Epilogue – 10 years later.
A truly breathtakingly beautiful blonde teenage girl sat on the edge of the bed. Her thick blonde gold hair was long, about 3 inches below her shoulders, and was styled to hang free; if she did not style her hair it became bushy. She stood about five eight and her long tan perfectly shaped legs stuck out from under the simple yellow sundress she wore. Her body was toned and athletic in an almost boyish way until one looked at her well shaped butt. Her skin was evenly tanned by the sun and when needed a saloon. She did not wear makeup and rarely did as she did not need it to cover her perfect complexion. In her lap she held an opened box full of old photos. The girl looked at the looseness of her top and smiled. She used to wish her breasts were larger than their barley B cup size, but she found out most boys overlooked her small firm breasts in favor of her beautiful face, tone thin but athletic body, and very nicely shaped butt. The girl sighed as she pulled several photos out at once.
Natalie Isuel was eighteen and today she was graduating high school. She looked at the clock and smiled, she had plenty of time to look at the pictures before she had to leave but she also knew her mother and father would be calling for her soon to hurry up. They always liked to arrive early and her best friend Melissa would be arriving soon to ride to the graduation ceremony with her. Her smile turned into a frown as she looked at first picture. Natalie felt a wave of guilt hit her. She had not opened this box in three years. Before that she would look at the pictures almost every day but as she got older her thoughts turned from the past to surfing, boys, her friends, surfing, school, boys, and surfing again. Natalie was hands down the prettiest girl in her high school, very popular, and had a great many friends. She was a cheerleader, a lacrosse star, and a complete surfer chic. She dated several boys over the years since she was thirteen and finally found one she liked more than the others in Scott and settled on dating him for the past ten months. She cared enough for him to lose her virginity to the boy and discovered she enjoyed sex a lot. Natalie broke up with him the previous night and while she felt sad and cried she knew it was the right thing to do. She did not want to settle down since she had her whole life ahead of her.
The girl looked around her room and seemed to notice how much it changed from the day she first moved in when she was eight. As she got older she changed the décor. Gone were the pictures of the two young girls who were best friends and shared the room for many years and they were replaced with pictures of Natalie and Scott and pictures of her and her best friend Melissa. The only original items left in the room were the trophies Ran Isuel won and Natalie did add some of her own to the collection, and the one picture on the nightstand of two very lovely girls of fifteen and sixteen. Looking at the photo brought a smile back to Natalie's lips. She loved when her friends who never saw her room before would ask who those girls were and Natalie would tell them with great pride they were her sisters. The first girl was Asian and the daughter of Natalie's adoptive mom and dad who died when she was sixteen due to leukemia. Natalie giggled as she thought of how much she used to worship the girl when she was younger as her own private goddess due to the stories Amber told her. She looked at the other person in the photo and felt her eyes get watery. Even after ten years she still got emotional when she thought of Amber. Amber was much shorter than Ran but just as beautiful if not more so. While Ran was like a mythical goddess she worshiped when younger through stories, Amber was the real thing.
Natalie looked up to and admired Amber for the things she did for her when younger. The petite brunette came into her life for just a short period of time but showed her so much. The older girl protected her when she was young from parents she had not considered her real mother and father since she was eight. Amber would have given her life for Natalie and there were times the young blonde girl thought the woman who she called mother would kill Amber. The abuse and torture Amber suffered so Natalie would not have to was goddess like to her and she never forgot what the girl went through to keep her safe from harm even after all these years. Natalie knew in a way Amber did give her life to save hers and she would never forget it. As she got older she began to understand more and more of what Amber did and the abuse she endured at the hands of the man who was Natalie's father and it broke the blonde's heart how someone so kind and loving and brave had to endure those things. Amber gave Natalie love she never knew existed and even while she was only in her life a few months, Amber showed Natalie how love truly should be. To the blonde girl those months with Amber were some of the saddest and happiest months of her life. She got to learn love and friendship through the three friends Amber had in Lilly, Miley, and Oliver. By Amber's death and what she did before she died she got to learn how real parents can truly love their children and what love really was. Natalie wiped the tears from her cheeks and thought of those three friends.
