A Place to Call Home: Part 2

The night passed slowly as Brendan mulled over what little information Mana had been able to provide. If what she’d said was true, the implications could be massive, but that was dependent upon which family she was talking about. On the one hand, the whole story could be just that: a story. On the other, they could be slow-walking into something that was way over their heads; there just wasn’t enough information to make any definitive claims, and there was no use in speculating, either. However, he was nearly certain she was telling the truth about her family’s servitude, though it seemed strange she’d only just remembered. Lacia had claimed Mana could use magic, but he’d yet to see, or feel, anything of the sort from her. He walked himself through what he did know.

Unbeknownst to Mana, his family was one of the few that had any sort of relations with the Lhumin family. While the Greyriters were known for their exceptional magecraft and cunning, only very few ever rose through the ranks to truly hone their craft, but records were few and far between, making it difficult to piece together much of the family’s history.

The Lhumin family, however, were a bit of different story. Mostly commoners, they were frequently looked down upon, and many did marry into other magically-gifted families in the hope that their children might have a future. Many families were split apart, and many children were forced into rigorous, magical training; the Greyriter family would eventually become a much larger piece to the puzzle, however.

Because of the servitude the Lhumin family was expected to provide to the Greyriter and other families, tensions were always high, but after an accident involving a small Lhumin child and a Greyriter mage, their relationship fell to new lows. This would eventually be dubbed the “Searing Wounds” conflict due to the burns suffered by the Lhumin child.

Later investigations revealed the burns to be an accident, not an intentional provocation by a member of the Greyriter family, but not before full-scale war broke out. Many lives were lost, including over half of the Lhumin family; an eventual ceasefire and end to hostilities were agreed upon, marking the end of the last great era of magic.

Brendan began to think aloud. “But if I remember correctly, the Lhumin family smudged the whole ordeal from their family record, considering those records are public. Maybe they didn’t want that kind of information in the hands of a public audience, though.” He wracked his brain. “That means, only the family elders were tasked with preserving the memory of the conflict, yet I don’t sense any magic from Mana at all, and commoners aren’t normally privy to such information…”

He plopped down on a nearby futon as he continued his reasoning. “The problem isn’t that she knows about the conflict. Rather, it’s that she has to have mana, but it’s so incredibly weak, if so. There’s literally no other reason she would be attacked out of the blue like that if she didn’t.” He kicked his feet up, laying his head against a pillow. “Just because relations between the two families ended over two-hundred years ago doesn’t mean there wasn’t still some intermingling between them. If she was birthed by a Lhumin mother but the father was a Greyriter mage, there’s a fifty-fifty chance she can use magic, like Lacia said.”

Having exhausted enough brain power for the night, he unlocked his phone, hoping to catch up on any missed notifications. The time on his phone glared back: 6:00am.

At the very least, over the course of an entire night, he’d been able to conclude that both Lacia and Mana had a role to play in whatever was happening. What those roles were, however, remained a mystery, one he’d have to solve later.

He turned his attention back to Lacia, still sound asleep. Quietly, he got up from the futon and opened the bedroom door a crack, surprised to find Mana awake—with a half-eaten bagel hanging out of her mouth. Brendan slipped out of the bedroom, deciding to check on her now that she was awake.

“Hey, bagel thief. Good to see you’re awake,” he said.

“Mmm?”

“Okay— Half awake,” he said awkwardly. “I have a proposal for you. After much deliberation, I’ve come to the conclusion that you can, indeed, use magic, but the reason I can’t sense it from you is because you haven’t been taught how to use it.”

“Come on, Brendan. I was just hungry. I wanna go back to sleep,” she whined.

“Hear me out. Every mage has magical “circuits” that they use to channel magic through their bodies and from the environment around them. When these circuits don’t function properly, one of two things happens: either that mage leaks magical energy, or” he said, “their magic gets trapped like a clogged artery.”

“You have thirty seconds before I stop listening.” She began to count.

