LIVLIV: Hey guys, this is a long one, but it's not the END! There is so much more stuff that hasn't been unveiled. So read, review. BTW I've had a lot of trouble choosing the chapter name.
In Little River…
Chapter 11: Across the Universe.
"Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing through my open ears exciting and inviting me.
Limitless, undying love which shines around me like a million suns it calls me on and on
across the universe. Ja guru deva om.
Nothing's going to change my world."
-The Beatles
Last Chapter…
Mother Superior's eyes locked onto mine. Their ice blue formation froze me cold in place. She looked at my dress again, eyeing it suspiciously.
"Amu, may I speak to you in private?" Mother Superior asked.
I walk over to the small desk where Mother Superior is sitting behind. Grannie and Ikuto leave the room hesitantly, eyeing Mother Superior and me.
"Have a seat." She says in a soft voice.
I sit down in the comfortable chair placed in front of her desk. The room around me is organized very neatly. In the large shelf behind Mother are last names, filed in alphabetical order, and dated by year. Her desk has nothing on it except a brown folder with barely anything in it.
"Is that mine?" I ask, my eyes gesturing to the folder.
"Yes. Who's did you expect?"
"I thought it'd be bigger, since I was such a bad kid." I say with no particular expression.
"This is not a school, it's a house. A holy house." She remarks.
"This is an orphanage, not a church." I mutter under my breath.
She looks up at me and smiles. My eyes widen, for her smile isn't one of blackmail or false pleasance, it is one of kindness.
"You were always very quick." She says. "You're a bright girl, Amu."
I'm too shocked to wonder why she's being so nice, considering her record of being the devil's apprentice. My mouth hangs open wide as she continues to smile at me. Her face turns to a look of disgust, watching me.
"That is not attractive; I do not want to see your uvula, Amu." She snaps with superiority, which isn't much of a shock, considering she's Mother Superior.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I close my mouth. She starts rummaging through my thin file, and pulls out a gold necklace with a small heart locket.
"This is your mother's." she says, holding it up and gazing at it.
"My mother's?" I ask. How do you remember my mother?
"She left it with you when she dropped you off here." She hands me the chain.
"What… What do you know about my mother?" I ask.
She pauses for a long time. Slowly, she gets out of her seat and walks to the large window that shows the back yard of Carnation House; a field of pink, red, white, yellow, and peachy-orange carnations.
"Your mother came to me 17 years ago. She was 16, and it was raining that night. In 1997, there happened to be a lot of children left here at Carnation House, because most people didn't want to keep children, and a thing such as abortion wasn't an option for a girl - living out here - back then. She knocked on our door, begging for a job and a place to stay. How could we say no? She had a baby in her arms, it was raining, and she was so young.
"She worked in this garden and helped around the house with cooking and cleaning. She was such a joy to have around. She loved you, and wanted the best for you, so the night she told us she was leaving was quite a shock. She said that if anyone wanted to adopt her, they weren't allowed. She left that necklace, your birth certificate, and nothing else. She wanted you to stay at the orphanage until you were old enough to leave home.
"The night she left was the last time anyone ever saw your mother. I can still see her, walking about the front door in a black and white dress, her long, pink hair left down.
"A few months later, they found some of her possessions in a forest not too far from here. Covered in blood, but no trace of where her body might be. It is still a mystery as to where it went, because the police eventually gave up on the search. When the sisters and I went to claim some of her possessions, we were disappointed to find that her mother had claimed them.
"We prayed, cried, and begged for God to return her to us. We turned hostile towards you, who we thought was the reason for her leave. But, God did return her to Carnation House, in the form of a child. Her spirit, courage, kindness and perserverance was in you this whole time, but we didn't notice. I am so sorry." Tears roll down her withered cheeks, and Mother Superior starts to weep for the first time in - I bet - a very long time.
I get up and walk around her desk, giving her the warmest hug I can. We stand there for a while, and the old woman's salty teardrops stain my black and white vintage dress. "If… If she told you not to let anyone adopt me, why are you giving me away now?" I ask, letting go of her. I know that it is Grannie adopting me, but a girl can wonder.
"The dress you're wearing is the only dress she wore while she was here." She says. I figured that out already. "So that woman out there must be your grandmother. I'm sure Rosie would want you to be with family." Didn't predict that she's know that. Full of surprises.
Silence.
I clear my throat. "Did my mother mention anything else? Anything about her family; my father, or where she was headed?" I ask.
"No. That would be in her diary." She tells me.
"What diary?" I ask, alarmed.
"Her diary. She wrote in it every day."
Silence.
We stand in front of the window as the sun sets.
More Silence.
"Thank you, Mother Superior." I say blankly.
"I will miss you." She says, bringing her hand to her cheek, wiping more tears.
"I'll miss you too." I tell her. And I really would, even though she put me through hell all of my life, I would miss her.
"I guess I should sign the adoption papers." She declares.
»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»
We stand on the front porch of Carnation House; Ikuto, Grannie, Mother Superior, Sister Marie Claire, Sister Theresa, Sister Anne, Sister Eunice, Sister Mary Agatha, a tearful Misa, and all of the other crying kids staying here. It's sort of a tradition at Carnation house; everyone would stand on the front porch, waving to the adopted kid until they turned the corner. I carry my old-school suitcase in one hand, and my adoption papers in the other while the other nuns stand around, crying about how much I've grown, and the resemblance to my mother. Grannie can't hear them, which is good because Grannie doesn't know about the nuns' relationship with my mother. Grannie is discussing something with Mother Superior; both have wide smiles on their faces.
