Moon Child

2. A Start of Sorts

The woman smiled softly before she hugged me tightly. The gesture was heartfelt and meaningful; like a prodigal child was returning. I guess to them, that was exactly what was happening. I felt her love and sympathy leaking through her. I dropped my bags on the ground and hugged her back, craving the comfort and warmth I so desperately needed at the moment.

"Oh Daniella... I know you don't know us yet, but we're going to change that. We haven't seen you since you were a newborn," the woman blubbered. I could feel her tears against my cheek. Her body heat radiated off of her in a calming way. It protected me from the chilling wind.

"Nora, the child is probably cold," Patrick said. Nora sniffled before she let go and brought me inside. Patrick picked up my bags and set them inside the door before going back outside. Probably to talk to my father. Nora rushed me into the house and sat me down on a plush brown couch before sitting on the coffee table in front of me and rasping my hand in her own. Being this close, I noticed her eyes were a sky blue with flecks of silver. The same silver that consumed the whole of my irises. At least now I could see where it might have come from.

She didn't say anything. She just sat there, holding my hand tightly and staring at me like I could disappear at any moment. I could feel every emotion she felt. It hit me like a wave at high tide. Her eyes intense and focused on every feature I possessed; comparing them to my mother's.

My concentration broke and I jumped when the door slammed. Patrick came into the room and saw us just sitting there. Nora's eyes were still on me as I looked at Patrick. He looked sympathetically to his wife as he released her iron grasp on my hand, breaking her emotions from me.

"Love, you're scaring the poor girl," Patrick said as he took my hand and placed it gently on my own lap before letting go. He smiled warmly at me. His eyes were a green color with flecks of gold. Patrick's hair was brown, but graying slightly. His skin looked like he was in the sun often.

"I'm sorry! Did you want tea, or soup, or hot chocolate, or water, or anything?" Nora asked as she stood quickly. I shook my head. I looked between the two of them and offered a small awkward smile.

"At least I know where my looks come from finally," I said, trying to break the awkward silence with a shrug. Nora's face lit up as she went to retrieve something. Patrick squeezed my shoulder gently as Nora came back with a picture frame. She looked at it was a face of sadness and love for a moment before she turned it for me to see.

"Rebecca Grace... She was your mother," Nora said, handing me the picture. The wood of the frame was old but well taken care of. In the frame was my father and what I knew now was my real mother. My mom was draped over the back of my father as they smiled at the camera. Her black hair shined with a dark brown undertone brought out by the sun's rays. Her heart-shaped face held a wide smile of her full, pink lips, showing off her one dimple. The slits of her eyes hinted at a blue or gray iris. The crinkles on the side of her eyes suggested that she was laughing. Her sun-kissed, porcelain-like skin was flawless as she wore a white sundress. She was stunningly beautiful.

My father looked like a completely different person. He looked completely in love like I'd never seen him before. He looked happy... truly happy. I think this was the first time I'd ever seen his smile reach his eyes. He put on a good act, but as I got older, I started noticing it more and more. I started noticing how sad he really was. Maybe I was too hard on him. He did have to raise me by himself. But he kept my real mother a secret from me, and I was still very upset about that.

"She's so beautiful," I said out loud.

"And you look just like her," Nora said. I smiled lightly, content that I at least knew where my looks came from now.

"She passed away in child birth, but she made your father promise to take care of you and bring you back here before you turned 18. You were everything to your mother. She chose your life over her own," Nora said solemnly. I could tell that they loved me mother very much, and missed her greatly. I felt guilty for being the one who ripped her away from them. No parent should have to deal with the pain of outliving their child.

"Come on, we'll give you a tour of the house and then you can get some rest. You already missed the first few months of school here, but we enrolled you in Roosevelt. It's the local high school. Everyone from our quiet little town goes there. And our family has been going there for generations," Patrick said as he stood. I had to admit, I was a little nervous. Being an Ambassador's daughter, I never actually went to a public school. I was always going to private institutions with other ambassador's kids and kids of CIA operatives and whatnot. Public school would be new to me. I handed the picture frame back to Nora and stood to follow Patrick around the house.

The house was big as far as regular homes go. It was warm and welcoming though. I didn't feel out of place or foreign. I felt right at home. We ended the tour at my room. The walls were painted a dark blue. The room was spacious with cherry wood furniture. The bed sat against the middle of the wall on the left. The duvet was a portrait of two wolves on the edge of a cliff, howling at a full moon. It was artistically beautiful. There was so much detail; it looked so real.

"W-We can always change it if you want," Nora offered nervously. They were both nervous about making me feel welcome, I noticed. I smiled at them reassuringly.

"It's perfect," I assured them. It was the truth though. I loved everything about this room. And the wolf theme was different and unique and beautiful.

"You're mother loved that blanket. She took the picture herself. She loved it so much we had it made into a blanket for her 18th birthday," Nora said, deep in thought. My eyebrows raised in surprise. The picture was so perfect it was almost unreal. It was amazing. There was so much about her I didn't know. So much I wanted to know.

"Bathroom?" I asked.

"Through that door there," Patrick pointed out a door inside the room.

"Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes if you're hungry," Nora added. I thanked them before they left me alone to settle my things. I sighed and checked my phone. I had two texts. The first was from my friend Jannah.

Jannah: Miss you boo! You better text me updates and FaceTime me tomorrow! ;)

I chuckled silently to myself as I shook my head at my crazy friend. With super curly brown hair, caramel skin, mischievous brown eyes, and a body to die for, Jannah was the only friend I made that I knew would stick. She lived in Australia when I did. She was the daughter of the Ambassador of Brazil. There was a lot of space between us, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't restrict our friendship much. The second text made me frown in worry. It was from my dad.

Dad: I'm so sorry Dani girl. I was only trying to protect you. I love you.

It sounded eerily like a goodbye that meant he wasn't coming back and I hated that feeling. I called and it went straight to voicemail. Even though I was mad at him, I still loved and cared about him. He was my dad after all. I was just upset that he lied to me. After trying to call him two more times, I settled for sending him a text.

Me: I love you too, Dad.

I pulled my clothes out of my bags, put them in drawers and hung them in the closet. The rest of my things were already neatly in place. I set my toiletries in the bathroom before finding a soft, plush towel and setting it aside for a shower. I liked it here so far. My grandparents were loving and kind, but tears still blended with the water as the hot water assaulted my body. I sighed and tried to calm my trembling body. Once my body was heated and scrubbed, I stepped out and dried myself off before changing into a long sleeved shirt and pants pajama combo.

I climbed under the covers that used to be my mother's. It smelled like lilac and lemons. It was a mild but beautiful smell. I wondered if it was how my mother used to smell. I liked to think so. It made me feel like I could have known her. She was probably a kind and caring person like her parents were. I smiled gently and closed my eyes with every intention of taking a short nap before dinner.