“Ok, ok! I think your circuits just haven’t been set, so, if you let me do this, you’ll have the best sleep of your life. Deal?”

“Yeah? And what do you need from me?”

“Lend me your arm for a sec. I can use my magic to create a map of your circuits to see if they’re functioning or not.” Mana handed Brendan her non-bagel arm. A faint white glow began to emanate from his palms as they pulsed from white to green then blue. “I was right,” he beamed. “I just have to send a magical pulse through your body, and that should set your circuits.”

“Well, I have nothing to lose,” she laughed. “Let’s do it. I want that sleep you promised me.”

Brendan placed his hands on her back. “You might feel a little something like a shock, but you might not feel anything, either, so just a fair warning.”

“Your hands are so warm; I can feel them through my shirt. Or is that your magic I’m feeling?” Her eyes began to grow heavy. “Why didn’t you think of this sooner? This feels great.”

“It took a lot of thought,” he said, “but I’ll have to tell you what else I came up with when you’re awake next.”

Mana was asleep again, but his job was done. He could sense the mana that flooded her veins—peaceful and serene. He took the half-eaten bagel from her hand and placed it on the nightstand.

“Problem number one, solved. Now, just to solve the other twenty,” he exaggerated.

After what had been an unsettling night, he decided to finally get some rest himself. Settling back into the futon from earlier, he grabbed a blanket and stretched out; sleep came quickly.

Seagulls soared overhead, wailing as they circled the wave-battered docks; the smell of salt lingered in the air. Several small boats were moored in their bays, gently bobbing in the wake of each passing craft.

One boat in particular towered above the rest, though it remained mostly empty aside from the unlit lower deck. The daylight found itself in a losing battle as it struggled to illuminate the compartments below, out of reach of the sun’s comforting warmth.

Several monitors lined the back wall of one of the many cabins, illuminating the interior in a pale, artificial glow. One monitor seemed to be monitoring global stock markets—another was trawling the archives of a since-terminated conspiracy site, housing debunked theories, threats, and discarded user data.

A small chiink emanated from one of the monitors, indicating the completion of a downloaded dataset; the search parameters involved an array of unreadable jumbles of words and numbers. It was nonsense, until two names appeared on the screen: Lhumin and Greyriter, yet there was no mention of the Amana family.

Seated in front of the computers was a lanky man of average build; greasy, black hair stuck to his forehead with sweat as the air conditioning struggled to keep up with the tropical climate. Using a hand to push his hair back, he leaned into his chair, an eerie grin of satisfaction plastered across his face.

“This should be fun, real fun indeed, Greyriter,” the man said, satisfactorily. “I hope you’re ready for what’s next, boy.”

He leaned forward, hunched over the keyboard. His fingers flew at light-speed banging away on each key with pinpoint accuracy. Suddenly, a third monitor flickered to life. The man turned his attention to the newly lit monitor where a world map filled the screen. Large slashes crossed out several countries and island chains; another browser window opened alongside the current window.

“The world is a big place, but there are only so many places you can hide. Run all you like, I will find you,” he sneered.

In the newly opened window, a website displayed a chilling amount of information regarding the Amana family, but the page was pixelated, and an occasional word here and there looked as if had redacted, covered by a black box. The website itself looked like it had been built by an amateur web designer—headers were misaligned, there was little consistency in text size, and certain pages on the site failed to load altogether—all except one.

Unlike the rest of the site, the page loaded instantly as the man scrolled the page straight to the bottom, not even reading the header, only pausing to examine the picture of a girl. Though it was pixelated and blurry, honey-blonde locks and dazzling blue eyes could still be made out; she looked well-kept, and her skin retained a healthy glow, smiling.

The man leaned in closer, comparing the image on-screen to one he pulled from thin air. His eyes darted between the photo on the screen and the one in his hand. An advertisement suddenly plastered the screen, adding just enough light to make out the person in the photo.

