Falling Leaves and Broken Promises

Chapter 1

I was winching as my momma forced the brush through my really tangled hair, but a few minutes later, it will be smooth, like it always is. My momma helps me put on my pretty purple shirt and my pink skirt and then she puts me in front of the TV to watch my favorite show.

After watching a couple of minutes, I notice the story's kinda familiar. Hey, I've seen this before. Aw, darn, I hate reruns. I push the tiny button on the front of the TV that makes it go black then I walk over to my momma. Today's Sunday, which means it's her day-off, which means I get to spend the whole day with her.

She puts me on her lap and she strokes my hair. I look at the book in her hands, and it's filled with pictures.

"Momma, who's that?" I ask, pointing at a picture of a blonde boy with blue eyes like mine. Momma, sighs then answers me.

"That's your daddy" I looked at her confused. I never thought I had a daddy, like those other kids on TV. All my life, I've only had her, my momma, but no daddy.

"Where is he?"

"He's away" Away? Where? Where else should a daddy be other than his family? If I really had a daddy, he should have come home by now.

"When will he come back?" Momma sighed and then she whispered.

"He'll come back someday, baby. I promise he will" Promise…that's the first time momma's used that word on me. I've heard her say it to Uncle Luke and to Auntie Anissie, but never to me. Daddy will come back someday, and I'm gonna meet him, and we're gonna be a happy family like the ones on TV. I guess if momma says he'll come back, he will. I trust momma, always and forever.


Angela

I brushed my daughter's blonde hair as she squirmed slightly. Her blue eyes were droopy and serious, just like her father's. I put down the brush and sighed, which I did every day. My daughter was used to it, so she didn't even bother to be concerned about me. I never told her why I was always sad, but she didn't mind. She still loves me, as I love her.

"Vivian? Go watch TV now. Momma's gonna be back later, okay?" I cooed, putting her down in front of the small TV.

"Okay, Momma." She squeaked, with her adorable little smile. I always left her alone, but she's an independent young girl. At seven, she knows how to live the day. She opens the fridge and eats what I leave for her, and then she returns to the TV. She seems gifted. She knows more than what other children her age. She can do simple addition and subtraction, and she's learning to write. In the late afternoon, I come back and teach her.

Anissa says she's a prodigy, but I say she takes after her father. I know it's true, and so does she. She just says I need to get over him. I can't though. I loved him, and I still do, but he loves her, and never me.

I walk out the door and take care of my animals. They're the only source of my income, other than my job at Soufflé Farm. After I fed them, I head down there, where Anissa's waiting for me.

The only reason I keep Vivian in the house is because only a few select people know she exists, and they are Anissa, my girl best friend, Luke, my guy best friend, and the people in the clinic.

I walk through Ganache Mind District, as quietly as I can. I walk by here every day, in the same manner, and no one ever asks why. They know what I've been through. They know what he did. They all feel bad for me, but I don't need pity. I don't want it either. I knock on the door of the farm and Anissa opens it. Luke has also gotten a job here, so I won't be so lonely.

"Hey Angela!" Luke called, wrapping me in a one arm hug. I smiled at him. Anissa came and patted me in the back.

"Hey, Ange. You can go water the plants next to the house. Keep hidden though. I Gill will be coming here today." She warned, and my heart sank. I haven't seen him since before Vivian was born. Yes, you guessed it, Gill is Vivian's father. I love him, but he's married to Luna now, and they even have their own son, Edward, who is only a year younger than Vivian. They got married almost right after he broke up with me. It broke my heart.

"I'll go with her, you know, just in case." Luke offered, which I gladly accepted. We both walked out with him and started watering and weeding the plot. Luke would say the occasional joke and I would give him a polite chuckle. Sometimes, he would really make me laugh. Only he, Anissa and Vivian could make me laugh for real. When we were at least halfway through, Luke pulled aside, hiding me in the shadow of the house. I'm guessing Gill was here, and look who he brought, his son.

I peeked through the window and saw the blonde little boy, with a matching cowlick as his father had. He was identical to his father, only he had the large blue eyes of his mother. He smiled brightly at Anissa and started talking her. Gill smiled as Anissa left the room, and then he said something to his son. I had to smile at how Edward was like Vivian. Anissa soon returned with Van, her son. His round glasses glistened as he came into view.

"Hey Ed!" Van greeted his friend, and they smiled at each other.

"Edward, go play with Van outside, I'll talk with Aunt Anissa here" Gill suggested, making my duck my head back down.

"What? What's wrong?" Luke asked me, seeing me sweating. I was about to answer when Edward and Van came running outside. Luke nodded, and I breathed out a sigh. The two children played with each other and it seemed as though Edward didn't have a problem with getting dirty. Looks like Gill has changed since I last talked with him, which was seven years ago.

"Hey, if you want, I'll go ask Anissa if you can go. I'll collect your pay for you, and I could go play with Viv" Luke suggested, I nodded, then stepped out of the shadow with him. When I saw him enter the house, I hid half of my face back in the shadow.

"Hey, Auntie Angie! Come meet my friend!" Van called. Oh no, this cannot be good. I smiled at the little boy as he lead himself and Edward toward me.

