Kayla Daisy Warren

"After a visit to the doctors, we found out she was two months pregnant. Asking how it happened she refused to say anything, not even who was responsible for the pregnancy.  After a lot of discussions, Marie decided to take up the child as her own while Daisy went to school.

During the last month of the pregnancy, Daisy was on her way to the market when she got into a hit and run accident. She was rushed to the hospital where died after delivery of a beautiful baby girl.

Kayla Daisy Warren was her name given by her mother. Marie was devastated for having lost her daughter but she took up the role of raising her grand daughter and did a great job at it.

During the child's twelfth birthday, she had an accident, fell down the stairs and hit her head pretty bad. We rushed her to the hospital. They said her head injury had caused her to lose some of her memories but they would come back with time.

Not too long after, a group of people broke into their home demanding payment for the loans they had taken. They terrorized them causing the old Maire to have a heart attack and the memory lost Kayla to run away from the cause.

Marie died three days later when she was told of her granddaughter missing. The search for Kayla Warren continued for months before she was also declared dead, but i know she is still somewhere out there" 

He finished narrating my history and all I could was cry. Cry for the family that I lost and the family I could have had.

"She gave me this to," he begins after a while, bending down to retrieve a box," they are pictures of your family and other important documents like your birth certificate and drawings of your mother that she kept in case you ever found your way back,"

I take the box and place it on my lap but not moving to unlock it.

"What about my father?" I ask the question that has been burning me.

"No one knows," he says, rubbing my back.

"Ooh okay," I sigh.

After a while I get up and head to my room, where I open up the box. The first thing on top is a family picture. A man, a woman and a girl about the age of nine who oddly looks like me. No one evee looks like me. Picking it up i trace around the figures.

My grandparents and mother! Hugging it to my chest, I cry cursing my luck of never having had the chance to meet them.

There are a few more pictures inside, some certificates, drawings, a book, a necklace and a letter messily written.

Dear Kayla,

Hello there child. It is Sarah, your neighbor. I am not sure if you remember me, but I hear you now go by the name Ayla. It is a beautiful name. 

That man showed me your picture, you have grown up beautifully child. He also told me of where he found you and I am so sorry child that I didn't look hard enough for you. I want you to know that your grandmother loved you so much and so did your mother before she died.

But I did manage to find out who your father was. Henry Smith, you have his black hair and hazel eyes. He died in the military after finding out that Daisy was dead and she had a daughter and had taken a leave to come back.

I hope that you are happy where you are and continue being safe.

With love 

Sarah.

Attached to it was a picture of a man, tall,dark skin with his hair braided and wearing a military uniform, a wide smile.

Taking the portrait again. I hug it as I lie down and continue crying.

"Are you going to cry the day away?" A voice says from the door.

"If I have to," I sniff , turning away from Olivia. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you have gone out with the rest?"

"Naah. Am going to meet my girlfriend soon," she replies, moving to sit at the edge of the bed.

"I just want to be alone," I tell her as I curl up.

"So that you can continue crying and cursing life?" She picks up my fathers picture," damn! If i were you i would be celebrating. Finding out who my family are, and also finding out how hot they were," she adds while taking my mothers picture.

"You are not going to leave me alone, are you?" I sit up.

"Not one bit," she smiles before moving to my closet." Jeans? No. Dress? No. Perfect," she says, coming out with a skirt and sweater shirt.

"It's freezing out," I say , grabbing the clothing.

"No it is not," she disagrees taking a sit on the bed to wait while i change.

********

We head over to Wendy's. The cafe is empty save for a few  lingering souls, a woman working on her laptop, a man by the window face buried in a book, and another old man sipping on his coffee looking out the window.

I order a caramel latte and two blueberry cupcakes as Olivia orders and an iced coffee with some croissants to go with and we head to the booth by a man buried in a book.

"Sophie says she is gonna be a bit late," Olivia tells me just as I start biting into my food.

"Where did the rest go?" I asked after a while.

"Couldn't decide on a place to go together so they split up. Not sure where they went,"  she answers typing away on her phone. 

"I am so sorry I am late," a tall girl dressed in a sunflower dress occupies the seat next to Olivia.

"It's okay. This is My friend Ayla," she introduces.

"Hey,"

"Hello" we both greeted at the same time before turning to Olivia telling her how her car broke down and her other ride bailed on her.

I zone them out as I continue eating my food while watching the few people in the cafe.

"Still hungry. Am getting fries. Want anything?" I ask the lovebirds after a while.

They were so sweet, it made me sick, especially knowing I could be having what they had.

"Chocolate milkshake," Sophie says.

"Nothing for me,"Olivia replies.

I get up and head to the register to order. I scroll through Instagram as I wait for the orders.

They were all in the mall laughing and holding each other. Mason was right beside Diana eyes trained on her giving her a certain longing look like he wished it was only them in the world. It pissed me off.

Fucking emotions, i shut my phone feeling jealousy and hurt bubling up my chest.

I get an extra chocolate milkshake before heading up to the booth, only to find it occupied by the man seating in the next booth.

"Can you get-," I began already feeling annoyed when the strange man turned his head to face me.

"Mich- Mr Ross?" I was shocked.

I had already forgotten about him. Or how good he looks for that matter. Especially now with his dark brown hair messy as if he has been running his fingers and pulling at it, a blue shirt with the first button undone.

"Come sit before you drop all that food," he says, moving over for me to sit down.

I quickly take a seat with my head down to hide the pink spots on my face for getting caught looking and cursing for having my hair up in a bun.

"You two know each other?" Sophie asks taking her milkshake.

"High school teacher," I give her a short reply before diving into my food.

"Cool. He is my cousin, the ride that bailed on me," Sophie says, giving him a stink eye.

"I was busy!" He shrugs, grabbing my milkshake and taking a sip.

"Busy checking out girls at Wendy's?" Sophie questions.

Olivia and I locked eyes at those words and the fact that he just took a sip of my drink like it's something normal to do.

Olivia and Sophie start talking of how they will make the distance thing work.

"How was your holiday?" He asks.

"Eventful," I grumble , immediately annoyed.

"Care to share?" He asks.

Shooting him a look, I wonder what he is playing at after he made it clear that I should refrain from being informal with him.

"What's that book about?" I ask instead, eyeing the booking in his hands.

"Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning" he replies.