Birds Of A Feather (COMING SOON).

Prologue.

"You are good at it. But this is not the life I want for you. I want you to be someone people look up to, I want you to be someone who is respected and admired. I want you to make a name for yourself and see the world."

"Maybe I can't be that person." I slumped into a nearby chair and looked up at him.

"Trust me, you can. You have so much potential, you just don't see it."

Sometimes I felt like he put too much faith in me. He saw me as a person I clearly wasn't, and it was suffocating to put on that mask, just so that I could please him. It was pressurizing, but it always pushed me to work harder, because I couldn't bear the thought of letting him down.

He was the only one who gave a shit about me. He was the only one who belived in me. So even if I couldn't succeed, I would die trying to be the person he thought I should be.

"Can I go?"

"There's something else I need to tell you, " he said, avoiding my eyes.

"What's going on?"

"It's about Alisha–"

"Wh-wh-where is she?" I was on my feet in an instant, my stutter resurfacing as my heartbeat quickened.  "Is she okay?"

He gave me a soft smile and nodded. "She's been adopted."

"Oh." I felt my heart skip several beats in that moment and Baba gave me a small sympathetic smile that I didn't like one bit.

"Oh, okay, " I nodded to myself, and tried to smile but failed miserably. "Th-That's good news."

***

A day later I watched Alisha say her goodbyes to everyone.

She was three years younger than me.
She had joined our little family a year ago, too small for her age, broken, lost and innocent.

Her dark hair was tied into two ponytails, her glasses were a little too big for her tiny face and there was a thin scar on her chin; a parting gift from the people who had abandoned her. 

She quietly padded over to where I was standing and gave me a small, shy smile. "Hey."

"Hey, " I murmured and swallowed the lump in my throat. "Did you get all of your stuff?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Are they nice people?" I asked her, and glanced at the smiling couple who were standing near the door.

 She shrugged and then her face lit up when she said, "They told me I could go to a big school and have new clothes!"

"Th- that's nice." I gave her a small smile, trying to sound excited for her and stuffed my hands in my jeans pocket. "I have something for you."

I took a large silver coin from my pocket and handed it to her. It was the only valuable thing I owned, one of the few things that my mother left behind. "Keep it safe."

"What is it?" She frowned turning the coin around in her hand. 

"It's something valuable...for your safety, just in case."

I told myself that I was giving it to her because I cared about her safety. Just in case she couldn't reach out to me or Baba, or maybe it would help her someday with some quick cash in her time of need. 

But deep down I knew that it was just an excuse, I wanted her to have something that would always remind her of me. Of her time here. 

I took a step back watching her tuck the coin safely in her bag and felt a lump rise in my throat but I choked it down, not wanting to look like a cry baby.

This was weird, I had no idea why I felt so strange. She was just a little girl, who followed me around the house. Who was way too talkative and annoying. Someone who was ridiculously scared of thunder and snuck into my room during thunderstorms. Someone who always cried when I was hurt from being in a fight.

A little girl who didn't know much about the world. Not someone I cared much about.

Then why was this so difficult?

She turned to Baba and lifted both of her little arms for a hug.

He scooped her up in his arms, like she was four and not eight, and kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you."

"Me too." She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Will I see you again?"

"Why don't you pay me a visit whenever you're around?"

She nodded against his neck and held him tighter. He gently set her back on her feet and wiped her tears away. "You'll always have a home here."

"Thank you, " she mumbled, her voice breaking in the end.

"Go on, don't keep them waiting."

She gave him a small nod and turned around to walk away towards her new family. I was happy for her, I really was. I hoped that they'd treat her well, but it sucked to know that this might be the last time I saw her.

When she had almost reached the door, she suddenly turned around and took off running in my direction. When she reached me, she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Thank you." I heard her muffled voice, and I slowly lifted my arms to hug her back.

"Why?" I murmured.

"For always being there." Her arms tightened around me and I heard a small sob escape her. "I'll miss you."

Shit. It shouldn't be this hard.

I allowed myself to hold onto her for a little longer, before I gently untangled myself from her grip and her big brown eyes, filled with tears, focused on me.

I gave her the best smile I could muster and tweaked her little button nose, "Wherever you go, be brave. Be strong. Be safe."

She gave me a jerky nod and then within a few minutes, she was gone.