Family..Lost and Found

Emma was fine just sitting at home out in her garden, underneath trees as high as she could see. She didn't feel she needed traffic, city streets and the excitement, adventure. She sat back in her chair, the sun was shining and she felt the pull of the earthiness of nature all around her...

She didn't need to work. Even thought she was only twenty-five, she had limited chaos in her life and she was happy about this. Her aunt and her had an extraordinary relationship; it was full of deep love and truth. When her aunt, Iris passed away, she left Emma her house in the country. It was out in New Hampshire, away from the city...in a tiny town. Emma was very friendly and had already made friends with her postman, people in town at various shops and restaurants.

This was the life that was originally planned out for her. She grew up in New Jersey-in a busy, Urban area. It was nothing like where she lived now. her parents begged her to stay in New Jersy and go to school...apply to Sarah Lawrence College in New York and not go live at Iris's home, but it was an interesting house. She remembered it. She was always interested in Interior Design and wanted to practice her skills on this beautiful house built in the 1920's and make it cozy and unique for anyone who visited. It was a four bedroom ranch house type of home. Iris also had a Bed and Breakfast a few blocks down that she co-owned with a very sweet, elderly lady named Janice. Emma decided to sell Iris's ownership to Janice. She could own it fully. Her aunt would have approved since it had become very difficult to take care of the house and the bed and breakfast.

Many times, Emma just went to the Bed and Breakfast to bus and serve tables. This way she was able to get to know the locals in town because she worked and go paid being a waitress four to five times a week. She was well known in town and people thought she was wonderful. She wasn't rich. She just had money saved and some her parents were saving for her for college.  She inherited the house only because her mother didn't want it. They all thought it was a little lavish of Iris to give away this house, but she knew that Emma would take very good care of it and that her sister wasn't impressed with the house that the two girls were brought up in since they were babies.

Emma was close to her mom and dad, but even closer to her aunty who was like one of her best friends. They talked and talked about everything from Roses , and all types of flowers to political issues in the world. Emma almost felt like her aunt was like a guardian angel to her.

One day, Emma was outside listening to the frogs in the pond...not too far away from her front door. She thought she saw a flash of White from the corner of her eye. She turned and there was her aunt standing before her clear as day. She had her best Sunday dress on, pearls at her throat and long, curly, blonde hair (similar to Emma's) that fell below her shoulders.

Emma put her hand on her heart  that was beating incredibly fast. Was this really what her aunt? She tried to sound some words outloud, but they didn't leave her lips. She stood there and she felt a whip of wind and her aunt's ghost flew past her, with a smile and disappered from her vision.

Emma's face blanched...she ran and looked into the mirror in the kitchen and her normally tan face was pale white.

"Aunt Iris!" she almost whispered. "You're still here?"

Emma went into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her hands on the top of her jeans in worry. Why was this happening? What was going on?. She laid back on her colorful Blue and Green comforter and felt a spirit encircle her. She opened her eyes, but didn't see Iris's ghost. She closed her eyes and saw a movie playing in her mind. Her mom and aunt were young and looked very similar. She could tell who iris was because she had the small birthmark on the right side of her forehead. They were arguing...

"She's mine!" Iris exclaimed.

"Yes, but I can take care of her better. I have a husband. You are an unwed mother and that won't go over well with mom, dad or the church."

Iris and Emma's mom grew up Catholic and there was a lot of shame installed in them while growing up and with all the rules....

Emma opened her eyes and it clicked! Iris was her birth mother! That's why she was given the house and that explained so much that they connected on...

Emma went immediately and called her "mother". Her mom cried and tried to tell her that they had to do what they had to do and that Iris was in no state to handle raising a child when Emma was born.

Emma's mom, Tracy decided to meet her at the house. Emma greeted her "adopted" mom. It was a tear filled greeting full of hugs and regrets. Emma told her mother how Iris's ghost had been showing up. Tracy was shocked and didn't seem to know what to do. She sat on the floor and started crying. Emma put her hand on Tracy's shoulder, but Tracy kept on crying.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Iris wanted to live," said Tracy. "We were all going to meet and discuss how things transpired..."

