Elzina.
Eight years later.
Florida.
09:43 AM
Why wasn't something burning?
Inhaling smoothly I wondered.
Nothing was on fire?
Standing in the doorway I poked my head out. Reading the corridor from left to right.
It was empty.
Bending behind a bit I blinked at the large digital clock in my room. Our room since Alex hates the bright golden spectrum it illuminates the wall with, he likes to sleep in dark while I am afraid of falling face first to the ground as I would most certainly wander over night for a trip to washroom. I need light to guide me. Everyone needs it. But Alexander apparently has a laser vision where he could spot things with his eyes closed.
He uses it to his advantage. Locating me right when he wants to cuddle. That's how I wake up in mornings since past seven years of our marriage. In his arms, warm and sometimes really snuggled to the point where I could barely breath.
But today he wasn't there in bed.
And I know exactly why.
A culture on this particular date that he attempts and fails disastrously.
No fire alarm yet.
Hold on!
My eyes widened. Was he successful this time? I can't have that. I looked forward to see that sheepish smile accompanied by a pastel blush on my birthday mornings with him apologizing for turning the toast into ashes. That would be his take on best birthday breakfast ever. It was the only time he blushed. I lived for it.
I shook my head. That was too sad to be true. Alex learning to cook was an impossibility. Countless shows and online classes. He only got hold of boiling water. It was something that was never installed in his body.
Eager to know I walked around the manor house, two story mostly white with the interior so clean and aligned that it screamed with Alex's clean freak of a characteristic. But it was silence that irked me, it was scratchy on my ears that the house was so, so calm. Usually at this hour there should be a couple of workers slumping around, doing their job, feeling like death.
They commonly die more when they see Alex, who never sees them. They do say I am the only lively person in the house. They only see me smile, be humane.
I take it as a compliment despite how hard it is to believe that this house was comprised of a young little-
"The way you are doing it embaresses me father"
-kid.
I stop walking, halting right when I see my five year old son sitting atop on kitchen counter. His tiny legs dangling and blonde little blob of a head bobbing with peace.
"How about we celebrate the good part? The food is fine. The presentation not. We can work with this" beside him Alex offers, since Isaac had his doll of a back to me I couldn't see his face, but I know he wasn't impressed by what Alex said.
"Would you hire someone half good in Elite?" I push my fist against my lips to down the splutter of laugh at Alex's troubled expression. It was like he was fighting against his tiny self.
"What should I do?" he raises one brow while Isaac Thomson white pouts side ways with boredom. Half of his chubby face now on show as he casually blurts-
"Give up. You have been failing since I was born. Take her to some fancy restaurant or something?"
My mouth falls open and so does Alex's tight bewilderment was apparent as he untied the messy black apron.
He then frowns down at his offspring, his eye squinted.
"Why do you talk like that?"
Is he serious? Was he asking that to him? Isaac? He thinks he'll win with this conversation?
"Dad" he deadpans as Alex juts his chin out in a listening gesture "I talk like you"
A crystal moment of silence passes as they both stared at each other challengingly, until-
"Fine" Alex blurts out pinching Isaacs nose and not leaving it till Isaac stuffily mutters "I have a cold, you might want to stop doing that"
Alex immediately pulls his hand back his smile slipping off while Isaac squares his puny shoulder proudly.
"It's too easy to fool you"
At that a gloomy look shadows Alex's face. It was beginning of new argument. Before he could open his mouth and hear a mouthful more from Isaacs logical realism I stepped in.
"What's all the commotion about?" simultaneously both snapped their head in my direction. My grin made the atmosphere ten times more lustrous. I know it because I feel it.
I am such a warm, beautiful, insanely intelligent, hot and sexy person. And a great mother and the man that married me is the luckiest in the whole wide freaking world. I am awesome.
And no, I don't say or chant that to my obnoxious self. It's something that Alex has embedded on my mind by the countless times he had told me of how he felt about me.
And right now he felt quite flustered as he blushed. It was the only day.
On other occasions he made sure that it was only me who blessed him with a colour of stop light. He knew the tricks. He knew the words. And they were so classily hot that my brain would just stop working for a moment. And he takes those moments to his advantage where I don't necessarily feel like the need of using my brain anymore.
