Reborn

2

I wake up the next morning to the aroma of food cooking. I climb off the bed and walk into

the bathroom. I'm brushing my teeth, when I hear a sound. My hand pauses, I turn around

and there standing sheepishly is Darius. He's just standing there with this huge smile on his

face. I can see in his eyes that he knows that something is wrong. His smile tells me that he

understands. How can this little man understand? And yet I see it written all over his face.

"Morning, Darius."

"Morning, Cleo. Gran has made breakfast, it will be nice if you can join us."

"I won't be long", I reply. "As soon as I'm done, I'll come out."

Darius turned and walked away. I continued brushing my teeth. As I walked out of the

bathroom and into the bedroom, I'm a bit surprised to see Darius sitting on the bed. I

thought he had left.

"Are you okay," I ask him.

"I'm fine, are you okay?'

"I guess," I sigh. "It will probably get easier with time."

"Daddy says that you are going to be my new mummy sooner than expected."

"Does that make you happy?'

Darius nods, smiling. I reach out to him and pull him close. I hug him really tight, knowing

right then and there that I had found my purpose. In front of me is this amazing six year old

and all he wants is a new mummy. Hopefully, I can do this without messing up.

After a while, we go to have breakfast. I need to put my feelings aside and join this

wonderful family who welcomed me with open arms. Sitting at the table, listening to the

mindless, cheerful banter around me, I realised that I had come home.

Everyday after that was wonderful, I had a sense of belonging and Sean was perfect. Darius

and I got along like friends and before long we were inseparable. I started calling Sean's

mother mum. And it felt like I was floating on a cloud. I noticed that whenever I went all

quiet and withdrawn, everyone suddenly disappeared, leaving me in the quietness of my

own thoughts. Leaving me to heal and deal with my pain by myself. Whenever the need

arose to talk, Sean mysteriously appeared, listening intently as I babbled on and on. He

would hold me in his arms while I let out my anguish and distress about losing my family.

He would hold me until all my tears subsided. The one thing I remember most of all was he

just allowed me to grieve and get over my heartache. He started inviting my friends over

more often, allowing me to socialise and start smiling and laughing again.

Darius and I spent a lot of time together as well, which allowed me to heal much faster.

There's nothing more healing than the unconditional love of an innocent child. We played