"But why didn't you?" asked  Emma.

"It was too tough for one thing. Your father is not your father."

"What?" asked Emma.

"He really is your uncle."

"Yikes!" shouted Emma. "Then who is my real dad?"

"Oh Emma! He is travelling all the time for the Peace Corps...here's a letter he wrote to you from Algeria."

Destino

Finding out about her ancestry was what Francesca always wanted to do. She was part French, Italian, and Irish. Her parents were an interesteing mixture...her father was half French and half Italian, and her mother was full Irish.

Lately, Francesca had been having dreams of Italy. She was actually born there and her memory retained glimpses, little scenarios that she could faintly remember...little sketches of experiences such as walking on the hardwood floor, running on it...in the villa that her parents rented. She remembered a few things briefly like a checkered table cloth and getting in and out of cars, smiling, playing...

She decided to book a trip there. Her boyfriend and her recently broke up. Although she missed him a lot, she realized that she was more free and was now able to make spontaneous decisions based on whimsy.

She sat at her computer. The day sank into night. There was not much noise around her...the faint sound of a TV on in the apartment below her and the ticking of the clock in her dining room. She looked out her sliding glass door that overlooked the lights of Los Angeles.

Francisca found herself dreaming, wondering, but felt a bit unnerved. How will Italy ipact me now...years later? Will I even want to come back to L.A.? Francesca started daydreaming of Tuscany, Florence, Venice...

Her phone suddenly rang and startled her from her reveries. It was her mom. Francesca's mom had been to Europe a few times over the last few years, and her mother, Jenny was aware of how much Francesca wanted to travel too.

Francesca randomly opened some travel pages on the internet. She came across a picture of a beautiful house, a block from the beach in Cinquaterre. Her mother told her about this...years ago-when her mom was on honeymoon with Francesca's father, Jake. She looked at the price...it was amazingly low. She hadn't told her boss yet that she'd be going, but the trip wasn't until July. It was April now. She clicked on "submit payment". She was going somewhere she's never seen (except for online) for 7 nights and 8 days. She decided also to book her flight and saw that Virgin Atlantic was flying out of LAX on July 10th...perfect!

She decided not to tell her friends and exboyfriend about her trip ahead. No one would know except her mother and her work. She wished she could tell her father, but he passed away a few years back...she wished they could have gone to Italy together, but Francesca knew he would be with her in spirit...

On the plane, Francesca couldn't believe her luck! She had a lot of leg room and the flight wasn't even full! It was July and she told her work she needed some time off. She was a bit dodgy about where she was going; She did say she was going abroad.

Francesca pulled her long, curly brown hair back into a rubberband. The plane was about to take off. Her large, almond shaped eyes peered out the window to her left. She had a window seat! The flight was still boarding...all of a sudden, a young man around her age...about 33 sat next to her. He had an aisle seat. He looked over and smiled at her. And she realized that she was in trouble...he had tousled, brown hair...not terribly short. he had blue, gray bright eyes, tanned skin and he was wearing glasses.

Francesca sat quietly for awhile and pulled out a book. And then, she felt like someone was staring at her...it was him.

"Francesca!" he exclaimed. "I knew it..."

She looked at the handsome stranger and suddenly a light bulb clicked on in her head...overweight, nerdy Franco Arneli...the only Italian boy in her 4th grade class. She remembered being nice to him and recalling how he had a crush on her. Her mother would tell her that outward appearances weren't everything when it came to love...

Francesca and Franco had endless topics to talk about on the long trip across the oceans to Rome. She found herself excited by the way he spoke, carried himself. She was charmed by the same humor that he had as a young boy.

They got off the plane...still walking and talking together. Francesca said she would be right back. She went into a bathroom and freshened up and looked at herself in the cracked, tiny mirror over the sink. She decided to put on another coat of lipstick and then call her mother. Her mom was thrilled to hear from her only daughter. Francesca told her mom about who she ran into and her mother repeated the infamous line about appearances...

