The village party hosted by Leanne couldn't come any sooner for Sarah. After a long and loud night of opera, Sarah had had her dosage of high society for the week. Unfortunately for her, she was the party's main course. It was a way of welcoming the orphans to a tight community such as this one. Luckily for the girls, it was a casual clothing kind of festivity; nothing fancy.
As every village party is given, it is always held at the community hall, in the middle of town beside the church. Such events allowed the children and adults to interact with each other whether with someone of the same age or not. The alcohol was provided but under strict surveillance. Even though most teenagers had a fake ID, they were not able to get alcohol beverage since everybody knew everybody. The music was leaned more to the classical and jazz types which didn't really bother the children since they had been exposed to it all their lives.
Sunny, as usual was running around helping prepare the room for guest. She was so excited about meeting new people it was impossible for her to be still. Even though there were workers paid to prepare, they accepted Sunny to spend the day helping simply to let her steam all that energy out of her. It was normal for twelve years old children to have energy but Sunny seemed to be radiating out of it. The fact that everything was new to the little Japanese girl and that the environment was safe for her to be herself added wood to the already burning fire.
Leanne felt bad for dropping Sunny at the community hall with the employees but she had never dealt with a hyper active child before. Her family members were quite calm even Ben who was a level headed thirteen year old boy. Maybe that was why Ben and Sunny got along so well; a calm boy in need of energy and an active child in need to keep her two feet on the ground. Leanne was extremely glad to see Sunny active. It showed her that it had been a good idea to bring them here. She had seen Sunny's evolution bloom like a flower during spring; from a scared girl who could barely look at Leanne in eyes and too afraid of speaking or moving without permission to a girl confident of herself whose not afraid to make a few mistakes and be able to run around without anybody chasing her. Maybe Sunny had been holding herself for so long that years of withheld energy needed to come out of her body. Besides, it was too soon for Leanne and Dean to scold her for being herself. The girls have only been in their lives for a month, everyone was still adjusting.
People were beginning to arrive; parents with their children, teenagers in groups. Sunny came running to the door and stood beside Sarah who arrived with the Murray's. She was not even sweaty after an entire day of working.
"Hey one-san" Sunny cheered "Hey guys"
"Sashiko, you better calm down when the guest arrive" Sarah chided pleasantly. She rarely used Sunny's real name; it was only used during a serious moment of time. Saying her real name proved that Sarah was extremely nervous and losing control of her calm exterior. Unknown to everyone else around them except for the two foster sisters, Sarah wanted Sunny to know how she was feeling. The younger of the two smiled warmly and automatically calmed down a notch, understanding that Sarah hated crowds and attention.
"What did you bring me for clothes?" Sunny asked with excitement.
"Well, Ben helped me out with the outfit, I think he should go in fashion" Sarah said as she extended a plastic bag.
"I'm not that good" Ben blushed "Everyone knows that you don't put short shirts with skinny jeans"
"Did you know that Sunny?" Sarah asked surprised. It was mean to make fun of Ben, but they couldn't help it.
"I didn't even know what skinny jeans were" Sunny said. "I thought all jeans were the same. You are my hero Benny"
"Okay, I get it" Ben mumbled as he tried to hide his now red cheeks. "I am going to see my friends now" and with that he darted away as if he was on fire. The girls couldn't help but laughed as they high fived each other.
"You girls are quite a team" Leanne said with a smile.
"Absolutely, I'm glad you are getting along with Ben. The boy is too shy for his own good" Dean added and Leanne couldn't agree more.
Sunny and Sarah excused themselves so that Sunny could change. Carly stayed beside her parents and greeted the guests and Gabe arrived a few minutes later. He went straight for a hug as a greeting.
"Hi beautiful" Gabe said and Carly blushed. She forgot that Gabe didn't know her parents and also forgot to mention him to them. They weren't going out, but they certainly were flirting with each other. After the horrible breakup with her ex, Carly didn't want to rush into things and Gabe has been more than a gentleman about it.
They separated the hug when Dean cleared his throat roughly. Sometimes he loved being a father that allowed him to be overprotective and after the incident at the party with Tommy, he took his paternal job very seriously.
"Dad" Carly exclaimed, completely forgetting he was there. "Dad, this is Gabriel, he's a friend. Gabe these are my parents Dean and Leanne"
Gabe, being himself extended his hand out to shake and gave Dean a shiny white smile "Hello, Mr. Murray, Mrs. Murray. Your daughter has told me a lot about you"
Dean shook his hand and Leanne greeted him with a kiss on each cheek. This was a usual cultural greeting amongst them. "Did she really?" Dean asked. Carly crossed her fingers in hopes that Gabe did not forget what she told him about her dad.
