhaling the perfume of a nearby magnolia tree and listening to the old leaves and broken branches crunch beneath her feet. She shoved her reddened hands into her coat pockets, which did little to warm her against the icy wind that stung her cheeks and knotted her hair.