IanG

A lot of people will relate to someone putting a brave face on things when they feel dreadful inside. People have covered the subject before but that's because people keep feeling like that. Glad to see a ray of hope.

This is a concise and thoughtful piece. Its a good start for a very young author.

This is a plausible, relevant story. Well done.

You're not being selfish, its not your fault if your parents are falling out. They're adults and need to accept some responsibility for their own actions. Yours is not the only family where arguments get out of hand, it happens more often than you may think. I get the impression that you havn't opened up to anyone about this before, perhaps other people have similar issues but they too keep quiet about them. You're not alone in having flawed parents.

I don't know all the answers, but laying all the blame on yourself alone is not one of them.

Try 'Father retires to the living room# rather than 'father resigns to the living room'. Resigning refers to quitting a job due to pressure or a crisis, retire can mean leaving a scene or a room voluntarily.
That said, I like your descriptions of nature and the twist at the end is a good one. Keep it up.

You're right about the corrosive effects of guilt. There's a little more hope here than in some of your pieces, and that's good.

You wrote 'load' when you meant 'loud' but that aside its a convincing, well written piece. The declining town and the mismatch between memories and the present are very believable.

Coming from a country where the weather is notoriously fickle, I can relate to this. Well done.