The man’s voice filled with glee. “Found you… Lacia Amana.”

Brendan jolted awake, disturbed by the mysterious man and subsequent web-trawling. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up before turning his attention to Lacia who’d also woken up.

“Hey,” he said softly. “How are you feeling? Did you…” He trailed off. “Why the sour look?”

“Please,” Lacia said, pressing her hand to her forehead, “don’t bombard me with questions first thing in the morning.” She closed her eyes for a moment before addressing the latter question. “It’s just… kind of awkward, you know?” Her cheeks flushed.

“Oh… Yeah… I would have asked Mana to keep watch over you, but she was exhausted and said her head was killing her. I didn’t mean to make things awkward, sleeping in the same room as you, but someone had to watch you,” he reasoned.

She turned an even brighter shade of red. “N-n-no, wait—it’s not like that, sorry. I, uh, should have thanked you first before getting suspicious.” She held her hands to her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Sorry, Brendan, I know I was a handful last night.”

“No need for apologies,” he smiled. “On another note, how long have you been awake or… Wait. Were you having a nightmare, too? About some creepy dude on a boat and all those monitors?”

“Did you see what was on the monitors?” She shuddered.

“Yeah, and—” He stopped. “Lacia?” His face was stern.

“Y-yeah? Why are you making that face?” She pulled her blanket up to her chest.

“Did the man have greasy, black hair? In a dark room?”

She nodded. “Did we… have the same nightmare? What was he looking for, and why was he so obsessed with me? He even had an actual photo of me.” Lacia was visibly shaken.

The strange mark on her cheek began to glow, outshining the filtered sunlight beaming through the curtains. She laid back down, not knowing what to think anymore.

“That’s new,” Brendan said. “I don’t suppose you know what that mark on your cheek is, do you?”

“Oh, yeah—no makeup,” she thought. “Of course he would ask.” She rubbed the mark with her finger. “I have no idea, and neither does Mana. It just, kinda, appeared there one day, but it doesn’t hurt, and I don’t feel anything when it glows.”

“I have a couple ideas what it might be.” He recalled the conversation he had with Mana. “For now, you’re probably fine, but we can have a whole conversation about it later.”

“Alright. Thank you, again.”

Without thinking, she tenderly rubbed her side before pulling her hand away, remembering that, twelve hours ago, she was on the precipice of bleeding out. She white-knuckled the side of her bed, mentally preparing herself for the sight of the previous night’s agony. With a quick pull, she lifted the side of her shirt only to find a small scar where Brendan had closed the wound.

“Did you...?” She pointed to the scar.

Brendan nodded in affirmation, giving her a rundown on the conversation he had with Mana, the history of the Lhumin and Greyriter families, and what had been the gaping gash in her side. He concluded with Mana’s improperly-set magic circuits.

“So, she collapsed because her magic was blocked off or something? That’s a relief,” she said. “I thought it was something more serious. I swear, without you, we’d be dead or something by now.”

“Thank for the flattery,” she chuckled, “but you’re only half right. That mist was definitely made to absorb life energy. Under normal circumstances, she should have been able to dispel the attack, but because her magic circuits were blocked, she couldn’t. Also, there’s something else you should know,” he said. “How do I put this? Umm… There’s this sort of “gift”, but we don’t know what it is yet or, really, how it’s even acquired. Either way, you’re part of a complex puzzle that we need to find the pieces to, asap.”

“What is this so-called gift?” she asked.

Brendan bit his lip, thinking about the best way to word what he was about to say. “Let’s just say it’s in this room, wrapped up in a blanket at the moment.”

Lacia pointed at herself. “You’re not talking about me, are you?”

“Do you want the short answer of the long answer?”

She threw her pillow at him. “Stop playing! Just tell me.”