"Mom. You are up early" stretching back from those impure thoughts I smile at Isaac. He looked like his father. Spoke like him, frowned like him. If I didn't knew better I would assume that Isaac copied Alex by the way he sits, walks or even dresses as him. They had the same sea blue eyes, nose and creases. The blonde hair is something he inherited from Alex's mother. Mrs. Bryson who was now in Minnesota undergoing a therapeutic procedure to train her back to walking.
She was getting better.
Years of struggle paid off. She was getting better and better, healthier.
"I was excited for the breakfast" I said, a sizzle glance towards Alex who smirked, his lips pulling low as he watched me competitively.
He grabs the tray and walks to me, when he nears I pretended to inhale with my eyes closed. Mint and pancakes. I enjoyed it.
"You made it" actually meaning both I say. I grabbed the culinary, cutting a piece and chewing in. my brows shot up a bit at the taste. It was delicious. "Oh god. This is good" before I could tear another bite he keeps it aside and engulfed me into a fat tight hug.
"Happy birthday curiosity" I felt like a wreck of a teenage girl in his arms. So protected and young even though I turned a year older today.
For a moment we boldly held onto each other, a small cough reminded us that we an audience. A audience that we made.
Untangling ourselves we look at Isaac who watched Alex sternly.
"Father" is all he said. Alex began to deeply ponder, worried where he went wrong. Isaac only addressed him as father when his demands were not met. Right now he was obviously annoyed about something.
Suddenly Alex made an oh sound and walked to him, he lifted him off the counter and placed him down on his feet. I almost teared up thinking how big he sounded a while ago.
He drags a kitchen stool with him and places it next to me. he gets on it so that he matched my height.
And then he smiles.
It was a rare sight to him happy. No he wasn't a sad kid. But he was way beyond smart for his age. Probably more than me. so it was hard for him to find things that made him elated. He loved us, but he expresses it by perfecting and criticizing. He was Alex with a smart mouth.
He was different. But beautiful.
When he hugged me with that thin hands. I know it was my world that he had wrapped in his little finger.
When Alex joined in, it became magical.
Indeed a magical world we lived in.
A treasured moment which would always get ruined by phone calls even during Sundays began. we were busy people. That's what happened as Alex groaned and Isaac muttered priorities.
"Seriously? Priorities?" Alex questions Isaac as he shrugs and walks away, he then looks at me "Are you sure you wanted to name him Isaac because you like the sound of it and not because you were sure that he would turn out like one of those geniuses like Isaac newton?"
This time I shrugged hiding a smile, I swiped the face time to right as the gorgeous face and voice of Hailey popped up.
"Woke up to fire alarm going off?" she asked expectantly, her telephonic voice grainy to ears as I giggle.
"No. actually the opposite" I said shifting the screen to the counter where the plate of pancakes was and then back at me "It's fine" I said stressing the word as she blinks.
"What's with you two doubting my abilities?" scowling Alex says from behind, I stretched my hand a bit so they we could share the screen.
She shrugs.
"Why people keep doing that when I ask them questions?"
No we don't shrug at that, since Alex phone shrilled he picked it up. Monitoring another face time as Edmund in his really manly voice hollered a happy birthday greeting.
Alex might've grown into a sharp featured, devilishly handsome looking guy with clean jaw and classy rich dressing. But it was bound to happened owing to his personality. But Edmund changed. A lot changed about him, the soft boy was now a rugged, thin bearded and ardently built man who has taken the world of Hollywood with storm. Delivering hits after hits while he got consumed by the lime light and lost himself to the storm he created himself.
It resulted in his break up with Hailey.
And ever since they had been sore enemy towards each other.
Enemy.
Who could've imagined a word so hostile as such to be linked with Edmund?
But it was here and the sudden tenseness by Hailey's part was proof that nothing was sorted between them. They never moved on. Still the spark still the heat. And still the-
"Is that him? He sounds like a dying goat"
Alex tries to distance his phone away from mine.
"Wait is that her? show me her face. I want to see how much more is she faking glamour to stay in this industry" I kept shaking my head at Alex but he was too loyal to his best friend as he plucked the phone out of my grasp and angled it so that two seprate facetimes could face each other.
And then it began.
"Oh yeah? Is that the reason why I've been getting calls from your assistant that I most certainly been ignoring from past three month's? He has been literally begging me to join in your father's new project" her British accent got to him as he goes quite for a second.
I thought it was over.
We did.
But.
"I am going to kill Aldo or worse fire him. You know I would rather die than work with you right?"
