Licinia hid under her quilt. The darkness and warmth made her feel safe. Whenever she's unhappy, she escapes back to the day when she received the quilt. It was a rainy day in March. The smell of freshly made hazelnut coffee filled the old farmhouse. Licinia was sitting at her grandmother's feet playing with her favorite rag doll. It was falling apart at the seams, but it was still her favorite toy. Her grandmother was embroidering a quilt. Grandmother asked Licinia what she thought. Licinia smiled and said that it was the prettiest thing she'd ever seen. Her grandmother asked if she could read the embroidering. Licinia, only four at the time, could not read. She shook her head. Her grandmother smiled and read it aloud to her, it said “To my beautiful Licinia.” Licinia felt tears welling up in her eyes as she thanked her grandmother for it. She knew her grandmother had spent a long time working on it. When her mom came to pick her up, Licinia was boasting about her quilt to her elder brother, Alois. He pretended to be jealous, but being a teenager could really care less. He had smiled and patted her on the head. That was the last time she saw her grandmother alive, and the last happy memory she had.

The sound of screams from the other room snapped Licinia out of her daze. She hated when her mom and brother fought like this. Ever since Alois had moved back in, it was like this every night. When he first moved to an apartment in town, Licinia and her mom downsized to a smaller home. Everything was great for a few years, but then after a divorce from his wife, Alois plunged into a deep depression. His wife had walked out on him leaving him to raise their two children by himself. He was helpless, so their mom offered to help him until he could get back on his feet. That was three years ago.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember the last time that she saw her brother smile. Licinia began to cry, as she heard her mom yelling about how much of a mistake taking Alois back in was. She knew her mom didn’t mean it. She heard her seven year old niece get out of bed. Ever since they moved in, Licinia has been sharing her room with her two nieces. “What's going on?” she whispered. She was still half asleep, probably awoken from the screams as Licinia was. Licinia wiped the tears from her eyes, and assured her it was nothing to worry about. Licinia tiptoed across the floor and tucked her back into bed beside her little sister. If only it truly was. Licinia climbed back into her own bed, and hid under the quilt. She was trying to remember a happier time. When her family actually smiled and laughed, but all she could remember were the solemn stares and yelling. As she was trying to block out the screams, she was fingering the embroidering. If only grandma was here.