Be Brave

Tears and An Empty Promise Part 2

She returned to her chair by the window in her bedroom, the book she carelessly abandoned was laying on the floor wide open to the page she was not paying attention to last, causing the spine to crinkle.

When she looked out she was almost startled to see that Miss Kylie was gazing up at her. The old woman's stare was so unsettling to Amara that she had to turn away from its intensity. 

She really tried to focus on the book.It was an adventure story that was consistently peppered with romances involving the protagonist, which sometimes made Amara feel lonesome and bored. Like she was forced to face her own pathetic reality for once; until today that is. Today was finally her day to go out. She slammed the book shut, not needing to read about a fictional character's love life because as she reminded herself, today was her day for said adventures and starting her own trip. And maybe have my own romance...

She walked to her closet, grabbed all her clothes from the hangers and dresser drawers and tossed them on the bed beside the suitcase and started folding them neatly. She frequently enjoyed talking to herself to pass the time away, and because it made her feel less secluded.

Since none of the other girls were close to her age, she needed someone relatively mature to talk to, even if it was just to herself. So, she started a conversation with herself.

"What else should I bring? What else? Let's see, let's see."

"OH! Don't forget your shoes!"

"Oh, you're absolutely right, me!" she softly laughed to herself and walked briskly back to her closet to snatch up both pairs of shoes.

I'd have less to pack if I wore one of them. And I'm not wearing any now. And you can't go walking around out in the real world without shoes on. The boots would be better, and sandals take up less space. But I hate wearing shoes in general. And sandals feel more relaxing, comfortable... But I think I'll wear the boots anyways.

Her inner monologue was going back and forth, trying to decide.

She grabbed a pair of warm, wool socks and sat in her chair to begin lacing up the thickly soled shoes on her feet. The smooth material felt cool on her skin at first, yet unruly and stiff when she would try to wiggle her toes. She didn't get the chance to wear them yet, so they hadn't been broken in.

When the shoes were on, she stomped around the room, trying to get used to them. She quickly packed up the last of her things, including a few of her photos she thought of at the last minute and closed the suitcase and walked out of her room, hopefully for the last time.

As she descended the stairs, she had no choice but to pass by all the faded vintage photographs on the walls. It was inevitable, there were so many of them. Most that were at the top of the stairs were extremely old from a long time ago and faded to the point they almost looked white from many years spent in the sunlight. The girls in them wore similar styles of clothing as her. She took a moment to look at each and every one of the frames of faded faces on the wall, trying to commit to memory every little detail she could cram. She found one with Miss Kylie in it when she was a little girl.

Miss Kylie was never an orphan or left here, she had told Amara once before, that her great- great- great- grandmother, the original owner, opened the orphanage and ever since it had been passed down the line until finally it reached Kylie's mom and dad and then to her. But Miss Kylie has no living family and she herself never had kids, so it made Amara wonder what would happen to this place and the girls when the old crone passed away; if she ever did, but Amara was almost positive the woman was lying about her age by about a hundred years or so. For as long as she's known Kylie, the woman had never seemed to age a single day and yet she's always looked so old. So how is it possible?