Laura P.O.V.
I walk through the park. I've made a habit of doing it every day. As I'm walking through the park, I watch people as they go for walks, ride their bikes, and play with their kids. I stop and think about how I'm sure Helena takes Billy and Nell to the park to play. A young girl walks up to me with tears in her eyes. I bend down and look at her and notice that she has scraped her knee. I gently ask her, "What happened, honey?" "I was playing, and I fell and scraped my knee," the little girl says. I examine her injury. It's bleeding, but it's nothing bad. I rip off two pieces of my shirt. One piece to dab at the blood and clean her knee and the other piece to wrap her knee, like a bandage. "Thank you," the little girl says. "You're welcome honey." I say. I watch her run over to her mother. The mother looks at me when the little girl points me out to her mother. The woman walks over and extends her hand. "Thank you for helping my daughter. I really appreciate it," she says. I take her hand and shake it. "No problem. I'm happy to help."
When I finish walking through the park, I decide to seek shelter in the Starbucks down the street to warm up and get out of the rain. I walk in and sit at a table by the window. The coffee shop is crowded today. I watch the people passing by in a hurry. A woman then enters the coffee shop. She orders her coffee and then walks over to the table where I am sitting. "Do you mind if I sit here there is nowhere else." "Sure." I say. She sits down with her coffee. "So Laura, what have you been up to?" I look at the woman sitting in front of me and then realize it's Helena. "Nothing. I've been back to my old habits." I say, looking down, ashamed of myself. "Come home, please." Helena asks. "I don't think I should. Tim doesn't want me there." I say. "I do. I want you to be a part of my family. Billy and Nell miss you. I miss you." She extends her hand across the table from me and I take it, looking into her eyes. I see the look of sincerity in them and know she means every word. I take a deep breath and say, "I'll come home." Helena gets up from the table with tears streaming down her face and hugs me. I can feel myself crying as I hear Helena whisper in my ear "Let's go home."
Helena P.O.V.
I've been out looking for Laura for two weeks now with no luck and I'm losing hope as well as sleep. I decide to stop to get a coffee before heading to work. As I walk in, I notice how busy it is today. I head up to the counter and order my coffee. When I get it, I notice one empty table with a girl sitting alone. I walk over and ask her, "Do you mind if I sit here? There is nowhere else?" "Sure." the girl replies. As I sit down, I take in the girl's features and realize I know her. "So Laura, what have you been up to?" The girl looks shocked I recognize her but replies, "Nothing. I've been back to my old habits." I notice she looks even worse than the day I found her. She looks down, ashamed to meet my eyes. "Come home, please." I say. What she says in reply shocks me "I don't think I should. Tim doesn't want me there." "I do. I want you to be a part of my family. Billy and Nell miss you. I miss you. I extend my hand across the table to her. She takes it and I can see her searching me for any sign that I'm lying. She takes a deep breath and says, "I'll come home." I get up from the table with tears streaming down my face and wrap my arms around her. I can feel her tears dripping onto my shirt as we embrace and I whisper in her ear, "Let's go home"
