Lucy walked the streets of her neighborhood almost every day. She thought of it as her time. It was the most peaceful time of her day, when she allowed her mind to wander. Oftentimes she had interesting ideas, ideas that she could use in her drawings.
Then she heard sirens on a nearby street, she couldn’t tell which one, and suddenly her mind was flooded with worries: Where were her children? Had she left the stove on? What about that space heater, had she remembered to turn it off? The anxiety was overwhelming.
She was amazed at how quickly her mind could shift from peaceful, creative thoughts to raging worries. She picked up the pace, heading in the direction of the sirens. Within a few minutes she arrived at her street and saw that a policeman had stopped someone speeding through the neighborhood. She exhaled and continued walking, only more slowly.
Why does the author use the metaphor "flooded with worries"?
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to communicate how much she sweated on her walk
to reflect how quickly and fully worry filled her
to reflect how our thoughts flow as easily as water
to mirror how fast she started walking after the sirens