Epilogue –

I blew a deep breath as I pressed the locked button and heard a “beep” in the distance. My
black heels made loud sounds against the cracked pavement. Right now, I was standing in a parking
lot, facing a building called “Foster Families.” The building was run down now with the paint turning
dingy, some windows broken, and graffiti plastered over the walls. Not very nice words either.

The place had seen better days when I was here. Sure, it wasn’t anything fancy, but at least
the building looked decent and the parking lot wasn’t filled with cracked pavement. Shaking my
head, I mustered up the courage to walk up to the door. I put my hand on the handle, and I could
already smell a type of must from the building. That type of must that spelled out old and useless. As
I stepped inside, a bell rung from the door. Looking closer, I could see that the bell had a string
attached to it which attached to the desk. The string pulled at something and an old lady turned
around

“How are you? Looking to come rescue some kids?” she said, struggling to make a smile

I only smiled at her and shook my head. She seemed disappointed which made me feel bad.
Even so, I didn’t come here for kids and I don’t want any as my own personal choice. I walked up to
the counter and explained to her while I was here. She stared at me intently, maybe trying to see if
she knew who I was. But she didn’t. She was a few years too late to start working here.

She shook her head in understanding and gave me a pass. A hall pass? I didn’t know they
changed the rules. Sure, when I was here the rules were strict, but guests didn’t need passes to have
a look around. I gave the lady a smile, muttered a silent thank you, and went on my way. Walking
through the lobby, I didn’t recognize it anymore. It was so ugly, so unwelcoming. Seeing the sight of
it made me sad. Soon, this building would have to be shut down. That’s why the lady was so
disappointed.

I had to get out of here. I didn’t want to be here. I did kind of a jog (yes in heels) down the
hallways. Turning left, I was on hallway B. The hallways, the building was so quiet. Creepy I must say.
Stopping at door B21, I tried the handle and to my surprise, it opened with ease. I was shocked at
this. Anyone could easily walk in here and hurt these children. Even their security was run down. I
walked inside the room and many memories came flashing in my mind. Many bad ones, not so many
good ones. I felt the bed. With a single touched, it creaked. The pillows were dusty, and roaches
were crawling through the walls. I shuddered. I didn’t want to be here. I must get out of here.

I walked to the door, but I stopped. In the corner of my eye, I noticed a book. A bright pink,
hello kitty diary with cobwebs on the surface. I walked slowly over to it, my heart pacing. I picked it
up…

Oh, how I miss you…

Chapter 1 –

I miss you

This is what my mama said to my father. I remember. I was sitting in the car, ice cream
dripping from my hands, as I stared at my mama hugging that man. At the time, I didn’t know he was
going to be our new caretaker for a long time. My mother and I always lived alone, only ourselves.
She used to always tell me that we didn’t need no one else. We didn’t need no man, no woman, no
authority. We just needed ourselves. This is why I sat here, confused, eyebrows raised up, wondering
who this man was. On the way here, mama kept asking me if I wanted some ice cream. I found this
odd because she never did this. She always complained about money because she never had any.
Now, I see why. She just wanted to bribe me; made sure I didn’t get upset about this unexpected
visit. It worked.

Mama and the man stopped hugging and stared at each other for some time. I just looked at
them, fascinated with the twinkle in their eyes. The same twinkle mama gave me when she would
cry, and I would comfort her. The same twinkle that would tell me that I was all she had. For some
reason, I felt betrayed, but all I could do was stare. This relationship was something more than
friendship…

Windows rolled down; the wind blew at my red brownish hair. I saw the man look out at the
corner of his eye. Oh, he saw me alright. His smile disappeared, but quickly came back as my mother
began speaking.

“I can’t think you enough. I-I…” she said, struggling to get the words out with tears in her
eyes. The man gave my mama a weak smile and gave her another hug.

