A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach， looking up at the fiery① ball. She was amazed by its color， deep red in the middle， softly fading② into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls③ flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through， this is what she needed. “It’s getting late，” she thought， “I must go home， my parents will be wondering where I am.”
She wondered how her parents would react④， when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking， directing herself to bungalow⑤ 163， where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted⑥. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now， the sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite jumper⑦on： it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought dissipated⑧ when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked—her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy， and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First， she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said： “Dear Ellen， there is some coffee ready， I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but—where was she？ On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother， lying on the bed， sleeping. Her face looked so tired， as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jenny would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired to force her. So Jenny just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up something was different. she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy⑨ bed in her pajamas⑩。
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice. “Are you feeling better now， dear？ You know you got us very， very scared.”
① fieryadj. 火红的
② fadev. 退色
③ seagulln. 海鸥
④ reactv. 做出反应
⑤ bungalown. （带走廊的）平房
⑥ desertedadj. 空无一人的
⑦ jumpern. 套头衫
⑧ dissipatev. 消散
⑨ cozyadj. 舒适的
⑩ pajamasn. 睡衣
回家
一阵温柔的微风拂过詹妮弗的头发，金红色的太阳即将落山。她坐在海滩边，望着那火红的圆球，不禁惊异于它的颜色：中间是深红色，向外柔柔地变成黄色。她只能听到海浪的声音，还有在天空中高高飞翔的海鸥。
眼前的景象使她放松下来，出走几天的经历，让她感受到这才是她所需要的。她想：“天晚了，我该回家了，父母会惦记我在哪里。”
她在猜想自己离家三天才回来，父母会做出什么反应。她一直走着，径直走向163号平房，每年暑假，她都是在那儿度过的。一路上空寂无人，她慢慢地、静静地走着，再有几百米就能安全到家了。
天色完全黑暗下来，太阳几分钟前就落山了，外面越来越冷。她真希望自己穿着最喜欢的那件套头衫，那该多暖和啊！她想象着自己正穿着它呢。可是一看见她家的前门，这种想法就烟消云散了。眼前的一切有些异样。外面的花园好几天没人照料了，这让她非常吃惊——她父亲平时处事严谨，每样东西都要求干净整洁，而现在呢……花园好像一片荒芜。她不理解发生了什么事情。
她进了屋，首先到了厨房，看见父亲留的一张字条，写着：“亲爱的埃伦，这是煮好的咖啡，我出去找找。”艾伦就是她的母亲，但是——母亲在哪儿？走廊的右边是她父母的卧室，她走进去就看见了母亲，躺在床上睡着了。母亲的面色异常苍白，看起来是那样的疲惫，好像多日未眠。詹妮真想把她叫醒，但是母亲看起来太累了，真不忍心叫醒她。于是詹妮也躺在她身旁睡了。詹妮弗醒来时发现有些异样：她不在母亲的房间里了，穿的也不是离家出走时的旧衣服了。她是穿着睡衣躺在自己惬意的床上。
回家的感觉真好啊。忽然她听见一个声音：“亲爱的，你现在感觉好点了吧？知道吗，你让我们多担心、多害怕啊！”