"Or you want to say you are dying to work with me"
"Your face ruined my day"
"Your ruined day made my day. Thank you sargent"
"You-you-" since he kept repeating those desperate remedies Alex's patience ran thin and he simultaneously hung up one both. We both sighed looking ahead.
"They are crazy for each other" I stated.
"Agreed. How long do you think they can go on pretending? I mean they work in the same industry" he muses as I clicked my tongue.
"Not long"
Alex opened his mouth to staring at a vase when another ring echoed. It was the doorbell which squeezed another defeated sigh from us.
"I gave the workers off today. No one was to be here today except three of us" he said inspecting his wrist watch. I already was half way to open the main door not bothering to check the cameras to see who it was, Alex was mere a step behind me.
I opened the door, brushing the uninterested hair out of my face and froze mid act when a loud scream- screams gripped my consciousness.
I stumbled back as Alex was quick to hold me by my shoulder as my hand went to my heart. Feeling it's unrhythmic blunder as my eyes took in the scene in front of me.
Balloons were the first thing I noticed, then a hand holding it. Then a face attached.
"Lee" I blurt. Then "shin?" I know the way I was calling out their name like one in high school attendance record was totally uncalled for. They had wished me on my special day, they were here for me. Lee and his wife with Riley and Mike right behind them?
Just how many where there?
"Sorry I am late" stepped in first head then body was Ashley.
Too much to sink in, with glossy eyes I grinned while they beamed. It became awkward when Alex opened his mouth.
"Are those balloons?" Lee nods his lips bridges wider as Alex leans to to receive the strings from him. once he got hold of those colourful air bags he gives it a once over.
"Isaac hates them" then he proceeds to walk away as I faintly hear him say "I'll go give this to him"
I roll my eyes and fix my posture as Ashley throws herself at me.
"Happy birthday Elsa" she says giggling as Riley hugs me awkwardly with her one and half year old daughter hoisted on her right hip.
They all pool inside soon. They were here unexpected. And it was surely a surprise. But what made it special was Lee being in United states.
"So it was your plan?" I ask once we were seated on the large coach in living area. Ashley left to find Isaac as soon as she stepped in. said she needs his help with some math homework. Lee pouts wiggling his brows as shin sat next to him smiling. An easy and warm aura around her.
"Who else plans things better than me chingu? I was in the city this week, and your birthday popped up. Took it as an excuse to squeeze in a free stay" he says with a quirky smile as shin puffs her cheeks.
"You said you always stay here when you are in Florida. You don't need excuses, you just barge in. You said so"Â Despite her naive appearance, the surprising fiery persona of her had been visible since the first time I met her. And I had only met her once. shin plays with her charm bracelet that she wears all the time. Lee gave it to her a day before their Korean themed wedding, it was me who had selected it for him and I could still remember how nervous he was by the thought of her not liking it.
Lee glances at her with an accusing look then at me.
"She's pretending to be modest. When the truth is she is in love with the Jacuzzi in your guest room, I showed her the pictures. It even fits two person with much space_" Lee holds his slips with an awkward cough while shin cutely glowered a blush.
"Wow" Riley cooed from her seat distractedly adding a bow to Miley's pigtails who played with a cow's figurine making animal sounds "you too here look so cute togeather when I feel like my husband is more focused on raising cats than our daughter"
From somewhere in home a low defense resounds.
"I swear I packed the diapers Riley. It must be somewhere. I am searching for it"
Riley clasps her hands by the chest and prays to the lord before-
"You better find it or prepare your ass for some good ol kick"
"God Riley, not in front of Miley"
Right in time Alex strides in, a faint alien smile on his lips but frowns when he hears the exchange. Riley waves at him to not bother.
"He is just worried that Miley would pick up some bad words" she then resumes styling and putting things up.
Alex acquires the vacant space next to me, one of his arm around my shoulders as he pulls me to side while he hastily traded his gaze from Lee to Shin.
"Why are you both so red?" If I hadn't known Lee better, I would have neglected the fact the he had been giving Alex some real sour look since he came in. Alex seem to notice it as well.
"Is there a problem?" At Alex's innocent query Lee jerks up in his seat, sitting up quite rapidly.
"Last month we had Korean wedding in seoul, south korea" he went into the detail of his already known wedding. There must be something I was missing.
Lee.