Ok, I was getting tired of this. This stranger hugging my mama. I sat back in the car, starting
to grow an attitude. I angrily looked as ice cream dripped from my hands onto my new jean’s mama
bought me. She suddenly picked me up from school that day and took me shopping. Wouldn’t speak
or nothing. She handed me her credit card and walked off to go look at some accessories. I stared at
her, and then I stared at the credit card. All I knew was this was a thing of money so, I started to do
what city folks call “shopping.” The first thing I went to were some jeans that were out of place. I
don’t know why, but these jeans were me. I didn’t even care to try them on; I just walked to the
counter and handed them to the lady. I called my mama, and she walked over to me.

“This is all you want?” she said, looking at me weary.

“Yes mama. You don’t have a lot of money. You have to save it.”

Her smile was gone, and she looked at me with sad eyes. The eyes that screamed regret. She
sighed and put in her pin. The lady behind the counter, stuffed the jeans in a bag and practically
threw them at me. Rude. Even so, I smiled and carried on. I told my mama thank you, but I guess she
didn’t hear me. Her eyes looked ahead with a sad look. Oh mama. I’m sorry.

****
 Looking back up, I saw that mama and the man had stopped talking. Mama was unloading
the car, handing our bags and even my bookbag to the man. I didn’t like this, but mama was a smart
lady. She always planned ahead, so I didn’t question her judgment. I sat there and looked as the man
took the bags inside the house. I didn’t even look at my surroundings, but as I hopped out the car,
everything was so different.

All I could see was dirt. No trees or nothing. If you looked down the road, you could see a few
houses here and there, but they were very far apart. The neighbors must dislike each other very
much to live that far apart. Anyway, when it came to the stranger’s house, it looked quite nice. Even
though it looked like we were in the wild wild west, the house looked so modern. The outside was
covered with nice white brick with white shuttered painting. The windows were glass and you could
see them sparkle from the hot bright sun. He had those creepy dog statues on his porch, pretending
to stand guard. Those things always creeped me out. I used to get scared by them all the time. I
don’t really get along with dogs…

Gawking at the big house, I didn’t notice the stranger staring at me. I took my eyes off the
house to look up at him. To be honest, he was a basic looking man. He had the average man looking
face with a scrappy beard. His hair was nicely combed, but his eyebrows were bushy. It looked like he
got out of bed and only attended to his hair. He wore a buttoned up red shirt with denim jeans and
boots. But these weren’t the cool cowboy boots I liked. They were more like “found off the streets”
kind of boots. They had holes in them, and I could see his ashy feet through the material. Why did his
house look more well kept them him? I wanted to ask him that. Looking closely at him, his fingernails
were clean, and his hands were also. I found this a plus in my book. Mama always told me to look at a
man’s hands. If he didn’t keep his fingernails and hands clean, then he wasn’t clean on the outside or
the inside. Still, I didn’t like this odd stranger. I also didn’t like his stares.

Mama put the last of the bags inside the house. She stood up shakily and stretched her back.
Mama’s back always was hurting, but she still hustled like a man. I found that admirable. It’s hard
doing stuff with someone depending on you. Now, I understand that.

I walked over to mama and put my hand on her back. She looked back at me and gave me a
painful smile. Beckoning me into the house, she also waved her hand over to the stranger, asking
him to come in.

“Well, well! This is a mighty fine establishment you got here.” Mama said, admiring the
floors. I found it funny how she was talking like this. Mama rarely complimented folks. I figured she
must really like this man. Complimenting his house and such. I remember we used to always go to
this old lady’s house. Miss Marni Jenkins. Her house was gorgeous, but mama never told Miss
Jenkins that. We would always go over there to make sure Miss Jenkins was doing good. She was a
fragile lady, so she couldn’t do much around the house. Mama would go into the living room and
kitchen to help clean up. Sometimes I would find her admiring the furniture and paintings. The next
day, she would come home with something like the furniture in Miss Jenkins house. Then, when we
leave, she would tell me that she really liked that house. Always used to promise me that we would
live in a house like that. I guess that promise is being fulfilled today.

The man shook his head in agreement and walked past us through a big door. Mama
followed, so I followed mama. As we walked through the door, it was just as nice as the front of the
house. Like I said, it was modern and didn’t fit the environment outside. The stranger had a fluffy
white couch against the wall, with a foot stool and a TV on the other side. He had a recliner which
had a big stack of books behind it. I could see a cup of coffee resting on the books but smelled no
coffee. Even the house felt weird, but homey.

