faith (Thia)

All too soon, the day that Addison and the others were to go back home crept ever closer, but there was some good news. Since Tiana went to a boarding school, she had all of summer with pretty much nowhere else to be, meaning she could stay as long as she liked.

The day before the others were due to go home, we came together and discussed what we might be able to do once they were gone. We hadn't gone into town yet since they thought that might be too dangerous for the little ones. I suggested that the day after they went, we could spend time in town."

"But that's Sunday." Tiana pointed out.

"Yeah, so."

And she gave me that sideways look of hers. "Come on, Thia, you know I'm religious."

"Oh." I'd actually forgotten that fact.

From the corner someone sniggered.

Tina turned on them. "You think that's funny."

It was Sky. "Maybe a little. What religion exactly?"

She folded her arms. "Does it matter? They all believe pretty much the same thing."

"Right, right, that there's some greater deity commanding a divine destiny for all of us." He said it with not little scorn and sarcasm.

This discussion was starting to gain more interest from those watching.

"And the problem with that is...?" Tiana shot back.

"Just…well…doesn't it make you feel a little…" he seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I don't know, doesn't it just piss you off a bit to think that someone else is in control of what happens to you." He blurted out, bluntly.

"No." Tiana sounded surprisingly calm. "Actually, I always found it somewhat reassuring. No matter how much you screw up, you'll still always find yourself ending up in the same place. Exactly where you're meant to be."

Brain scratched his head, joining the discussion. "Buuut…what if where you're meant to be, isn't where you want to be."

Tina threw her head back and laughed. "Everybody thinks it's not what they want. It often takes a while for people to see the reasons behind it but they do see it in the end, and they except it…because they have to." She shrugged, then pointed a finger in the direction of the older boys. "You see, the thing about destiny is you never truly know what it's actually going to be until it's staring you in the face."

They all looked around at each other and I looked down to try and hide a smirk. Yeah, Tiana can get real deep when she wants to.

"So, what happens when something comes along that you think might be destiny but aren't too sure about?" Zee pointed out.

"Then it's not your destiny. You gotta wait for something that's sure…" then she paused, eyeborgs creasing "…sure-er."

"More sure?"

"That'll do."

Then I lost it. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's the deal with Sunday anyway?"

"It's supposed to be a day of worship…rest."

"Ok, so not Sunday." I said, having enjoyed the discussion but thankful to get back to the original topic. "We can all go together when the others go back and go into town after they've gone. There should still be enough time to see a few things."

"Sounds fair to me."

"Sure, why not."

When the time came, Tiana was waiting for us by the doors. She watched with vague curiosity as I went to put on my hoodie. "Is that new?"

Remembering that the last time I'd gone out I was wearing my mothers old dress I realised this was indeed the first time she'd seen this hoodie. "Oh, yeah. Actually got it last winter."

It was after the first time I'd fallen properly ill here. Figuring this would be a warm place, I hadn't brought any sort of coat or jacket over with me when we moved in, then as the weather started to get colder, so did I. I stayed inside for a full week, staying in bed for two of them. I was lucky it had happened during the winter holidays. In the evening of the second day, James had come to me with a mug of some steaming yellow liquid and told me it would help. "Although, fair warning…" he started, but too late, I'd already taken a sip…and almost gagged on it.

He chuckled a little. "It tastes like piss. Drink though, you need it."

So, I drank, finishing every last drop with a little help from a slice of toast. That night, I had the best night's sleep I'd had in a week and woke up feeling much better. Once I was up and about again, they gave me this hoodie in the hopes that it would prevent me from getting any further colds.

"Suits me, don't ya think." I said, spinning around with it on to show Tiana.

She nodded. "Nice colour."

"And the hood." I said, flipping it up over my head, curling my ears forwards as I did so, then righting them so that they slid smoothly into their cosy little pockets, making her laugh. "Handy."

"Alright, if you two are done playing fashion."

We both turned to look at Adison then giggled as we walked out the door.

Of course it was rather sad watching them go. We'd had our time and now it was over. While at the airport, we hung back and let Jay say his goodbyes, giving both the girls a kiss and the boys one final ruff-and-tumble. Adi ruffled his hair a little before leaving and Helin attempted to embrace him but he quickly pushed himself away. That made me laugh. They were laughing too. And the little ones as well. It was good that we could at least end it on a happy and cheerful note.