--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...what happens when you return and find…" description: "\"“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you here has now b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg" --- # ...what happens when you return and find nothing but a… ![“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you here has now burned out and the ones who built it have traveled afar and you cant go to them, no matter what shoes you wear.” quote by Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg) > ““...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you here has now burned out and the ones who built it have traveled afar and you cant go to them, no matter what shoes you wear.”” [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It captures the emptiness and disorientation of returning to a place once familiar, now abandoned, highlighting loss of connection and the futility of seeking solace in the past. **In simple terms:** Describes a hollow, abandoned home and the impossibility of returning to its builders. Key Takeaway Home can become a void when its creators are gone. Themes Loss Isolation Nostalgia Impermanence Disorientation Mood Melancholy Eerie Reflective Type Poetic Philosophical When to use this quote - After a long journey, entering a decayed family house - Visiting a childhood home after a disaster - Exploring an abandoned building for inspiration Key Concepts Empty space Echoes Burnt light Traveling builders Practical Applications - Use as a metaphor for personal grief - Incorporate into a narrative about returning home Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to feel disconnected from a place once cherished? - How does the absence of creators shape our perception of space? A Different Perspective Some may argue that physical spaces retain memory regardless of occupants, but this view overlooks the emotional void left by absent creators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dorothy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dorothy/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Happens Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-return-322431/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache/) [Heartbreak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreak/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Return Hollowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-hollowed-322430/) [Shell Shingles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shell-shingles-322433/) [Shingles Floor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shingles-floor-322432/) ## Related quotes > [“What happens if they return?” I asked, leaning forward in the metal chair, my elbow pressing into my knee. “Won’t they seek punishment for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-sobon/what-happens-if-they-return-i-asked-leaning-forward-in-the-metal/) [Nicole Sobon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-sobon/) > [Phoebe Wolkind Ephron cracked wise like Dorothy Parker and looked like Katharine Hepburn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-ephron/phoebe-wolkind-ephron-cracked-wise-like-dorothy-parker-and-looked/) [Hallie Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-ephron/) > [My mother, Dorothy Watson, had met my father in a Greek class at Northwestern University.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cronin/my-mother-dorothy-watson-had-met-my-father-in-a-greek-class-at/) [James Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cronin/) > [An audience is going to be able to find a little bit of Dorothy in themselves and relate to this woman.: roles like Dorothy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/an-audience-is-going-to-be-able-to-find-a-little-bit-of-dorothy-in/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [“Staring at a world too horrible to comprehend, believing -- by dint of ignorance and innocence -- that beneath this unbearable contract of guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/staring-at-a-world-too-horrible-to-comprehend-believing-by-dint-of/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“Such places would not be special at all...if they appeared at regular times and in predictable ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-glick/such-places-would-not-be-special-at-all-if-they-appeared-at-regular/) [Ron Glick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-glick/) > [We're not all called to be Dorothy Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/we-re-not-all-called-to-be-dorothy-day/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Hope and Crosby made seven 'Road' movies, starting in 1940 with 'Road to Singapore.' 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Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [I truly believe that God brought this, Dorothy Day script to me, because for a long time up until I was in eight grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-truly-believe-that-god-brought-this-dorothy-day-script-to-me/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Some of our national heroines were defined by the fact that they never nested - they were peripatetic crusaders like Susan B. Anthony, Clara…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/some-of-our-national-heroines-were-defined-by-the-fact-that-they/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I really like Amelia Earhart. She's from Kansas. She disappeared, so I have to take her place. I want to be Dorothy. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-wixson/i-really-like-amelia-earhart-she-s-from-kansas-she-disappeared-so-i/) [Lindsey Wixson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-wixson/) ## More by Kellie Elmore > [“Maybe Heaven will be a library and then I might get to finish my ‘to-read’ list.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/maybe-heaven-will-be-a-library-and-then-i-might-get-to-finish-my-to/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“...and the smoke that creeps off the tip of my cigarette and into the dim, scattered strands of light leaking off the moon, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/and-the-smoke-that-creeps-off-the-tip-of-my-cigarette-and-into-the/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Sing me a love song in a slow, southern drawl to the tune of sunny days...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/sing-me-a-love-song-in-a-slow-southern-drawl-to-the-tune-of-sunny-days/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Social media has infected the world with a sickening virus called vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/social-media-has-infected-the-world-with-a-sickening-virus-called/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Watch me go. Watch me. Because you said i couldn't. Because you thought I wouldn't. Go on, cry now. Cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/watch-me-go-watch-me-because-you-said-i-couldn-t-because-you-thought/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“I don't want someone to believe my lies, I need someone to accept my truths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/i-don-t-want-someone-to-believe-my-lies-i-need-someone-to-accept-my/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Life is like a steering wheel, it only takes one small move to change your entire direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/life-is-like-a-steering-wheel-it-only-takes-one-small-move-to-change/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Hold love like a butterfly, with gentle preservation. Hold life like the reigns of a wild stallion, with fierce assertion. Encompass that, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/hold-love-like-a-butterfly-with-gentle-preservation-hold-life-like/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Poetry will die when love and pain cease to exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/poetry-will-die-when-love-and-pain-cease-to-exist/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [Love is the castle, doubt is the moat, desire is the paddle and hope is the boat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/love-is-the-castle-doubt-is-the-moat-desire-is-the-paddle-and-hope-is/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [When YOU stop believing one person in the world cannot make a difference; differences in the world will be made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/when-you-stop-believing-one-person-in-the-world-cannot-make-a/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“...and should I die in her care, I would leave smiling because, I will linger in the hills beside her...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/and-should-i-die-in-her-care-i-would-leave-smiling-because-i-will/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“No matter what, we have to keep moving forward, even if we have to crawl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/no-matter-what-we-have-to-keep-moving-forward-even-if-we-have-to-crawl/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“That dip in the road- that sends your belly to your throat... that's how it feels when you kiss me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/that-dip-in-the-road-that-sends-your-belly-to-your-throat-that-s-how/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Resting on the roots of this old oak I lean back against his knotted trunk, shine my granny smith on my sleeve And ponder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/resting-on-the-roots-of-this-old-oak-i-lean-back-against-his-knotted/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) [Explore all 44 Kellie Elmore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. 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Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you here has now burned out and the ones who built it have traveled afar and you cant go to them, no matter what shoes you wear.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kellie Elmore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/kellie-elmore-15187_death_what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-no_6954.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes…” — Kellie Elmore", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kellie Elmore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...what happens when you return and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```