He sighed. “You are the gift. Better yet, it’s inside of you,” he said. “I think, with a little research, I can figure out what this “gift” is. Right now, solely based upon last night, it’s a safe bet to say it grants either extensive knowledge or tremendous power—possibly both. I don’t suppose you feel a new, profound sense of intelligence or surge of magic, do you?” He looked her in the eyes. “If you want my opinion, your abilities aren’t developed enough, so whatever this gift or thing is, it tried to test you, but you weren’t strong enough, mentally or physically, to receive it.”

“Ok, well, first off, I don’t feel like I’ve gained any kind of ultra powerful magic, and I don’t feel any, uhhh… Smarter?” She frowned. “What I do know is that I feel like I just insulted myself…”

Without warning, the bedroom door creaked open as Mana poked her head in. From the looks of things, she’d just woken up: bedhead, bagel crumbs stuck to the side of her mouth, and dried saliva in tow.

Lacia held her hand to her mouth, snickering.

“Laugh all you want!” Mana fired, “but I think you two should come see this.”

Lacia and Brendan stepped out onto the front porch where Mana stood, waiting. The sun was out, working overtime to dry lingering puddles and flooded roads. What seemed even more unusual, other than seeing the sun for the first time in weeks, was the striking lack of people.

What were normally busy streets were silent, filled only with the sound of birds and blowing leaves. There were no cars or people, many homes had closed their blinds, and muddy tire tracks littered the streets.

Lacia walked up to the front gate, removing the padlock before swinging it open. She stepped out into the street, shielding her eyes from the sun, before abruptly slapping herself across the face.

“Well, that proves this is real and I’m not still dreaming, but where is everyone? Something about this feels… wrong,” she thought. “It’s waaay too quiet and there’s no one else out here. Like, would people not want to get out for the first time in weeks?”

The sound of approaching tires averted her attention; a white car was barreling down the street, straight for her, but instead of moving out of the way, she stood her ground. She didn’t care if the car hit her. Instinctively, she knew it wouldn’t, but she wanted answers, and she was determined to get them, even if it meant getting run over. She waved her arms in the air, signaling for the driver to slow down and, to her surprise, they did.

“Hey~,” the driver shouted, hanging from the window, waving back.

It was a man. He pulled over, parking the car at the curb as he stepped out; he looked to be in his early twenties, average build, and pleasant smile.

“Have any of you seen the news, lately?” he asked as Brendan and Mana joined Lacia at the street. “Some crazy stuff has been going on. You might want to check it out.”

“We’ll keep that in mind, but, uh— Who are you, and where is everyone?”

“Oops. Totally forgot to introduce myself first,” he said awkwardly. “I’m Ryan. It’s nice to meet you!”

Lacia smiled. “Likewise. My name’s Lacia, and that’s Mana,” she said gesturing, “and Brendan. We’re a bit rag-tag at the moment,” she laughed. “Umm, how about we all go inside? It’s terribly humid out here, and we could use a little time getting ready.”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly real pleasant today, is it? I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Ryan obliged.

Brendan finished getting ready first, joining Ryan in the living room. The clock on the television flashed three o’clock; the temperature gauge read eighty-six and climbing, but it was the humidity that was so unfathomable—even the air conditioner was struggling to keep up.

Mana appeared from the guest bathroom next, offering Brendan and Ryan a bottle of water, of which they both accepted. She turned her attention to the TV screen, but it was all commercials for the moment. “Sheesh… You’d think that, when important things actually happen, they’d find a way not to waste our time with endless commercials,” she said, annoyed. “Lacia shouldn’t be much longer, by the way.”

“No problem,” Ryan said. “I feel you on the whole commercials thing, though.”

“Hey,” Lacia shouted from somewhere down the hall, “those “endless commercials” are how I found the makeup brand you like so much,” she said defensively.

“Well, if you’d join us, maybe I wouldn’t be tease you so much,” Mana said.

The commercials continued to drone on, advertising everything from pet food to various new medical treatments for dermatitis rashes. Swiping the remote, Mana pushed the mute button, effectively silencing the same commercial about retirement homes she’d seen at least a hundred times. The rush of cold air from the vents added a level of static calm; she’d always had a fondness for white noise.

She couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Just two weeks ago, life had been totally normal; she’d meet up with Lacia outside her house each morning for school, talk about boys, and watch the same predictable TV shows about vampires and other, over-exaggerated, fantasies. Everything changed when she learned Lacia had been keeping secrets from her—important ones, at that. She would have figured it out eventually, but she couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if the events from last night happened while in broad daylight—worse yet, what if she’d started bleeding out in the middle of class?

“They’re saying there was a leak at the power plant? At Teaken? The one just up the road?” Lacia asked. Startled, Mana whipped her head around, colliding with Lacia’s. “Oww! Stop spacing out,” she whined. “That really hurt. Had I known you were going to bash me in the head, I would have sat across from you.” She pressed a cold bottle of water to her head, a preemptive attempt to subdue any headaches.

Mana groaned. “Sorry, Lacia. I got lost in thought and didn’t even see you walk in,” she said rubbing her own head. “I’ll be more careful next time,”

“It’s fine,” Lacia said, fixing her bangs, “but more importantly… Ryan, what were you saying about the power plant leak?”

Ryan looked to Brendan who just shrugged. “I have to wonder if the radiation already leaked into your brain, Mana,” he joked. “But real talk, though— The nuclear power plant a few towns up the road apparently suffered some kind of power failure and radiation is leaking into the air and water supply.” Ryan refocused their attention towards the TV, headlines anything but reassuring.

“Nuclear accident at Teaken power plant.”

“Residents from Teaken to Azalea south ordered to evacuate.”

Live drone footage displayed an area of extensive damage, resembling that of a major earthquake except there had been no recorded quakes in recent months. Rubble lay strewn about the ground; any structures that remained upright were riddled with cracks, threatening to tumble down at a moment’s notice. If an earthquake really had caused such devastation, why wasn’t that also being talked about? Someone wasn’t telling the whole truth as was evident by reporters’ dodgy answers when asked about the cause of the accident.

“The place is just rubble,” Brendan said, shocked.

“They’re saying the radiation cloud is set to drift this way around sunset,” Ryan explained, “so most everyone has left town, but if you three need someplace to go, I’m headed straight south to the Okina islands. If we leave now, we can be there by midday tomorrow.”

The room fell silent as everyone mulled over their options. Ryan had offered to give them a lift to the Okina islands, a tropical paradise that drew thousands of tourists every year. On the one hand, Lacia half-wanted to take him up on the offer; beaches and tropical paradises were kind of her thing. On the other, she didn’t want to drag someone else into her current mess-of-a-life drama.

Brendan seemed to understand. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to decline your offer, but let me give you my number, in any event. It’s good to have alibis in times like these, right?” He watched the tension in Lacia’s shoulders ease.

“Right you are. Here!” Ryan handed the girls a business card upon exchanging contact information with Brendan. “On the back is the address to my villa. If you decide to make your way down, I’ll be there. It’s kind of my “doomsday” getaway,” he said. “It’s stocked with everything you’d need.” He seemed exceptionally proud of himself.

“A villa?!” the girls exclaimed in unison.

Ryan chuckled. “I figured you’d like the sound of that. Anyways, it’s almost thirty after, so I better get going—I’d like to make it by midday tomorrow.” He leaned onto his knees. “if you want my advice, I think you should pack what you can and leave town by seven, if what they said on the news is true. There’s even an abandoned four-door SUV just up the street—the way I came in.” He turned to Lacia. “Thank you for your hospitality—it was greatly appreciated. I’m gonna head out, but make sure you three get somewhere safe.”

Ryan sped off as quickly as he’d arrived, thanking Lacia again, even offering Mana a couple of pain relievers from an unopened bottle. She graciously accepted. Brendan shook his hand, waving him off.

