Choosing Fate (Book 3)

Chapter 18

When morning arrived, the day felt heavy. I felt like I was in mourning, instead of feeling excited about leaving and finally doing something that I had dreamed. Something that i could finally do in peace without having to worry about dying. The only thing though is that that happiness cost me something I didn't realize I needed and had.

A family. But more specifically, love.

I quickly packed the last of my bags, and hopped into the bathroom for a quick shower. I was putting away my toothbrush when a knock echoed in the room, freezing me. When another echoed again a few seconds later, did I begin to move again, going quickly to it.

"Oh, it's you," I breathed out, my voice sounding disappointed. Kayla stared back at me with a few bags and a box in her hands, and the big smile that was once on her face turned into a small one.

"I know I'm not the person you wanted to see... but I come bearing gifts."

"Oh no. That's not..." I trailed off, knowing there was nothing I could say that would stop her from leaving them. I sighed and opened the door even wider, earning me a wink and a grin from her. She danced inside and dropped the bags next to my bags, before coming back, wrapping her thin arms around me.

"Don't leave without saying goodbye to all of us, please," she whispered into my ear, and I nodded. I knew I couldn't sneak past them, so I hadn't planned on doing it again.

She closed the door behind her, leaving me alone again. I stiffly walked to the bags she had brought, and ruffled through the first one, taking out a few dresses. They were so beautiful, and the rest of the bags contained clothing that just brought tears into my eyes. It wasn't because they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life, but because they had thought into giving me things I would need for my adventure.

A parka for when winter came here soon, shorts for summer and so on. They had thought about my adventures as much as I did, and it broke me.

After wiping the single tear that escaped from my eye, I grabbed the small, white box and popped the lid open. When I saw what was settled in the middle, I closed it again, and began to cry once more, but harder. A sob escaped my lips as I closed my eyes, my head going up as I tried to control the tears to no avail. With trembling hands, I picked up the lid again, and looked at the gift that was nestled on top of some tissue paper.

A frame, with a picture I never knew existed. A picture of all of us, laughing and having fun, along with the words "Your Family" engraved beautifully in the wooden frame.

I remembered the day exactly —it was the first day I had finally been around a large group of people, and to try to soften the atmosphere, one of the kids yelled "FREEZE TAG" and then there was running. Of course, us adults took it easy on the smaller beings, but playing around with them brought such joy in us. The only one who wasn't in the picture was Tatiana, who I'm guessing was the one who took the picture, since she was there that day.

A laugh escaped through the tears as I saw some funny looks on the picture, the person clearly not knowing that they were being photographed, but then a gasp came out when my eyes caught him. I hadn't realized it then, but now, looking at it, I saw that he was staring at me. The way his frame was frozen on the picture was showing he was having fun, but the look he had on his face was clearly of one of adoration. Like he had finally found me, and he couldn't believe it.

I picked up the frame, ready to turn it around so my heart couldn't break even more when my fingers touched something that wasn't wood or tissue. I looked underneath the frame, and noticed a small folded up piece of paper. Sliding it out, I sat next to the box, and began to read it.