Anywhere But Here

Chapter Twenty-Five, Zyra's POV,

I will never see Dawn again, maybe at her concerts or while she is on tour or something. My sister, Daisy, I want to see her, I need to see her. I hear people talking to Dawn downstairs and congratulating her on writing a song I have never heard her play. I reach for my phone and unlock it. I go to messages and find the one from Thea about my sister and my bike. It's a purple bike with a basket in the front of it, it's a two-wheeler as well. I am glad I learned how to ride a two-wheeler before they got divorced or I would never be able to do this. I need to see my sister, no matter what condition she is in. I find out by looking at the text that the orphanage she is at is not that far away. Only two blocks. As soon as I find this out, I get off my bed and race downstairs. I was crying the whole time but now my tears have stopped. I am on a mission to see my sister so no matter what, I will not let anyone stop me. I go down the stairs as fast I can. I see the people from the meeting in the hallway, they are all talking amongst themselves but notice me as soon as I get off the stairs. I dash past them and run towards the front door. I hear shouts and gasps around me as I run but I don't really care what they think. I push open the front door as hard as I can and bound outside. It's getting dark and I can tell that is must be dinner time at the orphanage because no one is outside. I see Dawn and I's bikes outside of the fence and canter my way over to it. I pull my bike off the fence and check my phone for directions. The place Daisy is at is to the right of here so I get to my seat and start off towards it. It takes a few seconds for me to balance myself on the bike, then I tear down the sidewalk towards Daisy. I don't focus on anything but getting to my sister. When I get to the end of the sidewalk I take a left and cross the street. Cars honk at me and I almost get run over, but I ride fast. I quickly make my way to the sidewalk and realize that I am going to have to slow down. Lots of people are on the strip malls sidewalk, so I have to be careful. I make my way past a couple of people before everyone starts to notice who I am. I probably have been in the news a lot, because everyone tries to talk to me or stop my bike. I dart around each person, more and more closer to her orphanage. Just one more turn and I'll be able to see her. I am almost to the corner, so close I can almost feel the exhilaration. Then finally I make the turn on my bike and see the orphanage. In big orange letters, it reads Mama Emma's Orphanage for Toddlers! I smile and ride my bike towards it. It's at the end of the street and more and more people start to notice who I am. Some people think I am running away again and try to dash after me but fail because of the immense speed of my bike. When I finally get to the orphanage I park my bike outside and run inside the orphanage. What I see when I get inside looks like my orphanage, but everything is on a smaller level. A middle-aged woman comes up to me while smiling brightly. She wears and old tattered sweater and jeans with a long scarf draped down to her knees. She holds her hand out for me to shake it.

"Hello, you must be Zyra, Daisy's sister, I have heard about your situation with your family and sister, I am the owner of this place, my name is Rose, you can come over whenever you want, do you know anything about your sister other than her name?" She says to me.

I shake my head no. Rose smiles and chuckles.

"Those folks that run the child services never tell the older kids anything other than their name, okay, Daisy is a very smart child and loves to paint and draw but she isn't very social and doesn't like being around other kids" Rose says, "She does have all her motor skills and she is fine in everything except being social, if she starts to whine or kick and yell when she sees you, don't take it personally, she just doesn't like company, right now I am letting all the toddlers play in their rooms, so follow me and we can go see Daisy!"

It all makes sense now. My father took me away two years ago, that must have been when she was ready to give birth. She didn't have a baby bump or any cravings, so how could she have hidden her child? I follow Rose down a hallway of doors until she reaches one near the middle of the hallway and opens it. It's a fairly tiny room with a cradle, art set with paint, and a tiny desk with paper to draw on. I see a little girl with blonde hair and curls drawing at her desk while humming a lullaby. I take a step into the room but she doesn't seem to notice. I am confused because both of my parents had straight brown hair, not blonde, no curls at all. I turn to talk to Rose about it but she is already off walking down the hall. I take a deep breath and then prepare to say something to my sister I never knew about.

"Hi Daisy," I say.

Her head instantly swings around and her eyes light up. She smiles at me and stands up. Then she runs over to me and hugs my legs.

"Sister! I remember your voice! Sister!" She cries joyfully.

I grin and pick her up. She seems to be glowing with happiness. She hugs me tightly and I hug her back. I can't believe she is my sister. Rose said she was not very social but she doesn't act that way with me. I can't believe I am standing here holding and hugging my sister I never knew about. Daisy then pulls away from the hug and looks at me excitedly.

"Are you here to take me home sister? To mom and dad? Are you?" She says joyfully.

My grin turns into a frown. She has no idea who her parents are or about where they are at this moment. I have to stay positive for her, she is young and I don't want her to grow up alone and stranded. I then force my frown back into a grin but I still shake my head. I am still holding her and she is still glowing.

"No, mom and dad are not here, they will never be here for you, I want you to know that our parents are bad people okay? I would never take you to them, but there is no reason to be afraid because I am here, and I am not bad like our parents" I say truthfully.

She takes a moment to sort things out in her brain. I can practically see her thinking.

"So mommy and daddy are bad? We are not going home?" She says and her smile fades.

I hug her close to my chest and say this with so much compassion, I almost cry, "No, if we went home, we would probably die, but you are fine here, you will grow up and flourish here, you are here because you are safe from our parents here, Daisy, I love you, nothing will ever happen to you that is related to our parents, I will make sure you are okay"

She sniffles as if she is about to cry but doesn't.

"Thank you" Is all she says in reply.