He's still waiting and looks at her with such warmth...9 months later. They (Francesca and Franco) made it back to the states. Francesca finally told her friends where she was...and she returned pregnant...with his child.

Emily in Transition

The sun was setting and Emily felt her mood change. The colors of the sky were an incredible mixture of Rust, Pink, and Brown. She sat on the boardwalk at the beach, waiting for the guy from Match.com, who said he'd meet her at the beach, at this spot at 4pm.

Emily was wearing a sparkly, blue top that she found at a vintage thrift store, a long, form-fitting jeanskirt and a pair of glittery flip flops, which were off her feet at the moment. She was glad she just got a pedicure. Her toenails were a light shade of Lilac.

There were swings for kids at the playground. She swung and swung, and she looked at her watch. It was five p.m. already. Another late date! They had agreed to meet specifically at four p.m.! She looked around her. Most of the beach was cleared out. She felt happy being by herself, yet, even though her family and friends were always there, she wanted a relationship, best friend in a male companion.Emily was 25. The radius she chose for a partner on the website was 30 miles away. She lived in Long Beach in a studio. The guy was from Torrance.

She was taking a risk, going on a date with someone with no picture, and his name was Ivan. She only knew one Ivan in her life and he basically was the one who got away.

Emily walked to the tidepools and looked over her right shoulder. Who did she see coming up in a confident stride? Ivan (her Ivan!). he looked great! Not gawky like the 25 year old she knew when she was 22. How  did she miss it was him on Match.com? Despite seeing her pictures, he did everything to convince Emily that he was a different Ivan. She tried not to feel tricked, but she was!

She saw him walking toward her and she suddenly didn't feel like meeting him. She didn't want her past to meet up with her present. She sort of considered him a friend, but not wholly. She had no allegiance to him or his little games! He was about 500 feet away. She walked up from the beach, crossed the street and hid in the library in town. Ivan hardly cracked open a book, so she knew he wouldn't find her and he would have been able to see where she went. She moved so fast; she probably was a glittery blur to him.

She had glasses in her purse. She put them on and lost herself in the fiction section of the library. She found a rubber band in one of her pockets and swept back her dark, curly hair into a ponytail. She was reading and had even sat down on a stool in between the book stacks. She was deep in concentration when she heard a familiar voice...

"Fancy finding you here."

She looked up and it was Ivan. Damn, she thought she had escaped him successfully. He was a lot smarter than she thought, even if he hardly picked up a piece of Literature. He did read the newspaper daily, so that was somewhat impressive. Ivan stepped toward her.

"I'm sorry I tricked you, " he said. "But I'm ready to make things work. I'm sorry for being so immature before. You look beautiful."

He clasped her had in his two hands and she looked into his shining brown, wide eyes. She knew in her gut that he was telling the truth. Ivan was definitely good looking, but the most disarming trait of his was that he didn't quite see his own essence, so his humility showed through.

Emily remembered how they both had so much fun three years ago when they were together. They travelled to some interesting places: Catalina, Santa Barbara area. It was by far, a very memorable three years that they had together as a couple. She remembered feeling loved. Ivan and Emily would walk hand in hand to events, friends, parties and get togethers. It was clear to others and to each of them, that they were in love.

But one night...in the 3rd year of the relationship, they were in a friend's hot tub, looking up at the stars and it was such a romantic moment. Ivan kissed her and Emily knew it could lead to more, but she was a traditional girl at 22 and wanted to make sure there was a deep commitment between them...basically, a proposal or promise to marry before getting too physically involved. When she told Ivan this, he seemed to shrink back in fear...He was only 25, he explained. They still had so much to do, enjoy together before marrying, but Emily just wanted to know she was the one for him. They were young, she knew, but she was romantic and knew at the time that Ivan was it for her. And her parents had gotten married at around the same age that they were then.