“He seemed really nice,” Mana said, watching as the car faded into the horizon, “but I do have my reservations about getting into a car with someone we just met.” She looked at Lacia, still staring down the road.

“I mean, yeah. He offered us a safe place to stay and warned us about the radiation cloud. He even gave you some pain relievers from a brand-new bottle— Can he really be that bad? Like, he knew we were wary and did everything he could to prove his humility.”

“You are pretty cute, after all, Lacia. Who wouldn’t want to drive away with you?”

“Did you just nonchalantly say I’m kidnap-able…? I’m not the only one some random stranger would want to pick up, you know?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

Brendan pulled the SUV up, windows down. “I could hear you two from way up the road. Let’s be clear: no one is getting kidnapped,” he laughed.

A warm breeze rustled his messy hair; Lacia’s heart melted. He had no right being so cute, and his fluffy hair was just begging to be played with. “In another life, girl. In another life,” she whispered to herself.

“Lacia, if you’re done having the hots for Brendan, can you help me load these boxes? They’re pretty light, mostly just clothes, bedding, and bathroom stuff,” Mana said.

Embarrassed, she ran over to help. “J-just to be clear, Brendan,” she said, red-faced, “I do not have feelings for you, ok? S-so don’t think about anymore!”

“Yes ma’am,” he laughed. “How about you two do a once-over on the house and I’ll load the boxes and whatever else that’s left?”

Lacia’s blonde tresses turned into a marvelous platinum hue in the sunlight as she ran into the house, still embarrassed. “I’ll start in the back, Mana,” she shouted.

“You know she totally likes you, right? That girl literally never knows what she wants,” Mana explained. “Like, did you notice she changed from flats to a low-heel boot? She also changed the ribbon in her hair to match her— Actually, I’ll leave that to your imagination. Also, her favorite color is light blue—same color as the hair ribbon,” she winked.

“Mana!” Lacia yelled.

“Coming!” she shouted back. “See what I mean? She’s still a child at heart, but all of the recent craziness has really transformed into a young woman I’m kinda jealous of. Anyways, I better go help.” She ran into the house after Lacia.

“Hey,” Brendan nudged. “Have you grown a little taller or is it the heels? I feel like maybe you grew an inch or two, seriously. You’re the perfect height,” he said, addressing Lacia.

She let out a breathy gasp. Compliments from boys were rare. “Actually, I guess I have grown a little. My world has been absolutely insane lately, though I’m not sure why I couldn’t grow there of all places,” she mumbled, looking at her chest. “Brendan, this hasn’t been easy on me, so thank you for being there for me—Mana too.”

“Hey, I think you’re just fine the way you are, so don’t go changing for anyone other than yourself. Come on, let’s finish getting these boxes loaded,” he smiled.

Half an hour later and the car was packed, but Lacia wasn’t ready to leave just yet. “I want to leave a note in case mom and dad somehow make it home, you know? No matter how unlikely,” she said. “I just need a few minutes, and I’ll be ready.”

The car idled as Lacia ran back into the house. It felt lonely despite her choosing to leave much of the house’s contents where they were. Even so, she would miss the familiar scent of the furniture, the cold blast of air when she closed the fridge, and the smooth linoleum under her feet. She stood in the center of the living room for a moment before walking into her bedroom.

“I almost forgot about you,” she said excitedly.

A beautiful, red and black dress hung on the closet rack; she’d planned to wear it to her twentieth birthday party next month. Although, considering recent events, she wasn’t sure she’d get the chance to wear it. A pair of black, stiletto pumps glinted in the dim room light as she stooped down to pick them up—her choice of shoes for the party. She zipped the dress inside its garment bag, carrying her heels by their straps.

“Lacia,” Mana called. “Can we help with anything?”

“Oh, um, yes actually,” she answered. Mana’s voice pulled her from her daze as she walked into the room. “Could you take these and place them in the car for me?” she said, handing the dress and shoes over to Mana. “I want to pack my plushies real quick. I’d really like to have them.”

