Home

         Lynn stared determinedly at the dull gray interstate stretching before her.  Her car was an old blue Toyota, a bit shabby but still serviceable.  Two large suitcases and a bag in the small, cramped trunk contained all of her possessions, plus the money from selling her meager amount of furniture.  But carefully placed in the back seat were four instrument cases, and in the passenger seat next to her, there were stacks of music books, sheet music, and staff paper.

         Keeping her eyes on the road, Lynn tried to avoid remembering the harsh words and actions she had left with the last time she was in Asheville.  Instead she thought about her new job as a music teacher at the college.  Just being able to consider the opportunity made Lynn ecstatic.  She would earn her living doing what she loved.

         Oh, but why did the college that accepted her have to be in Asheville?

         Lynn’s bony knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel.  Her father was a strict man with nothing but cruel words for her passion, and her mother…well, her mother was the one that Lynn had been really fleeing from.  Her brother Darren had been kinder, but he didn’t understand why she was making such trouble for herself.  Lynn hadn’t heard a word from any of them, not once in all five years since she left.

         Jerking her mind back to reality, Lynn turned into her exit, wishing she could go anywhere else.  In a town as small as Asheville, there would be no point in trying to avoid her family.  By now, she thought with surprise, perhaps Darren is even attending the college I will teach at.  No, it was hopeless.

         The sign read, Welcome to Asheville.  Lynn had come home.