Now, three years later, Emily wished she had  been more intimate with Ivan or at least open to making love then, especially after being with a string of 3 or 4 guys who were nice enough and cute, but not what she really wanted in a partner. Although she was still young at 25, she knew that she wanted to marry...soon. She felt more and more ready....maybe she always was...but she really needed to just let go and explore intimacy a bit more. Part of her fear of becoming physical was getting closer emotionally...

So there she was with Ivan...standing in a row surrounded by books.

"Can we go somewhere where we don't have to whisper?" he asked.

Emily let out a giggle.

"Sure," she said and he gallantly reached out to her and pulled her up.

She had to admit that he looked handsome. he was about 6-2, his hair fell in curls around his forehead. His blonde/brown curls contrasted with his dark, brown, wide eyes. Today, he was wearing a Hoby surf tshirt. It looked like he had been working out. She could see his muscles and his olive toned, tan arms. He wore nice, dress pants that seemed to go pretty well with his bright, blue hoby shirt. She looked again into his eyes and saw surprise there as she stepped toward him and leaned in for a hug. They held each other for too long it seemed, like long lost lovers, finding each other again. She felt silly for feeling unnerved by them getting closer physically in the past. She knew Ivan and although he was very attracted to her, he was not going to take advantage of her...she just didn't communicate her feelings/fears enough to him, so he didn't know what to do basically. There were many subjects that they didn't broach, but there were always butterflies in her stomach when Emily saw Ivan and she knew they understood each other and had a great connection.

She wondered to hearself why she had let a good thing go...what was her issue?

They walked out into the night. It was the beginning of Fall and Emily could already feel the weather make a slight shift. Soon, the days would grow shorter and the sun wouldn't shine as beautifully after 5:30 or 6 in the evening.

Emily and Ivan walked toward the beach again. She took off her glasses and let down her hair once more. They walked to a little place right by the main highway across from beach and sat on stools at The Golden Spoon.

Suddenly, they were in the mood for yogurt. Ivan ordered his favorite: Peanut Butter/Vanilla swirl.  and Emily got her usual: Strawberry with Chocolate sprinkles on top. She was pretty and fit, but she still only had sugar on rare occasions. This was one of them...

Emily and Ivan were turning their bodies around on the stools like little children. Then, their legs interlocked and they leaned into each other. Ivan with Peanut Butter and Vanilla yogurt breath gave Emily the best kiss she had experienced in a long time...9 years ago.  They pulled back from each other, stared at each other newly...and Emily could swear she saw a shooting star leap out into the black expanse of the sky.

This time from this day on, there wouldn't be a stretch of three weeks..more like three days that they'd ever be apart again....and this time, she was ready for everything and knew that Ivan would be the perfect gentleman.

Tiana's Change of Heart

Tiana bent down to pull up her soccer socks. She was wearing a stylish Green, puffy hat with  the brim in front. She also had on a Renaissance type of shirt, falling from her shoulders. Her short pants were low slung and she had pockets everywhere.

She didn't quite fit into the Newport Beach spoiled kids' crowd. And the spoiled ones continued to remind her and let her know it. She could have felt offended or hurt, but her heart wasn't as thin as her waist...she was athletic and on the girls' soccer team . People knew not to mess with her!

Tiana lived in Newport as well, but in a single family home. She lived with her father ( a well meaning, successful man), but not very knowledgeable about 18 year old girls.

Tiana didn't know how she made it through three plus years at Newport Harbor High School. People were incredibly snobby and sometimes she felt like their insincerity had rubbed off on her. She felt bad when her father asked her about her day and she just rolled her eyes and looked out the window at the sunset.

They lived in a two bedroom-about a block from the beach. The place had an ocean view! It wasn't a house like some of her friends had. It wasn't bad though even though her dad rented. She could sit on the porch (they were upstairs) and look out at the blue, sometimes gray ocean.

