Back to the Old Street

After ten years abroad, Clara went back to the town where she grew up. She was happy about the trip, but she was also nervous. Even though she was tired, she walked from the station to the street where her family used to live.

The bakery on the corner was now a phone repair shop. Clara felt sad, but she was curious about the other changes. She stopped to read a sign about a new library. Everything was changing quickly.

At the end of the street she met Mr Turner, an old neighbour who told terrible jokes. He took a while to recognise her. “You haven’t changed,” he said. “You look just like your mother.” They talked for a few minutes about old friends they did not see any more.

Mr Turner told her that the old school was closing because there were fewer students. “We tried to keep it open,” he said, “but in the end the town stopped paying for it.” Clara also learned that her favourite teacher, Miss West, was still alive and lived nearby. She wrote down the address.

The next morning, Clara knocked on a green door. Miss West was eighty-four, but she remembered every student. “Would you like to see the old photographs?” she asked. They spent the afternoon with tea and a box of memories, and Clara felt, for the first time in years, that she belonged somewhere.