There was a miles of beautiful memories lined with that name. But that man had his own shares of tragedies. It began when he was met with an accident during the racing trails when he was 22. The chemical imbalance from type nine diabetes had caused him dizziness, hence the jeer of his wheels offcoast.
The sport committee had declined his plea of acceptance. Apparently his condition was a danger for himself as well as the participants.
So did Lee gave up on being happy as his dreams were crushed because of something so natural that he had no control over?
He was devastated, but back on feet the next week.
He left for south korea, his home town to learn on some family business. He had been working on it. he gave up many times in between, he had his fair share of dark days that is until shin-young came into the picture. She was just a family friend even when they got married two months ago in vegas.
But then something changed.
One fine day I got a call from Lee at three. At night. One of those nights when Alex makes me fall in love him more, when he makes me realize that scars are something that makes me beautiful to him. The nights when we were drained, physically and mentally. The Asian and American time standard made it just more annoying despite how great the news was as Lee screamed from the other side of the phone.
"Chingu. I am in love with my wife. Can you believe it?"
To which I groggily said as I adjusted Alex's shirt that covered me lazily by my shoulder.
"That's really surprising" when Alex woke up, he blindly reached for my phone. He then had it moved on speaker. The bright light made our eyes squint in darkness. But we still listened, we were such kind friends.
"What should I do now?" I almost slipped into a new lapse of sleep when I heard Alex take the reins of the conversation of an enthusiastic man in an unenthusiastic hour.
"Tell her" with that said he switch the phone off and hurled it some where.
"That was rude" I sniff lowly with my eyes still closed as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my back to his broad chest. He spreads the blanket upto my chin knowing exactly how lack of clothes in winter does to me. common cold was something I was curse with by birth.
"He is too happy to care" he grumbled, his tone laced with meddled sleep. His hand ran up and down my thigh, then he fastening it lower to my bust as he nuzzled his nose at the crook of my neck, his hot breath fanning my skin pleasurably.
"How do you know?" I ask, sounding heavy and drowsy as I sensed a smile even though I wasn't facing him.
"I know because that's the way I felt when I fell in love with you"
At present We waited for Lee to continue. And he did.
"So Alexander white and Edmund Sargent decided to send me a wedding gift" confused of such unheard action I tilted to see Alex who seem to have hard time holding in the glint of smile. He ignored me and blinked at Lee who had a crisp nose.
"Wait" suddenly getting a gist of missing pieces I say " what was the gift?"
For half a minute my question hangs in the room. Lee slumps in his seat.
"Hand cuffs" clipped, lee blurts out as shin looks away. A new shade on her face. Much more crimson.
Alex chuckles next to me as my lips formed an O. Riley grins at the floor.
"You guys think that was funny? That's not the good part-" Lee comes again. "We have a family culture" he gives us a mocking grin. Much more pointed towards Alex.
"We unwrap the gifts in front of our families"
He lost his smile after that, I slowly flex to see what Alex felt about it.
And he seem to appear quite shocked as he gawked in a sophisticated manner.
"Well- that sucks" was his helping contribution. But then to repair the situation he adds "our intention was good-" I squint my eyes dangerously as he peeks a glimpse of me "-I mean you sleep walk, we just wanted you to chain yourself so Shin won't have to wake up at night to you eating her pet fish from its tank or something worse"
When Lee didn't gave up on his intimidation Alex tried again. And I swear it was the only day when I saw Alex so weak around Lee.
"I swear it was not a kinky innuendo" Alex ran a hand though his hair, his face straight when I shake my head not believing his words. No one could. One thing I learned in relation to his and Edmunds friendship was- they were too messed up together. Lee was the innocent goat, while they were wolfs.
Edmund- he certainly changed. I like to wonder if Alex had a hand in that.
Once golden boy, ice prince and comedic relief of stuart are totally a different humans now.
So are we-
But Riley and Mike?
"I found it" Mike jogged to us, and I had never seen a man with a stash of diapers in hand look so happy.
He squats by his wife's seat and waves it in front of her when Miley from side throws the cow at Rileys' face and utters a single word.
"kin-ky"
Mike snaps his face in her direction a second and then at us. Even Riley dumbfounded wrinkled her nose. We tried to hide our sheepishness, but to no avail it was surreptitious to a poor fathers eyes who has to hear such words from her overly infant of a child.
"I am never bringing my daughter here again"
We had nothing to say, and hours off catching up later nothing to do. We scattered around the house to rest the day off till the fine night befalls. I could hear the distinct chatters, laughs and mummers that our house always lacked. I felt contended to pass by Isaac patiently helping Miley to some of his toys that were too mature for his age.
