Read the text below and select the correct word or phrase for each gap from the drop-down list.
Returning to Hawthorn Street
When Laura turned onto Hawthorn Street, she was struck by how little it had changed. The houses still stood in neat rows, their brick facades , making the past feel unexpectedly close. Even the old jacaranda at the corner seemed to be waiting, its branches arching over the road as they always had.
She parked outside her childhood home and remained there for a moment as memories surfaced without invitation. The quiet was broken only by distant traffic, a reminder that time had continued its steady elsewhere, even if this street appeared untouched by it.
As Laura walked up the driveway, she noticed details she had once overlooked: the chipped paint, the uneven steps, the letterbox leaning slightly to one side. These imperfections gave the house a sense of , as though it had resisted improvement in favour of remaining itself.
Inside, the rooms felt smaller than she remembered. Yet the air was thick with , stirred by the faint smell of polish and dust. Each object seemed to demand recognition, quietly asserting its place in her personal history.
Laura realised that her return was less about the house than about confronting the between who she had been and who she had become. Nostalgia offered comfort, but it also sharpened her awareness of choices made.
When she finally left, she understood that the past could not be reclaimed, only . As she drove away, she felt a quiet and found the memories easier to onto.