“What do you mean?”
Derrick leaned in a little closer to Pauline.
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue a few times before she continued.
“They had her locked up like a caged animal for most of the time that she was with them. I read the files, and to be honest I kind of wished I hadn’t because…”
She trailed off, gazing at the crowds that were still moving away from the graveyard.
“They were real pieces of work, scientists who had adopted Kaila from an orphanage somewhere in Russia. They never loved her, or at least that’s how it reads. It was so fucked up, they did deprivation, locked her in the dark, they took away food and made her stay up for hours at a time and so much more…she was no better than a lab rat to them. When I was in the office I read the report on her brain tumor and I don’t know much medical lingo but it didn’t sound good. After I found out about it I couldn’t understand why she had a tumor in the first place because to me she was too young to be that sick. I might be off base but I figure it was something that her parents and their experiments caused…”
A shudder ran through Pauline. She turned to face Derrick again.
“Wildwind was actually a step up for Kaila, as fucked up as that may sound. The only good thing her so-called parents did for her was to leave her enough money, so she could be taken care of for the rest of her life.”
“I never knew that about her and her parents, thanks for telling me. It doesn’t exactly change anything but at least it makes me understand her more, if that even matters.”
“It matters, because you’ll never be the same again and neither will I. I’m not going to stand here and tell you I’m all peachy, but I will say that I’m not going to allow Kaila’s sacrifice to go to waste. Her life meant something, and me getting my shit together and eventually my life on track means that she lived, and she’ll go on living in everything I do.”
Derrick’s breath came out in a rush.
“That’s profound.”
“Not profound, true. Now lets go out and start living.”
Derrick shrugged, then threaded his fingers with Pauline’s once again. It was odd but Derrick somehow knew the remnants of Kaila would always link them together.
Pauline and Derrick moved in unison, across the last few feet of the cemetery. The dewy grass squished beneath their shoes and reminded Derrick of the rainstorm that Kaila had reveled in. He knew he would always remember her that way, hair tousled, rain splattering her face and so much happiness because of the real world that surrounded her.
“Let’s start living in the real like Kaila wanted us to,” Derrick said.
Pauline smiled her crooked grin and just at that very moment the wind blew her hair away from her scar one more time. And to Derrick it felt like a sign from Kaila that said that she was doing just fine.
∞Infinity- two circles linked into one, with no beginning and no end.∞
DEDICATION
“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.”~Wayne Dyer
This work of fiction is dedicated to Jebidiah, for without him this story would not exist. And for Carrie, good-bye old friend. And thanks to Keane for providing me with the most amazing and inspirational music I have ever known.
Everybody’s Changing~Keane
Somewhere Only We Know~Keane
The beauty of your words fills my heart to overflowing.
∞ Denise ∞
Be in the Real Page 28