“Sure. Join us when you’re ready,” Mana said, watching as Lacia took her bed-full of stuffed animals and placed them in a left-over empty box. “I’ll let Brendan know you’ll be a little longer.”

“Thank you, bestie. You are so appreciated!”

Another five minutes passed as Lacia finished grabbing a few other last-minute items: extra bath towels, makeup brushes and wipes—even an extra set of batteries. A jumbled shoebox-full later and she finally got around to writing the note she planned to leave for her parents. Black ink trawled across the white printer paper as she weighted the note down with an empty glass from the cabinet.

“Ok,” she said, choked up as tears began to stream down her face.

“I’ve lived here my whole life ,and I’m about to leave everything I’ve ever known behind, but I’m ok—I can do this. Mom and dad are still out there somewhere, and I have you guys,” she said, referencing Mana and Brendan. “They’re good people, I promise.” A single tear left a tiny imprint on the paper.

She walked out, shoebox in her arms, gently placing it inside a larger, half-empty box in the trunk, making sure it was secure. The road ahead was rugged, and it would be full of challenges—she knew that, but if the last couple of weeks alone had taught her anything, it was that she was braver than she realized.

Brendan gave her a hug, noticing the uncertain look on her face. “You can be as brave as you need to be, but don’t forget we’re here to support you, too.”

His face was full of uncertainty, but his eyes were fierce and determined. Ryan had thrown him for a bit of a loop, and the addition of the nuclear disaster didn’t help. Even so, he wanted to be someone the girls could rely on, but he knew he had to follow his own advice, as well.

Lacia quickly dried her eyes, regaining her composure as she embraced Brendan’s hug; he smelled like vanilla—one of her favorite scents. She appreciated that he could be vulnerable with her, noticing his staggered breathing. Maybe he was trying to hold back tears of his own.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled. “I need to be strong for you guys, too—not just for myself. Brendan?” she said sweetly, “if there’s ever a time you need a shoulder to cry on, too, you can have mine.” Her voice was quiet; she wanted this moment to herself.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “Should we get going?” He released the hug.

“Yeah. There’s a left we need to figure out. We can’t stand around, crying, all the time now, can we?” she laughed.

Imparting her final goodbyes, she locked the front door, placed the lock back on the gate, and awkwardly hugged her childhood home before turning the gate key. With a brave face, she looked back on her childhood home—one final time; she was ready to embrace the young woman she had become. Stepping into the vehicle, she closed not just the car door, but the door to an entire chapter of her life. Realizing this could be the last time she’d ever see the home she grew up in, she snapped several last-minute photos.

“Goodbyes are hard, but we can’t hold on to our past forever. I believe in you, Lacia. We believe in you,” Brendan said. “We don’t know what the future holds, but I know that, as long as I have you, we’ll be ok.”

Mana smiled, as she turned to face the window. “He says all the right things at exactly the right time. Lucky girl,” she mouthed.

Lacia blushed again, but, for some reason, she was happy she could experience this new journey with such wonderful people. Reciting the note she’d left on the kitchen counter in her head, she wondered just where their journey would take her:

Mom, Dad. If you find this note, I’m ok. In fact, I’m better than ok. I made a new friend, and he’s helped me put the pieces of my life back together. His name is Brendan.

I lost myself, but I had my friends by my side to help bring me back. Mana is just like you, mom—bossy, but she cares. You always told me to find people who show they care, and I did just that.

We packed a little bit of everything, and I took pictures of our family photos, too. For now, we’re headed south towards the Okina islands. I don’t know if that’s where we’ll end up, but please go to the address on the business card—we’ll try to meet you there if we can.

Your little girl isn’t so little anymore. She’s all grown up now, but that little girl is still with me in my heart, walking alongside me.

I love you guys. We’ll see each other again soon—I can feel it in my heart. My phone works for now, but there's no telling for how much longer. Call me when you see this, if you can.

Your little girl, Lacia.