"Hi there. I'm Edward" He smiled, bowing, as his mother would do. I simply smiled and returned the gesture. He looked so much like his father, except for his eyes. I was about to tell them to go off and play on their own when Luke came and took my away.

"We have to go now, bye kids!" Luke said as quickly as he could and then pulled away. We walked toward to my house, and then I heard Edward tell his father, well, more like yell to his father from outside.

"Papa?! I'll go around town for a while with Van. I'll find my way back!" He said, then he and Van ran in our direction. I tugged Luke's arm and he understood. We walked a little faster, but Edward and Van still caught up with us.

"Hey, Auntie Angie. Can we come by and play with the animals at your barn?" Van said, grabbing onto my hand and pulling those little puppy dog eyes he knows I can't resist. I sighed and nodded. The two children played along side of me and Luke, and I think I'm sweating more than usual.

"Luke, I'm gonna go check on Vivian. Make sure the kids stay in the barn, ONLY. Nowhere near my daughter, got it?" I ordered Luke, who gave me a "Yes, Ma'am" and a military salute. I giggle at him and then went to check on Viv, but when I opened the door, Vivian wasn't there.


Vivian

I stroked Belinda, my Momma's cow. She was my favorite, because she gave the yummiest milk. Momma would take me here sometimes, but I never went here by myself. I thought she wouldn't mind. I always get lonely when she goes to work, that's why I'm happy when Momma brings Uncle Lukey home to play with me.

I was kinda happy because I have Momma's cows, sheep and goats, but then I heard Belinda moo, and the door opened. Momma always told me not to let other people see me, I don't really know why. It was Uncle Lukey, but he was with two other littler boys. One was blonde, and he looked kinda like me, but his eyes were bigger. I don't know why, but I sorta liked how this littler boy looked like. The other one looked like Auntie Anissa and Uncle Jin. I hid behind Belinda, and it looked like she knew I wanted to hide, and she moved to keep me hidden.

"You go play with the animals, but be careful, they might bite" Uncle Luke joked. I knew they didn't bite, the two boys didn't seem to know that, and they got kinda scared, but they still played with them. I couldn't let myself be seen. I ducked more into the shadow, but the little blonde boy saw me.

"Hey there. I'm Edward. What's your name?" He whispered, as if he knew I was hiding. He smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"I-I'm Vivian…" I answered, and then he held out his hand. I took it and shook it. My cheeks turned a little pink when he smiled at me again.

"So, what are you doing in Angela's animal barn?" He asked, probably wondering what my relationship with my Momma is.

"She's my Momma, and these animals are my friends." I answered, obviously not joking.

"I guess you get pretty lonely sometimes. Do you have a dad?" He asked, causing me to feel a piercing feeling in my chest. Did I have a dad?

"N-no. I don't know who he is" I stuttered, my smile wiping off my face. His smile disappeared as well. I guess I never thought about who my dad was. I'll ask Momma to tell me about him later.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea. Sorry, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my dad." He said, then realizing I was tearing up a little. I don't remember my dad at all, and he has one who loves him, and I bet he has a mom who loves both him and his dad.

"What, w-why are you crying?! I'm sorry, this is all my fault. Please stop crying" He practically begged, but I stopped.

"It's not your fault. It's just, it's not that Momma isn't enough, it's just, she's just so gloomy sometimes and I want a dad to make her feel better when she's sad. I think she loved my dad, but he's gone. I don't know where he is, but I know he's out there." I sniffed. I stopped crying, but he still looked worried.

"Oh, okay. Why are you hiding?"

"My Momma says I can't show myself to other people besides Uncle Luke, Auntie Anissa, and Uncle Jin. I don't know why." I explained, making him kinda confused.

"Well, that's your mom's choice. Oh, look, Van's coming this way. Bye now, Vivian. I hope I'll see you again" He left, and I hid behind Belinda again.

"Hey, Ed, Uncle Luke says we better go home" He said to him, and they were gone. Momma burst through the door only seconds later. I ran to her.

"Vivian! There you are! Don't scare Momma like that again!" She cried, crouching down to my level and hugging me tightly. I hugged her back. I better not tell her about Edward, cause she might be mad that I showed myself to someone else.


Angela

I was teaching Vivian how to write, well, more like reviewing her on how to do it properly. She was writing the same sentence over and over again while I washed the dishes from our dinner. I was caught off-guard by her sudden question.

"Momma, who's my dad?"

I froze the question. Why did she want to know now? Why not later on, when she was older? I sighed, and faced her. She had her curious look on her face. I didn't think it was time to tell her, but I might as well tell her about him.

"Your dad was an amazing man. He looked a lot like you, with his sleek, bright, blonde hair, and his deep blue eyes. He was smart, like you are, and he was sweet and caring. He would take me to the festivals when we were younger and he supported me in running this ranch. It used to be so prosperous, when he was still with me. We were happy together. He was the most caring, and loving person I have ever known…"

"Yeah, but WHO is he?" She demanded.

"I can't tell you that right now, Sweetie, but I promise I will, when you're older." I promised her, and she seemed satisfied. I never would have imagine how much I would regret that promise.