Come in and Sit a Spell! (Part 2)

The young girl shrugged into her backpack and buttoned up her sweater against the chill of the night that was already coming. Terry who was her constant companion was not next to her as she usually was on their journey home from school. Terry's father had picked her up earlier in the day and that had left Kira to walk home alone. Alone past the house on the corner. All of a sudden Kira felt something that felt like spiders run up her back and she shivered. The young girl frowned and then smiled as she realized how silly she must seem. There was nothing to be afraid of. She had walked the same way alone many times and she was still alive to talk about it. The young girl trudged on kicking up a virtual whirlwind of leaves as she walked. She couldn't help but admire the colorful display as she moved her shoe around. The noise her shoes created as she marched through the leaves made a strange noise in the quiet of the early evening. Suddenly the waning sun dipped behind a dark cloud and night began to settle in. Kira was only two blocks from home. Not far at all really, she thought. She wished at that moment that her mother had come to pick her up early from school also and that they might stop at McDonald's and get a burger and some fries and laugh at the kind of funny jokes that her Mom sometimes tried to tell. Kira looked up as a shadow crossed her face. The house loomed over her. How had she come this close to it and not have even realized it?