"I'm actually 67!" Grannie laughs. Some of the other sisters join in to listen to Grannie's jokes.
"Hey." Ikuto says from behind, so I turn around to face him. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes are locked onto mine.
"What… are you… Are you going to go to school here?" He asks.
"Yes, of course. I'm going to come down every day to visit everyone."
"Good. Utau would like that." He looks away.
"Utau?" I had forgotten about Utau.
"Yeah. I talked to her at school. She says that she understands... your previous situation." He smiles.
"Yeah." I laugh. "Ikuto…"
He looks up.
"When are you finished your community service?" I ask.
"A couple more days. But then I'll be back at home with my parents." He says with a humorless laugh.
"I'll miss you." I say.
"Amu, don't be dramatic, it's not like it's the last time we'll see each other."
I can't stop myself from going ballistic. "I'm going to miss living with you, and going to school with you every day! I'm going to miss showing you my secret stashes and escape routes in the orphanage and being yelled at by the nuns! I'm going to miss everyone here; you helped me grow!" and I break down in tears for the second time today.
"Hey, don't worry. Things will be the same when we get to school." Ikuto says calmly, comforting me.
"No they won't!" I cry.
"Amu, it'll be fine. Ikuto, why don't you come stay with us at my home? You can share Amu's room." Grannie steps in.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" The sisters shout at the same time. All of the orphans giggle through their tears.
"I'm only kidding, But you can come and stay whenever, child." Grannie says.
"Thank you, Avonia." Ikuto accepts politely.
"Grannie." Grannie corrects.
"Sorry, Grannie." He replys.
"It's time to say goodbye." Mother Superior says with a tear.
I give my farewell hugs to the sisters, each waving the sign of the cross in front of me. I say goodbye to the girls, giving them each a kiss on their foreheads.
"I'll miss you, Amu." Misa says as I hug her.
"I'll be back, and when I come, I'll take you to the beach." I tell her.
"I love you." She whispers in my ear.
"I love you too."
I walk over to Mother Superior, giving her another hug.
"Goodbye, child." She whispers. She hands me a large silver cross with a chain on it. It is completely flat, and reflects light brightly.
"No, Mother Superior, I can't." I say.
"You must, it will protect you."
I have to laugh at that part.
"Don't laugh at God!" she shouts. I smile and turn to leave.
"Bye, Mother." I walk toward the truck, holding in all of my tears. "I forgot something!" I yell. Everyone looks at me as I drop everything in my hands and run behind Carnation House in the direction of the church.
The carnations tickle my legs as I run through the full field. Carnations can represent many different things. Yellow ones represent disdain, disappointment, or rejection. Most of the feelings I felt just a few days ago when Utau got mad at me for being an orphan. White ones represent innocence and pure love like a friendship; it's actually a white carnation that's Little River's symbol. I can't imagine a better place for a girl without a family but here. I let the tears fall from my face. Goodbyes are not my thing; I've always disdained them. But right now, these aren't sad tears. They're tears of joy. I'm not leaving to go to a new home, I'm just switching an address. I'll always have a home here in Little River. There's Utau, Mitzi my boss, Misa, and now I have Ikuto, and the rest of the nuns as family. I'm growing up, not leaving forever. Like the meaning of a pink carnation; I'll never forget. And this place, these people, will always be on my mind.
I'm spinning around in the flowers, twirling, and I collapse in the bed of carnations. I close my eyes, taking the sunshine in, the surrounding home, love, and beauty of this small, hidden town. After a few minutes, I stand up and make my way to the back of the church. It's a dream. It must be. It's too good to be true. I walk up the cobblestone path to the large doors, letting myself in.
"Hello?" I call. Father Tsukasa is in front of the alter, praying.
"Hello Amu. Congratulations." He says. How does he know these things?
"Um. For what?" I ask.
"You were adopted, were you not? And by your blood grandmother if I am correct." He says, not taking his eyes off the bible's scripture. Tsukasa is a mystery. He always knows what I want to talk about before I step into the church.
"How..? How do you know this?" I say, but I'm interrupted by a long honking noise coming from the truck. I guess I'm taking long.
"You should be going. Your future awaits." He says.
"Y-yes." I stammer.
"Don't be a stranger." He says, walking off.
I run outside the church and shrug Father Tsukasa's weirdness off. But I will have to talk to him later.
I walk towards the truck and sit in the driver's seat. Grannie helps herself up into the passenger's seat, saying her final goodbyes. I smile and turn on the engine.
"Wait!" Ikuto calls.
I roll down the window while he jumps off the porch, running to the truck.
"I forgot something." He says.
"What?" I ask with my head out of the window so I can hear him over the roar of the truck.
He leans in and presses his lips to mine. He's warm and tastes like toothpaste. My pulse increases a million times the pace of a normal human being's, that, and my brain melts.
And then he lets go.
"See you soon." He whispers.
I smile, put the car in reverse, and pull out of the driveway with my grandmother, for hopefully, not the last time.
LivLiv: Okay, a whole crap load of writing there. 8 pages. I hope you liked it! I know I said I was taking a break to study, but I found time.
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