She kept in touch with Lilly over the years and the girl who taught her to surf was now married and owned a very successful surf shop, Malibu Lilly's, that expanded to include eighteen stores in California, Florida, and Hawaii and recently introduced a new clothing line. Natalie last saw Lilly last summer when she visited Hawaii and came in second place in an ammeter surfing contest that Lilly's company was sponsoring. As Natalie accepted her trophy she proudly told the crowd Lilly was the girl who taught her to surf. She was looking forward to seeing Lilly, her husband, and two children at her graduation today and spending a couple of weeks with her in Malibu before she visited her adoptive grandparents in Hawaii. Natalie adored Lilly's two small boys and they thought of her as their cool Aunt Natalie. The aunt who when babysitting them would let them stay up late, eat junk food, and tell them cool stores of their mother they found hard to believe at times. Natalie also thought a great deal of Lilly's husband James. He was a very good man and a complete geek who was a computer software engineer who Lilly adored. Lilly amazed Natalie that after two children the lady still looked great in a bikini and always had boys much younger flirting with her constantly. Natalie giggled when she remembered after the surfing competition a photographer from a surf magazine who was covering the contest asked her and Lilly to do a photo spread for the magazine. Natalie was all for it but Lilly told the man no way. She had seen how they pose their models and she was not going to have any part of it and neither was she going to let Natalie since she was only seventeen and could not sign a release without permission and even if she could there was no way Lilly was going to let her pose like that. Natalie pouted for about a two hours.
Oliver she never saw much of again but heard occasionally from Lilly he was doing great and living in Los Angeles as a somewhat successful talent agent and one his third wife. The saddest was Miley. She saw Miley when she was younger when she would visit Lilly and sometimes Miley would accompany Lilly to Seattle to visit Natalie, but she had not seen her in years. Miley did not take the break up with Lilly very well. Lilly broke up with her soon after Miley dropped the Hannah Montana role and started performing as Miley Stewart when she dropped out of college to perform. Miley went from young pop star to trying her hand at alternative rock, techno music, and some punk. She was very successful at first and then the drinking and drugs took their toll. Lilly loved Miley very much but got tired of the lifestyle Miley led and the other girls Miley would hook up with for a night or so while on tour and Lilly could no longer endure the rumors in the tabloids of the parties and even orgies Miley had after shows and she ended the relationship. Miley took the breakup very hard and turned from drinking to hard drugs and Miley's career tanked. There were times she was so drunk and stoned she could not finish a concert and her fans turned on her. She entered rehab several times and was currently in Tennessee on her family's farm tying to get her grip on life back. Natalie thought it was heartbreaking and wanted to help but knew better than to mention Miley to Lilly. Lilly told her once that she was done with Miley Stewart and the pain she caused her. Lilly explained their relationship was full of love, intense passion, and heartbreak and soon the heartbreaks outweighed the love and passion and she could not handle being hurt anymore by someone she loved as much as she loved Miley and has not talked to the girl in years. Natalie still kept in touch with Miley through emails and even sent the girl letters and funny cards while she was in rehab. It may have taken a long time for Miley to respond to her at times, but she always did. Miley always ended her emails asking Natalie to tell Lilly hello for her and to give Lilly her love. Natalie always remembered fondly the kind tall brown haired girl who was so sweet to her when she was younger.
Natalie looked up when she heard a knock on her door.
"Yeah, mom, come in."
Hei Isuel smiled as she walked in the room, "We are going to be late, Natalie."
Natalie smiled and patted the bed for her mother to sit down. Hei smiled and sat next to the girl.
"We have time mom…plenty of time. I was looking over these pictures again."
"You have not looked at them in sometime…why now?"
Natalie shrugged, "Feeling guilty I guess. I mean…I have not looked at them in years and I…I should. I feel bad about that."
Hei put her arm around her daughter, "Nonsense. Those pictures are not her. Plus you visit her gravesite almost every weekend. You have no reason to feel guilty."
"Yeah…but still feel bad. I used to look at them everyday, remember?"
The older woman chuckled, "Yes I remember…I also remember you begging me every night to tell you stories of them when you should have been sleeping." Hei pulled a handful of pictures from the box and started going through them. "Do you remember much about her, Natalie? You were young when she died?"
Natalie smiled, "Mom, I remember every little thing about her. Every detail about her." She closed her eyes, "When I close my eyes I can see her as if she was standing in front of me. Always dressed perfectly and not a hair out of place and her makeup always perfect looking so beautiful…like an angel. I remember her soft voice and her musical laugh. I remember how she walked and how clumsy she could be when doing something as simple as walking fast but then so damn graceful when she would do something as simple as sit down to eat. I remember how ladylike she was and how charming she was." Natalie opened her eyes as they grew watery again but she smiled, "I remember how she would scold me for being unlady like and how she tried to teach me to act like a lady and use good manners. I…I remember how she protected me and the things she did so I would not get hurt. I can remember how my heart would seem to want to burst out of my chest with joy when I saw her after school or just when I woke up in the morning and saw her making breakfast for me when she was allowed to. God, I loved her so much." Natalie looked at her mother, "Did you know I used to get mad at her when I was younger? I used to get so angry at her for what she did."