Today, Tiana was home early from school. She didn't have a sixth period this semester. It was March and and she only had three more months until graduation. She couldn't wait...not that she had any solid idea about what she wanted to do after graduating...

She was sitting on the beautifully wooden planked porch after school a few days later. She was not dressed as alternative as she usually dressed. She was wearing a sea green tank top, a jean miniskirt and her dark, brown hair was colored with light brown highlights. She pulled her hair back in a bun. She had a natural look going and wasn't wearing much make-up. She had the looped earring in her brow, but besides that, she was piercing free.  She had her visible tatoo in full view-the small, glittery dolphin on her right back shoulder.

She decided to stand up and go to the edge of the porch and look over the ledge into the sun-slowly setting into the water. in no time at all, the sun would be a little sliver and she would move back inside and start making dinner for her father and herself. Her mother left them when she was only 4 years old. Some of the hurt from being left toughened Tiana, but she was also extremely sensitive and saddened in her heart by never finding her mother and feeling the pain of loss-even after all these years.

She started really missing her mother from tenth grade onward-only a few years ago, when a mother's touch could have helped her in the fashion and boy department.

Tiana stool looking at the sunset. As she looked, she saw a sole figure; it looked like a surfer. it was a beautiful silhouette against the backdrop of the ocean. The figure started walking toward her...closer and closer.

She was staring off and then suddenly he was two feet from her face. He was a looker for sure but his eyes were what mesmerized her. his eyes looked like wheels turning, kaleidoscopes Suddenly, Tiana was in a tall, tall building. She awoke and saw that she was on some kind of massage type table. in a chair beside the table was the guy, the looker.

"What am I doing here?' asked Tiana aggressively. she bolted upright and raced to the door. The man blocked her without saying a word. it seemed as though he couldn't talk. He had this pleasant expression on his face, a plastered smile. Tiana remembered her karate. She was a black belt for Godssake! She kicked him and knewhe really was a man, not some mannequin robot, because when she kicked him in the crotch, she could see that it hurt!

He screamed out, "Arrgh! What is your problem?"

"Oh, so you talk? Why did you bring me here and did I faint? Let me go..." She said.

She ran out the door, escaping him and she could hear the tender voice now:

"I brought you here for your best interest. Don't go, there's danger!"

Tiana didn't heed his warning. She screamed and was outside finally. The building was called, "Second Chances." Second chance or not, she had to get back to her father! She noticed though that she wasn't in Newport. It was another place entirely...the sky was a deep shade of purple and the clouds were a sparkling blue. She felt transfixed, haunted by the beauty around her.

She started walking, but she walked about 300 feet and she hit a plastic wall. She was puzzled. How could this be? Where am I? She looked upward into the purple sky and when she looked really hard, she could see a plastic ceiling that covered the sky. it looked like it was very far away, but it was actually closer than she thought..even the stars. The strangeness was that she didn't feel trapped by her plastic surroundings (even though she realized she was inside a giant replica of a snow globe basically). Despite the awkwardness of this scenario, she felt...for the first time in a long time, like she really could breathe!

Inexplicably, she walked back into the building. The receptionist mentioned floor 3. She took the elevator up..right back to where she was...as if in a dream, the man, who was probably a robot, glanced at her like he expected her to come back. His eyes were dancing. They were now a deep violet.

She sat down right in front of him.

"You have come here for a reason, Tiana."

She liked the way his tongue rolled out her name. She didn't feel self conscious suddenly. It was like the sun was radiating all the way through her. He looked at her..not with attraction or lust. He was about twenty and normally that feeling would be there, but he looked at her with an understanding that only she, God, and the Earth had of her. And breathing deeply, she discovered in front of her was the Earth and God and despite that fact, she knew she had to get back to her dad and school, that was her home.

The man smiled and in her heart, she felt forgiven, loved, inspired and passionate about her life ahead...
the bubble lifted and the man said with the kindest smile, "Run through!"

...And she did. When she was at her human home again, she never again felt ungrateful, but instead, she embraced all of it!