Unfortunately, I was unable to return to the hideout the following day because when I returned home in my ruined dress and minus a cow, my parents decided to ground me in the kitchen to stir and chop for the entire week. I begged and pleaded but to no avail. “If we send our girl on an errand to find a cow and to return neat and tidy and she stays true to neither, then we can not permit her to do the same thing again, can we?” These words, which my father had spoken after I had promised to be good the rest of the year if only they wouldn’t make me stay and cook, echoed in my mind all week. I hadn’t told anyone about the wonderful place I had found. Now was not the time. Plus, the joy of knowing something no one else knew about was probably the only thing that kept my arms from falling off with the constant stirring and chopping I had to endure. 

After that tiresome week (or as I swear was at least a year) I was finally allowed to leave the hot kitchen. I woke up before the sun, fully prepared for my exploration underground. In my hand, I held a lantern, and on my back was a bundle containing spare clothes, food, and a hammer.

 Upon reaching the door, with a quick flip of my wrist, I had it open. Once again the ancient stairs saw the world above ground. My footsteps echoed as I descended down making shivers run up and down my spine, and my heart beat wildly. 

Reaching the bottom, I discovered what roughly resembled an eat-in kitchen, and upon further exploring, two bedrooms and what was perhaps once a bathroom. It was better than I had imagined! A whole house underground. I quickly put the food in a cupboard and the spare clothes in the larger of the two bedrooms. The lantern sat on the table casting an eerie yet comforting glow in the small room. I looked around proudly. No thirteen year old girl I’d ever heard about had a house all her own.

 As I sat to eat my lunch,I planned what I’d need to bring tomorrow to make my dugout complete. More food, quilts for the beds, and extra kerosene were musts. I spent the rest of the day in the dugout and everyday I could for several months.