Hei smiled sadly, "No I did not know that. You never told me but it was understandable. I mean regardless of what they did they were still your mother and father and when she," Hei swallowed hard, "when she killed them I know it was an awful blow to you. I am glad you forgave her and I know God will too."
Natalie laughed, "Mom…please…God should not only forgive her but He should make her a fucking saint for killing that bitch and that sick perverted man and for the things she did to protect me from getting hurt. Sorry for the word, but He should and…and they were never my parents! No…I used to get mad at her for jumping off that pier and for leaving me. And then she did not even write me a letter or note. She wrote one to Lilly and you but not me, and I used to get so angry at that also."
Hei put her arm around her daughter and pulled her close, "Honey, she was so mixed up when she did those things, you know that. Her mind was not hers at that time. She…she was not in control of her own mind then. I'll never understand why she jumped off that pier…no one will, but she was not herself when she did it. I…well…Natalie, I never showed to the letter she wrote and I never wanted to and I am not going to now. I am sorry if that hurts you, but you never needed to see it. She mentioned you a lot in that letter and the one to Lilly and she told us of her great love for you. She…well…she wanted you to forget her. I think that is why she did not write you. She felt you would be better off without knowing her and what she did."
Natalie laid her head in her mother's lap and Hei gently ran her hands through her thick blonde hair and started to cry, "But I did not want to forget her. How could I after all she did for me. I…I never wanted to forget her and I won't. She did so much for me and I never got to thank her…I never got to tell her I love her one last time. I never got to say goodbye to her and that hurt." Natalie turned over on her back so she was looking up at her mother as she wiped her eyes, "Mom, you asked me if I remember her and I told you I remembered every little thing about Amber…well I also remember the bad. I remember every scream from her as that bitch tortured her. And that was what is was, mom…torture. I have never told you everything they did to her, and like your letter…I won't tell you. You and dad don't need to know; it would hurt too much, but she did not just hurt Amber…that bitch tortured her. I remember Amber's every words as she begged and pleaded for that woman not to hurt her anymore. I remember the pain in my heart as she would tell me to go to my room and put on my head phones and listen to music so I could not hear her screams when that woman did things to her. I can remember the bruises and the scars on her pretty body the next day and it broke my heart she did it all for me so I would be safe. I remember the sick feeling I would get in my stomach when I did something so small and silly like break a glass or spill some juice and know how Amber would do something worse so that woman would take it out on her and not me. How my heart would break when I knew Amber would take any punishment that should have been directed to me. I'm just glad I was too young to understand what that sick perverted man did to her at night. I begged her to leave…hundreds of times, but she would not leave me there. She loved me that much and…I hope she knew how much I loved her. I can never forget what she did for me, mom, and I never want to…even the bad. How could I forget her? Why should I ever want to forget her? I owe her so much. Do you think she knew how much I loved her? I was only eight and I don't think I could ever tell her how much I loved her or show it. I should have bowed down and kissed her feet every day for what she did for me but all I could do was run and hide in my room in fear as that whore tortured the girl who gave me such love and showed me such bravery. I still feel the shame of that to this day. The shame of being such a coward and being so scared while she was so damn brave. I…I used to run and hide in my room and pray for God to kill them when I should have been at her side enduring the same torture she suffered." Natalie paused and wiped he tears from her eyes.
Hei felt her own eyes water as she thought of Amber and what the girl had to endure and of Natalie and what she saw when she was a child. "She did, baby, she knew how much you loved her. I know she did. I knew Amber for a long time and she knew you loved her. And you were only eight, baby; don't feel bad about being scared. Why all this now, Natalie? Why think about it all today?"
Natalie sat up and wiped her eyes and stared at the silver ring with Korean characters engraved on it. A gift on her thirteenth birthday from her mother and a ring she never took off. She knew the history of the ring and how Ran first gave it to Amber when she died and Natalie was very proud to wear it. "Just feeling nostalgic I guess. I am graduating and I'll be gone all summer and then to college in the fall. I…I won't be back in this room for a long time and it makes me sad. I'll miss it and the house…I don't know…just feeling a little crazy today I guess. I…I was very happy growing up here."
