At last her tears dried, leaving her red-eyed and emotionally exhausted. She rolled onto her back, the frame still locked in her slender fingers and resting on her chest. She stared at the ceiling and tried to clear her head, but the thoughts raced through her mind a mile a minute. Hypotenuse, doodad, bodacious: snippets of long lost memories drifting by. Shining eyes, a pencil and notebook in hand, a playful smile missing a baby tooth: images of the young, cheerful Simon that had perished with her family. Philippe, Xola: the crowd she and her brother had turned to in their grief and pursuit of justice and retribution. The flashes and bangs of gunfire relentlessly assaulted her mind. Charles Kufomo, Benita Matkudzi, Yvon Enkumo, Steven Gawanda: the people Simon had become. All loving, caring human beings reduced to a name in a notebook, all symbols of the shameless destruction of innocence. What had really happened at the soccer stadium that day? Had Simon ever really forgiven her for walking away? She had tried to help in the way she thought best. Had she done the right thing? Would she have been killed that day if she had stayed? When did it all go wrong? It seemed like it happened over night; one day they were a happy family watching Zuwanie on the television, and the next her life lay in pieces at her feet.

Her eyes slid shut as her focus shifted to what had happened in New York. It was the same story all over again. She had been a normal, hardworking person and then she was suddenly thrust into an international conspiracy and once again left with nothing. Who was she, where was she? Did she even know anymore? Did she care? How did she come to end up completely alone in a world with billions of people? Where were Simon, Philippe, Xola, Tobin, her parents, and her sister? How did she end up so far away from everyone she cared about? She had never felt so isolated. Her head pounded, begging her to let go of these thoughts and break free of the pain from her past. Weakness quickly resulting in compliance, Silvia had only one more thought on the subject: a silent prayer. Let Tobin bring her home, for this is no longer the home it once was. A house without love can never truly be a home.

Finally releasing the frame to half-heartedly rub her puffy eyes, Silvia sat up and looked at her watch. Somehow time had passed her by, and she needed to get going if she wanted to get any of her weekly errands done. Her stomach rumbled and she remembered that not only had it been hours since she had eaten, but she had little to no food waiting for her at her apartment. Sighing, she stood up and picked up the bag she had abandoned on the floor. She readjusted the pillow and blanket on Simon's bead, then removed the flowers from her bag and lay them down in the centre. Before leaving the room, she picked up the photo off the bed and tucked it safely in her bag. She walked straight out the front door, down the path, and out onto the street. Pausing for a moment, she turned around and took one last look at the house she had grown up in, and then turned away. That chapter of her life was over, and she was ready to move on. Her family may be forever trapped in the past, but she is not.

Silvia enjoyed the silence and the breeze that had miraculously managed to persist despite the dry heat that had slowly overcome the cool morning. She could feel the sun scalding her pale exposed skin, but it was a pleasant and welcome warming sensation after the cold numbness she had felt in the house. Although the streets out by the house were still rather barren, they became more populated as she got closer to her apartment. Children ran about, playing tag and screaming excitedly, while parents worked or conversed nearby. By the time she got downtown, the city was in full swing, and the streets were bustling with activity. She stopped for lunch at a small café, and was relieved to find some of her extra tip money in her bag. She was about to go get her groceries but then realized that she hadn't taken the list with her when she left this morning. Already feeling the familiar dull ache in her feet from the long walk, she reluctantly went in the opposite direction towards her apartment building. On her way in, she happened to check her mailbox out of habit, and was delighted to find a letter from the U.S. waiting for her. There was only one person this could be from…

TBC