Comfort

• Caidee Heriot, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2017

Fresh air smelt good. It was something we hadn't experienced in a while, so the earthy smell of pine and grass was a treat for our deprived noses. Not that the car trip was awful or anything; the smell of McDonald's and Mum's perfume was reminiscent of home. The 7 of us piled languidly out of the car, the crunch of dry leaves and kindling resounding as we attempted to walk off the pins and needles that had built up during the three hour trip.
The cottage was certainly a change from the trendy, modern hotel room we shared at Bathurst; and yet it had us all charmed. Instead of cold, grey tiled floors and plain bedrooms, we were rewarded with soft beds and a small yet cosy kitchen. The main attraction was the fireplace. We didn't have one of those at home.
Dinner that night consisted of a mixture of pasta with cheese, two minute noodles and bread rolls. At the time, however, I thought it was the best thing ever. The fire was burning steadily, with the seven of us sat around it, bowls placed carefully in our laps. "If you spill food everywhere, you can pay the cleaning bills." Mum had said. I don't imagine we could have afforded any sort of cleaning bill with the $5 a week pocket money rate we received at the time.
Of course after dinner we were still full of energy, so the other kids decided that a game of
'Spotlight' would be obligatory. Spotlight was simple: it was our take on hide and seek, except if a torch light was shone on you, you were caught. The cottage was right on the edge of a forest; there were no limits to where you could hide. Until, of course, Mum and Carey convinced us that if we ventured too far into the forest at night the Yowies would get us. We decided to come inside not 15 minutes after.
For no good 'reason, Mum had decided to make us all hot chocolates for dessert. Although I'm sure she now regrets loading us up on sugar before bed. Maybe she hoped the warmth of it would calm us down; at least for a while. While the cottage was not small, the unusual largeness of our family managed to make it feel snug. Which meant we had to share beds. Mum and Carey took the double bed in the attic, while Will and Kye shared a bunk bed. Emmi (the lucky one) got a bed to herself. And so I shared with Liam, who wouldn't have been more than 4 at the time. Looking back on it, the whole situation was quite cute. Mum came in to turn off the electric blanket around midnight. The next day she told me she found him snuggled into my side, chubby arms clinging to my small frame and my hands cradling his head.