Crossword puzzles and scrabble.
I had him when I was twenty one, Alex and I got married by the end of our first semester in Harvard and a year later I was pregnant. It took Alex days to get used to it. I had not seen him so happy ever, not even when our most special day transpired.
He was with me, from the hustle of angry mood swings to the surprising food cravings, the late night chats to the countless wise I barfed my gut out. From the first kick of Isaac to the last of my labor relief. He became everything I needed and wanted.
Then he held the little boy we made, the symbol of our love in his hands and teared up. He watched me with so much pride and promise that only made feel the woman I had become. He made me feel the worth I was with mere his gaze.
He gave me more than I asked for.
More than I could treasure.
More than I could ever love him for.
"You know he is throwing this party for you so that he could get us to sign the deal with him?" Alex flexes his dark grey tie by his neck, his eyes tight on his reflection in our adjoining dressing room.
"Yeah but what's wrong with that? we have guests and Smiths has been generous enough to let us bring whatever the number of companions we like. They all will have some fun" beside him I popped open the matte red lip stick. I had the interior assistant install a large mirror in here so that It could fit us both at once. Alex can take ages to get done.
And I wasn't bluffing. It saved me hours in years.
"What about you? Its a classy business party" he looks at me as I paint my lip with the creamy texture. My heart swells, he might be the person who dominated the public meets, I was someone who loathed it. Every party I would find an excuse to stay behind, but this one I had agreed to must have confused him.
Ever since Mr leonard White left. No idea where he did, we took over the Elite. We have been working our ass off while raising Isaac. No matter how much Alex kept encouraging me to choose the altetnative, I just cannot bring myself to let him go through the troubles alone.
We were power couple in the covers of Forbes.
But inside we were just the young kids whose childhood once got stolen from them. Their youth just a deranged memoir and present a chaotic implemented working atmosphere.
We were only able to get through this together.
Apart from directing a multi billion dollar corporation which was a trauma, parenting was what became a challenge.
I had given up many times in between. Cried when I wasn't there for Isaacs first day at school.
It was either me or Alex.
I choose Alex for it. We kept sacrificing one way or another, so at least one can be with him at a time. But god had blessed us silently with a boy who understood.
Isaac understood. He was not like other kids. He understood and loved us unconditionally.
"I will be fine" I assured him, brushing my pin straight hair, as it titillated in silky waves under the fluorescent. "Beside I need to show his wife just who you belong to. She keeps making those sickly flirty faces at you."
Big mistake.
A smirk made its way home accompanied by the ever sky rocketing ego on his face as he swiftly twirled me to him locking his hand by my waist. A gasp leaves me at the abrupt movement as I look up at his ocean eyes.
"You should get jealous more often. It makes you look so wild" huskily he then adds "And I don't think I would want us to leave the room soon. Not when you look like that with this dress on" he whispers the last part with his gaze sinking low to my collarbone.
I raise his chin up using in curled index with a smirk of my own.
"We'll be back for that" a sultry utterance and he already looked like he was breathing harder. "And take all the advantage you can dear husband, I won't be wearing these kind of dresses in near future. Atleast for a period of time" I finish stealing my gaze away from him as his brow creases. He almost looked sad.
"Why?" he presses, pressing himself further as I stood flushed to him.
I took in a deep breath. My heart beat heating up as I decided to tell him. I wasn't able to fight the smile off as I pouted.
"well for starters I think you might have a change of naming someone iris since you were sad that you can't name a boy that-" his wrinkled head flats as I kept on going "-and I don't think wearing this tight of a dress is suitable for large tummy-" his eyes raised with knowledge as lips parted, it was almost comical "-beside I won't be leaving the house much during my pregnancy and-"
"Elzina"
"Hmm?"
"You- are you. Am i?" he peels those broken words and I know what it meant. His jaws were clamped as if he had wrestling of terms in his mind that he can't voice out. That is until I slowly nod.
"We are having a baby"
Silence.
The euphoric kind and then I was covered in a wrap of a grateful embrace.
"Oh God" he whispers, absorbing more of what it meant as I chuckled "I am so happy. I don't know what to say"
"Then don't. Just hold me like this" and he does as I ask, minutes flew until I heard a sniffle.
"Alex?"
