mending the pieces ~ camren

chapter two

Camila's POV

Ok, I loved Miami. I fell in love with the city, the people, our new house and neighborhood. I'm only a bit anxious about school and the people there. I heard the teachers there are really good ones, but they're also strict and demand a lot of hard work and focus, I don't mind the first part, I'm not sure about the second one. For me focusing has always been one of the hardest things to do, so I'll need to work on that. I'm glad we moved during summer break, there are still over two months of it left, so hopefully I'll succeed in finding a friend by then, starting new school by yourself can be tough, especially for me, Camila-the shy and nerdy one.

Sofi's met some kids around her age and they're getting along pretty well. I'm really happy for her, they're having a lot of fun together and she's settling in easily.

Mom seems like she's doing okay, so that's good. I'd definitely notice if she faked it, she's obviously not doing it this time. She's been spending a lot of time in her little garden by the house, I never thought she'd like getting all messy, but I can tell she really enjoys it.

We've only been here one week and things are slowly looking up. I had a feeling it'd be good for all of us, I know great things will happen to me here, I just know it.

It doesn't mean I love the fact we left Cuba, I still hold onto the details, nothing's changed..yet. I'm still scared of forgetting. The moment my memories start to fade, I'll lose it. I can't let this happen, I need to remember everything.

I decided to look for Sofia, so we could make dinner, she promised she'd help me. Mom was out, she went to group therapy for the first time today, I wonder how that's going. I really hope it'll help her. She's been doing so well recently, Miami is surely a change for the better in her case.

I finally found my little sister, she was outside, building a sand castle in the sandpit with a new friend, I think it was the one that lived on the other side of the street.

"hi Sof, want to introduce me to your friend?", I walked up and asked.

"Mila! Hey", she smiled and added "that's Abby, she's 5 years old, just like me! It's fantastic, isn't it?"

Wow, the enthusiasm.. "yes, Sofi, it's fantastic indeed! Hello Abby, I don't think we've met. I'm Camila, Sofi's older sister. "

"Abby, remember it's Cameela, okay? People always say it the wrong way!", ah Sofi, always protecting and making sure no one mispronounces my name.

The girl smiled shyly and her cheeks turned pink. "Hi Camila, I love your hair.", The 5 year old said, making me smile. "thank you so much, cutie! I love your dress, it looks fabulous.", Abby's cheeks were red by now. Kids are so cute!

"So Sofi, remember that promise you made? About helping me with dinner", I said, reminding myself what I came here for in the first place.

"Oh.. it's dinner time already?", the younger one asked, pouting.

"Almost, but Abby could always help us prepare the dinner if you two want to spend more time together, and Abby's parents let her, of course,", I saw the girls nod excitedly. I smiled at them and heard Sofi ask "Can we go ask Abby's parents if she can help us with the dinner?"

"Sure thing, but don't forget to be careful while crossing the street!", I yelled after they'd run in Sofi's new friend's house direction.

I started walking towards the kitchen, stopping in the living room to put my playlist on shuffle, cooking without my music sounds like tragedy.

The girls were back before I noticed. We decided on what each of us would be doing with the final result being kind of unfair, because I had to do all the cooking and the girls only had to clean the table and wash vegetables. But they're 5 years old, what else could I expect from them?