The Songs That Define Us

650 Words2 Pages

“Anika! Can you come down here dear?” Mrs. Carly called me from downstairs.

I grabbed my stuffed bear, Cuddles, and walked downstairs. I found Mrs. Carly sitting next to a tall woman on the couch in the living room.

“Is it time to go to lunch?” I asked.

Mrs. Carly smiled and shook her head. “No dear, but we’ll leave soon. I promise. Anyways, this is Amber Canefield. She’s probably going to adopt you.”

In case you couldn’t tell, this isn’t like a house and obviously, Mrs. Carly isn’t my mom. I live here. There are a lot of other kids who live here too. I don’t exactly know what it is, but I think it’s called an orphanage.

“Really?” I asked, while grinning the biggest smile that’s ever been seen on a seven year old.

Mrs. Carly laughed at me and nodded her head, “Why would I lie to you?”

I hugged her, wrapping my tiny arms around her. I then turned to the tall woman.

“I’m Anika. This is Cuddles,” I told Amber, gesturing to my bear.

“Hi Cuddles,” Amber said while shaking my bear’s hands. I giggled as Mrs. Carly ushered us out the door. We were going on an adventure! Actually, we were just going to go eat lunch, but it’s all the same to me.

You’re probably wondering how Mrs. Carly could just leave the orphanage, right? Well, most of the kids are at least 13 or older. Only three of us are younger than that. My best friend Owen and I are seven. Madeline, or Maddie for short, is ten. There’s always other staff members who can watch them though.

After I looked up from playing with Cuddles, I noticed that we had arrived at the diner.

“Yay!” I exclaimed, running to the diner. I heard the adults’ chuckle at me and I blushed, slowing down until they caught up. We walked over to a booth and I sat across from Amber and Mrs. Carly.

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..., my throat dry.

“Just wanted to say bye.”

“Okay,” I mumbled.

She waved and walked away. I caught a glimpse of her tear streaked face. That was shocking and extremely weird.

“You ready to go?” Amber asked, walking up next to me.

I nodded slightly and hugged Mrs. Carly good-bye.

“Thank you Mrs. Carly,” I murmured.

She just hugged me and let me sob. Yikes, this was emotional. I finally pulled away and walked to Amber’s car. After final good-byes from everyone, we drove away.

I was leaving everything I knew. And honestly, I was more excited than sad. Was that bad? I hope not. I thought of the curly haired boy that I considered my best friend. I’m not worried about forgetting him; I’m worried that he’ll forget me.

No, you’re going to be happy no matter what, Anika. That will never change.

With that in mind, I drifted into a dreamy sleep of Crystal, Kentucky.

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