Pointing with his head, the stranger led me and mama up the stairs. Mama told me to grab
my bags which wasn’t much. I only bought my bookbag which was black and white and a little purse
that was shaped like a pink dog. I didn’t quite like pink, but it was the only color that was available,
and the dog was too adorable to give up. Inside the dog, I had a phone mama gave me from the
corner store. How you get a phone from a corner store, I will never know. She came home one day
and stuck in my purse. When I asked about it, she said Santa came early and dropped in my purse.
HA. Everybody knew Santa was just as fake as any other fiction book. Despite that, I giggled my little
girly giggle. My mama always smiled at this. It was easy to fool her.

Struggling up the stairs, I aided to mama and held her hand. Her other hand was on her back
and she waved her hand at me, telling me to go on ahead. I ignored this. I stayed by her side. We
finally got to the top of the stairs (it seemed like forever with mama) and I was amazed at how huge
the house was. Many doors were on each side. 3 doors on the left and 3 on the right. Why did this
odd man need this many rooms? Maybe he was one of those nice folks that invite you into your
home and murder you… I flashed a worried look at mama.

“Right here. This is yall’s room. It has a bunk bed in there.” said the man, pointing to the
room with his skinny little finger. His voice was scratchy and had 2 accents it seemed like. A country
one and a city one. Regardless, his voice wasn’t a pleasant sound to hear. No wonder he didn’t talk
much. Mama did a half smile at the man and patted my back to go in the room while she grabbed the
rest of the bags. I hauled my pink doggy bag and my bookbag over my shoulder and stepped inside
the room. The room was quite spacious. I mean, spacious enough to have a couch, tv, and a bunk
bed inside. To my surprise, there was another door in the room. Must be a bathroom. I just didn’t
understand why me, and mama had to sleep in the same room. All those bedrooms and he puts us in
the same room together. I’m not complaining; I love my mama, but she snores.

My curiosity got the best of me. I had to ask. “Why are we being put in the same room? Don’t
you have enough bedrooms for both of us to have on our own?”

Mama waved her hand at me and flashed me that “shut up” look with her lips bawled up.
“Please excuse her, she said chuckling. She’s just nosy.”

I looked at mama and looked back up at the man. He was looking at mama. I could tell he
wasn’t going to answer me anyway. This is a peculiar man. I’m going to have to investigate him for
sure. I was always good at investigating things and reading people. Kids at my school used to call me
nosy, but mama called this a gift. This way, I’ll know when people are lying to me and I won’t have to
look like a fool. “And we ain’t no fools. Ain’t that right, Naila?” I shook my head at this. Mama was a
wise woman.

Naila. It’s a beautiful name. When mama was in the hospital, sitting in the bed, holding me to
her chest, she was thinking hard for a name. The nurse was by her side, giving her suggestions like
“Samantha, Ruby, or Penelope”, but of course mama said no to all of them. Mama was the type of
person who liked things that are unique and have hidden meaning. She felt those names were “too
common”, she told me as she put her hands up in sarcasm. So, mama asked the nurse for her phone,
went on the internet and looked up names with meaning behind them. After about 20 minutes of
searching and lots of “no’s” and “maybe’s”, she finally chose the name Naila which means
successful. The nurse told her it was a beautiful name. Mama smiled and shook her in agreement.

“Maybe naming her Naila will put her on a successful path. Her mama definitely isn’t going to
be a successful woman, but my baby will be!”

Many diaper changes, sleepless nights, crying, missing work, and 9 years later, mama is still
on her feet, looking like a blossomed rose. If that isn’t successful mama, what is?

****

The clock strikes 8:37 and SpongeBob is playing in the background. Placing a glass bowl on
the table, I pour some rice krispies. Then the milk. Everyone knows that’s the smart way to do it.
Whoever does milk first needs some serious help. I look around for a spoon and finally found the
drawer. I opened it and stood in awe at the silver and gold silverware. I picked up a gold spoon and
looked at it for at least a minute until I heard mama coming into the kitchen. I jumped and turned
around, still holding the golden spoon.

