The Flat at 610
“If you stay here, it’ll be chaos but you will be valued. I promise you, you will be valued,” Amelia says soothingly as she tucks a tear-soaked piece of hair behind my ear. We’re lying on Mandy’s bed in the room Mandy’s letting me stay in at 610 while I try to get my life in order post theft. I’m all frayed edges post-theft with no idea what’s going on or what to do or what I want to do, but as Amelia and I watch the sun come up over the city that morning from the top of One Tree Hill, I know that I want to stay. I know with absolute certainty that I love this country and that I love the people I’ve met here and the person that I’ve been here. I know that I don’t want to let this horrible event chase me away from a place where I feel like myself. I wanted to stay but the flat made it happen. Mandy stayed in Wellington so that I could have her room and if not for that, staying wouldn’t have been financially feasible. Their advice and kindness stabilized me and kept me sane during ...
