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The flight had been delayed two hours, leading her to become more agitated than she already was. Her backpacking trip had been rife with imperfections and hold-ups, and she simply wanted to go home. Her flight to Europe had been canceled two times, she got robbed three times, and she got food poisoning more times than she could count. She wanted an enlightening experience of self-realization; instead, she got an empty wallet and five buckets worth of vomit.

Eventually, the flight boarded, and she was out like a light before the plane had even finished lift off. Once the pilot made an announcement that they were descending, she opened her window and stared out into the black cloak of night, the only thing visible in the sea of darkness being stars.

She ripped her way past the hordes of people being greeted by their families and stopped at the baggage area. She stood at the very beginning of the area, and when she spotted her luggage, she immediately snatched it from the belt and ran to catch a taxi. As she drove away from the illuminated city out into the suburbs, she saw the lights dwindle until only a few streetlights remained. Some were flickering and some were so dull they might as well have been off. The well-paved streets eventually filled with potholes and cracks, and the mansions and glamorous penthouses downgraded into small shacks and musty apartments.

But she couldn’t have been happier to see her apartment. As small and dingy as it was, it was the perfect home after a long and perilous journey. She opened the door, and her heart swelled to see her apartment, the moonlight shining from the kitchen window and illuminating the dust on the floorboards. But she smiled at the dust as if they were old friends, putting down her luggage at the door and sagging her way to her bed, slowly peeling back the blankets and savoring the familiarity of the fabric. She climbed onto her soft mattress, and the second her head floated onto the pillow, she slept, peacefully and soundly, not even waking up when the sun shone through the translucent curtains.