"Yes" hoarse and stuffy, he sounded gorgeously vulnerable.
"Are you crying?" I bite my lower lip so that my humor wasn't apparent. There was something with him and his kids that makes him an emotional wreck.
He pulls away hiding his face from me by looking away, but his crimson ear tip was like a flashing evidence.
"Nope. I was thinking how we are going to break this news to Isaac" diverting the subject he licks his lip, as I frowned. But then when he brushes the reason behind his worry it became a wonder for me too "you know he is not going to believe that a fairy gifted the baby to us or that it falls from tree or something. What are we going to say when he asks us were do babies come from?"
As if on cue a faint knock escalates, as a muffled voice of Isaac weaves in.
"May I come in?" Alex scratched his temples with one of his eyes shrinking as he smiled at the man asking for permit.
"Come in" snorting I say as the door opens, it looked heavy on his hand as he immediately pulled away, the door closes behind him.
I refrained from making the awe noise as I saw what he wore. It was a beige tux on his barely there frame, his hair fizzed and gelled to side and brown dress shoes by his feet. It even made those tapping sound as he walked.
Lee had insisted that we let Shin gather the attire for Isaac. Since she had recently collaborated with a designer we let her. And now I see why he wanted to.
Originally shin is an author, but her collaborative work with reowned designer sera Kim in accordance with her movie adapted book characters was lauched, she took baby steps towards a new outlook. It was safe to say that shin has her hands full now. And she was probably was phenomenal at was she does.
I even mean- putting Lee at his place. But there was something that didn't felt right between them. I had attempted to scrape it out of Lee multiple times- it had only been two months since their wedding, and they had a distinct aura around them then some natural newly weds. Sometimes it felt as if they were putting out a show for us. But I never pried. I bet Lee could handle the situation better than anyone else.
I know and see Lee from a different spot. Unlike Edmund and Alex, Lee knows what he is doing and what he wants in his life. He was versatile- he will turn things right. But if he ever needed my help, I will always be there for him.
So I smile at my son. Assured and hopeful that everything could just be the tantrums because of my skillful overthinking.
"You look so handsome" I squeak as Isaac poisedly smiled at me.
"Thank you Mom" and then he turns to Alex and that's when I notice the tie in his hand. "Dad, help me with this. It's being a nuisance and uncle Lee keeps telling me that bow tie would make me look cuter while I intend not to look cute because if I do , some women just won't stop pinching my cheeks at the party." He almost appeared horrified by the memory as Alex got down on one of his knees in a jiffy. He was used to Isaac. He even seem to understand him. I like to think because he feels the same way.
So bad I had the sudden urge to pinch both of their cheeks and make all those annoying chicken head noises.
"Mom. Is Clarissa going to be there? she is really smart like you. I like talking to her" He cranes his neck to look at me as Alex snakes the tie in a loop, occasionally adjusting his collar.
"Yes. Infact she texted me a while ago to make sure you are going to be there" a then his eyes lit up, slightly as he composes.
"Good"
I lift my phone up to see a text from Noah.
Old lady. Lol.
I put it back grinning. He may have left us all and made a life for himself in Canada. He may not want to look at his past and see me there. He also won't plan on coming back. But he was there, a text a year.
But he was still my best friend.
"Dad" Isaac squeals as I jump at the tone "Put me down"
"Why?" amused I watch him lift his son up, holding him by side smirking.
"I am old now. Not a baby" he stoically says, it indeed looked like a kitten on a quest of trying to impersonate a lions roar.
"But you are still a baby for me. Right Elzina?" I agreed which made Isaacs frown more soft. He sighed as he grumbled a shy whatever. He then asks if Alex had stocked his small sized vial of sanitizers, they both began to discuss about the new fragrance they wanted to try With utter interest.
Sometimes it was impossible to look at how far I've come. Sometimes it gave me chills, in a good way. But then I remember the struggles and what I had lost. I miss few, I gained more. I have so much and much were gone. I was a new person, but Elaine was my past yet a girl who was me when I mended. I refuse to forget her for she was the kindness in me, she made Elzina the woman she is.
Every new phase meant the end of old one. They became memory, a picture in album and light in darkness.
But was I prepared?
"Are you ready?" Alex looked at me, lending his out stretched palm for me to take. I look at it, my mind miles a second.
I questioned myself again. Was I ready?
The answer came when I saw my family. A glance I know I was.
I was ready.
***