June 11, 2014

Elizabeth Delgado walked out to retrieve her mail when she noticed a moving truck across the street. A young man about her age with dreads caught her gaze. They exchanged waves but before anyone could speak, a woman asked him to come inside and help her with a heavy box. Elizabeth got the mail and looked to see if any of them had her name on it. Apparently one did. It's from her cousin, Valerie. She sat on her porch and ripped the envelope open and read;

Dear Z,

Hey! Hey! Okay, first of all you're probably wondering why I didn't send you an e-mail…my laptop broke…and my phone. How are things in NewTech? Malibu is awesome! And so is college! I'm making so many friends and my roommate rocks. Her name is Janelle. She's from England but her family is Italian. Isn't that cool? It's like a sleep over with her every day. I got an internship so it might be a while until I get some vacation time. It's a bummer you're not here and I'm always so busy with work. I miss you so much! Tell my parents, Auntie Melanie, and Uncle Anthony I said Hi and I miss them very much.

Love you more than Skittles,

V

"I love you more than M&Ms" Z thought.

"Hola, mi hija!"

Z looked behind her and could see her father, Anthony, had just walked out. He was grinning like he just won lottery. He didn't go to work that morning but that couldn't be too exciting. Z chuckled and handed him his mail.

"Stop smiling like that, dad." Z said. "It's all bills we don't have the money for."

"Oh, that's alright today." Anthony quickly read through the mail addresses and tossed them inside his house before closing the door. He rested a hand on his daughter's hair, which she dyed a reddish-brown. "Have you met your new neighbors yet?"

"No, I just woke up." Z told him, gesturing to her yellow pajama pants. "Why? We don't even know our neighbors next to us and we've lived here since I was born."

"Because you're going to love these neighbors." Anthony patted her back, indicating for her to follow him across the street. "Your mother is already over there."

"Is it more family?"

"No, not this time. Although, I think it would be great if your Aunt Wanda lived here." Anthony pulled Z all the way up to the driveway with him and stopped. "It's Brandon…Brandon Landors, my old roommate and teammate from SPD. This is pure coincidence we're seeing each other again but I couldn't be anymore happier. It's been twenty years since I've seen him, mi hija."

"So, the guy I just saw was Jack." Z thought.

Z knew a few things about her father's time as a green ranger. How could she not? Anthony was always walking around with bad knees he got during his last mission in SPD. Unfortunately, she didn't remember anything. She was just three when her father lost touch with his teammates. She did love hearing the stories though. When she was younger, Anthony would tell her about all of his fun adventures as a ranger. Her mother, Melanie, also had some stories because she hung out at SPD very frequently. Z felt herself getting jumpy. It was like she was about to meet an actor that played her favorite character in a book.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Now Z was pulling her dad towards the house.

"Ah, mi hija, you know I'm not as young as I used to be." Anthony wrapped one arm around his daughter and opened the door for her. Since Brandon's family was still moving furniture in, the house door was unlocked.

When they stepped in, Z could already hear someone saying, "There she is! Come on in, Sleeping Beauty!"

Z looked down an empty hall to find the source of the voice. It was Brandon. He was carrying a box that was full of photos. Z figured he was bringing them upstairs to one of the bedrooms. Her dad went to go help him. She turned her head back around and saw her mom speaking to an average sized woman in a maxi dress. It was Brandon's wife and Jack's mother, Syeshia. The woman had an afro with a big yellow clip in it and her face was spotless. In Z's opinion, Syeshia was gorgeous. She hoped she looked like her when she becomes her age.

"You must be Elizabeth." Syeshia spoke with a thick Caribbean accent. Z remembered her dad telling her Brandon was from Jamaica. He and Anthony were the only foreigners on the team. It was no secret SPD Earth was a diverse place.

"She doesn't go by that name anymore, Sy." Melanie laughed. "It's Z."

"Ah, interesting." Syeshia placed a hand on Z's arm. "My, you are so beautiful. When you were a baby, you were chubby like your mom. Now, you look just like your dad. How old are you now? I haven't seen you since you were three. Do you even remember me?"

"Sorry, I don't." Z smiled awkward at all of the questions that just got thrown at her. "I'm seventeen. I'll be eighteen in September."

"That's right, I can't remember a thing. It's probably a good thing you don't remember me either. I was a mess."

Syeshia and Melanie broke out laughing, making Z believe she was missing an inside joke. She kept on smiling awkwardly. She wished she could change out of her night wear to at least take some of the spotlight off of her. That wasn't going to happen soon though. To her dismay, Jack walked in drinking from a Pepsi can. Now that Z was getting a closer look at him, she could tell he was tired. But he still had on a decent smile.

"Jack, did you meet Z yet?" Syeshia asked her son. "I know you were outside a couple minutes ago."

"Of course." Jack said. He took a big gulp of his soda. "Your mailbox girl."

Z giggled. "Wow, I already have a nickname? I feel honored."

Melanie and Syeshia exchanged joyful glances. They were really reunited. This was going to be fun.