Hei smiled, "No, dear…it is understandable. We, your father and I, were very happy as well that you grew up here. So how does Scott feel about you leaving for the entire summer?"
Natalie smiled and was glad for the change of subject. Today was supposed to be a happy day for her. "Well…we broke up last night…my idea. I don't want to get tied down and he was getting to serious. I care for him and it hurt, but I don't think…no…I know I did not love him. Hell, I may listen to grandma and find some Korean boy to marry. She always told me I won't be happy unless I marry a good Korean boy. I think she has some lined up for me to go out with over the summer. You know…escort me to the club and the social gatherings. All I want to do is surf while there. But that one guy she set me up with last year was hot. I wander if he'll be there this year." Natalie laughed.
Hei joined her laughter, "Baby, get used to it. She did the same to Ran every since she turned thirteen. Humor her a few nights and then she will ease up. You father and I will be there later and we'll get her off your back and your grandfather will help as well."
Natalie stopped laughing and stared at the ring again for a long time and twisted it around her finger with her thumb, "Mom, would she have been proud of me? I need her to be proud of me." Natalie turned to face her mother and Hei saw the tears running down her cheeks again. "Tell me I was a good daughter. I need to know her sacrifices were worth it. Please tell me I was a good daughter even if you have to lie to me."
Hei smiled sadly, "Oh, baby…I don't need to lie. Natalie, no mother or father could have asked for a better daughter. I promise you that. Yes Amber would have been so proud of you and the young lady you have become. We had our rough moments but you are as close to being a perfect daughter as one can be. You gave your father and me such pride and joy. You are so beautiful inside and out. I was so proud of you when you gave that money to those charities. But that is you. You have never been materialistic or selfish or arrogant or conceded. You are a truly wonderful girl and daughter. Amber would have been very proud of you, baby, very proud."
Natalie smiled at the comment. When she turned eighteen she found out Amber left her all the money that was set up in her trust. Money from her parents, their life insurance policies, and money from Amber's brother's life insurance policy (a young man Natalie proudly called her uncle Patrick). The money totaled way into the hundred of thousands of dollars. Natalie never even considered keeping it and after talking to her father and with his help she donated the money. Half went to various charities that helped abused children and the other half to a mental research facility that was trying to help discover the cause and even medication and hopefully one day find a better treatment for schizophrenia. By the time she was eighteen Natalie knew she did not need the money but growing up she never knew how much money her mom and dad had. They never flaunted it with expensive cars or other material things. True their house was large but Natalie had friends whose parents had less money but larger houses. It was not until she was sixteen she learned how rich her parents were. Her mother flew her and eight of her best friends to New York City on her sixteenth birthday on a private jet (her mom and her best friend Melissa's mother as chaperones of course). They stayed at a very luxury hotel and had a wonderful time. It was in New York when she happened to be waiting for her friend Melissa to finish her shower that she picked up a copy of Forbes that had the top one hundred richest people in the U.S. Her dad was number eighty seven and there was even a very good article on his business in the issue. Natalie never told her friends or mentioned it to her mom and dad. She was like her parents; she did not flaunt herself and preferred to be down to earth as any typical surfer girl. But when she received the trust she knew she did not need the money and felt others could benefit more by it so she donated it to the charities without giving her name.
Natalie hugged her mother tight, "Thank you, mommy, thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you so much."
Hei felt her own eyes tear up again and gripped her daughter tighter. After a while their moment was interrupted by a knock on the door and Byung walked in the room with a smile on his face. "Natalie, if you do not have your valedictorian speech ready yet it never will be. Hurry ladies we must go. I have already put your luggage in the car so you can leave straight from the ceremony with Lilly. Hurry ladies we have to go soon. Melissa just got here and is waiting." Byung left the room and Natalie looked at her mother.
"Mom…give me a moment with dad. I…well…I need to talk to him as well. Tell Melissa I'll be down in a minute."
Hei smiled and nodded. She knew her daughter wanted to thank her father as well and it was going to get emotional. Her husband doted on the girl and Natalie looked up to him a great deal and treasured their father daughter moments. As Natalie walked to the door she paused when her mother called out for her. She turned her head.
"Natalie, this is your home. Never forget that. No matter what, this is your home and always will be." The woman said in Korean.
Natalie winked, "Thanks, mother…I love you." She answered in the same language and left the room to talk to her father.