“I’m sorry! I was just about to put it back.” I said, about to put the fork down.

“Haha. No need honey. You can use those if you want too. Me and my friend had a little talk
about the rules.” Mama said, grabbing a bowl and picking Frosted Flakes as her choice.

I looked at mama and noticed the emphasis she put on that word “friend”. Hmm. I didn’t
think much of it. Instead, I walked over to my now soggy rice krispies and stuck the spoon in them.
Taking a bite, my face immediately curled up and I ran to the trash can to spit it out. I heard mama
laughing in the back. Har-har-har. Always laughing at my misery. I still love her though. As I walked
back over to the counter, I frowned at the sad state of the cereal. Mama placed another bowl of the
cereal beside the soggy one. It was the same instead she grabbed some sugar and added a little to
the cereal. She beckoned for the spoon and I handed it to her. She stirred the milk, sugar, and cereal
together and told me to taste it. Still frowning, I took another bite, but instead of blandness, I got a
wave of sweetness in my mouth. I looked at ma, still chewing, and she gave me a thumbs up. I smiled
through the cereal and gave her a thumbs up and approval. Mama smiled and walked to the living
room with her bowl to watch TV. When I was sure she was gone, I spit the cereal back into the bowl
and threw the cereal away. I’ll stick to some juice and pop tarts, thank you.

I joined mama in living room and we both sat there watching SpongeBob. While I was singing
the song and mama chewing on her soggy cereal, the man walked in. He didn’t even say anything,
just gave a weird look to ma. He put his head forward, beckoning at me. I wasn’t looking at mama,
but she turned off the TV and the man was headed toward the door. He slid on his bedroom shoes
and without a word, he slipped out and the door shut behind him with a bang. I turned to mama to
ask why she turned off the TV when I was trying to sing, but she was looking at me seriously now. Oh
boy. Here we go

“Sigh. What is it mama?”

 “Whatever do you mean?” she said, giving me a little wink. I ignored her little wink and gave
her a “really” look. She knew what I was referring too. She laughed at the way I was looking and
soon enough, so was I. We can never be serious.

“Well, my friend has given us some rules.” She said, picking a book up from the stand beside
her. “We are going to be living here for a while, so we have to abide by his rules. Read this when you
get the chance.” She handed me a dusty green book. As I opened it, the first page, in bold letters
said “RULES”.

“Ill go to the store soon, so you can write down the rules. You can’t keep the book for
yourself…”

I wasn’t really listening to mama. I was looking at these crazy rules. No TV after 8:30. Don’t
leave the toilet seat up. Wash the dishes and clothes every week. Clean up your bed every morning.
No friends invited over the house. Get the mail everyday… I mean ridiculous! No TV after 8:30!? This
man was bonkers. I wanted to go immediately, but I knew there was a reason we moved into this
man house. Me and mama lived alone, so she must have gotten booted out of our old house and just
doesn’t want me to worry. I don’t like that. We are supposed to worry and struggle together. Now,
we must live in some stranger’s house and I’m the only one suffering! Still tuning mama out, I didn’t
notice she was now at the staircase, looking at me.

“Oh, and just a FYI, you’re going to school next week. So, we have to start getting you into a
steady sleep schedule. You’re going to bed early tonight. 9:00 Naila!” she yelled, snapping with her
voice and fingers.

Her voice snapped me out of my tuning, but what really got me was the word “school”.
SCHOOL? SCHOOL?! Before I could even protest, mama ran with the speed of a jackrabbit up the
stairs and soon I heard the door close in the distance. I look shocked for a moment, but soon bust
out laughing seeing mama run that fast. I knew she was in the room regretting her decision,
slouching over in pain. Holding my stomach, tears were flowing down my eyes. But suddenly, my
stomach wasn’t hurting from laughing and those weren’t laughing tears, but instead, they were sad
tears and an upset stomach for the upcoming week.