"Yes. I do think that the Canadiens are not doing very well at the moment but, with Gallagher back and Price on his way, they could have a surprising comeback" Gabe said. Carly let out a breath, glad he started to talk about hockey. Dean was a huge fan of the Canadiens of Montreal and was quite angry that they were not performing very well at the moment.
"Son, I couldn't agree more" Dean said as he grabbed Gabe's shoulders and dragged him away to talk about hockey. Gabe looked back and gave Carly an innocent smile before turning his attention to Dean.
"You prepared him well for this" Leanne praised her daughter.
"I had to" Carly said with a smile "but I think I lost him to dad" Leanne laughed.
"Do not worry my dear. He will give him back to you. He has me to complain about the hockey season"
"I thought you didn't like hockey" Carly asked.
"I do not. But it does not stop your father to talk about it does it? I bet if anyone asks me anything about hockey, I will know the answer. It goes with marrying a fan of a sports team"
"I'll keep that in mind", Carly grinned before leaving her mom to find her group of friends having lost Gabe for a good portion of the night.
-
Sunny turned around in her skinny jeans and long dress-shirt. The little girl had fallen in love with sundresses and skirts but because it was a cold winter day, Sarah didn't want to take the risk of making Sunny sick. It didn't matter for Sunny, she just appreciated wearing clothes that actually fit her and were in style.
"How do I look?" Sunny said. She was glowing.
"Beautiful, as always" Sarah said as she twirled Sunny around one more time with her hands.
"You always say that one-san" Sunny pouted.
"And the truth I always say"
Sunny giggled as they made their way out of the bathroom. Just as quickly as Flash, Sunny jumped up and kissed Sarah's cheek before rushing away to see Ben and her new found friends leaving Sarah alone in a sea of strangers. Shaking her head, Sarah walked around aimlessly. She was happy that Sunny found new friends but couldn't help feeling a little sad.
Sunny had been Sarah's reason to live for over three years, it would take a while for her to adjust and find another reason. Sarah felt as if she was in a book; the main character's entire life is based on revenge of a loved one and now that the revenge has been fulfilled there is an emptiness and lack of purpose. No wonder the author finishes the books at that moment because people don't like to read about the downfall of their heroes or the psychological trauma they and the rescued victims undergo afterward.
Now that Sarah's quest of protecting Sunny has been fulfilled, she had become quite loss of what to do next. She never expected finishing her high school, let alone continuing to college and university.
Sarah was getting quite bored. She allowed strangers to talk to her and ask her questions about her past although she was quite good at not answering them with interesting information that would flourish the gossiping. She allowed strangers to look at her, hoping they would get over her soon. Nonetheless, she was more than happy to see her nemesis. Wherever Vivian went, entertainment followed.
"You look even boreder than I do" Sarah said as she sat beside Vivian. They were now seated at a table beside the dance floor.
"Bored-er is not a word" Vivian said dismissively not acknowledging the brown hair girl.
"It is in my dictionary"
"Really? I would love to see your dictionary. Maybe it will explain your lack of good grades in school" Vivian said as she finally turned her attention to her seatmate.
"I don't need a dictionary to know my own words darling. It's called Slang and I know the entire vocabulary, I'm that good. Though I couldn't say the same for you and your dictionary" Sarah smirked when she saw Vivian roll her eyes.
"Casual looks better on you" Vivian said as she turned her attention back to the dance floor. "You don't have that crimpled face like you did yesterday" Sarah was wearing normal dark blue jeans with a white blouse and black sleeveless blazer with two attached buttons. Her hair was tied in a high pony tail showing her nice facial features properly.
"That's because yesterday, the dress was so tight I couldn't breathe" Sarah argued "and this is formal for me"
"If that is formal for you, then what was yesterday?"
"An excessively shiny Victorian era replica"
"You have no appreciation of beautiful clothing" Vivian groaned. They would agree to disagree this time. Sometimes there was no point in arguing with Sarah at all.
"Not really no" Sarah agreed truthfully. "For me, clothes are just something to prevent my body to get cold or be used for anything I don't want to. For me, clothes, like shoes, are meant to be dirty and used. Yesterday, everyone was wearing something that would only be used once in its entire existence. What a waste of time, material and money"
"The clothing you saw yesterday would be reused, even if it is meant to be reduces to shreds, it would still be reused to become something else. Those who create those clothing are inventors and try to create the perfect outfit for everybody. Even you had a perfect dress yesterday. I have the proof" Vivian argued.
"I still can't believe you took a picture of me" Sarah sighed. "Especially when I wasn't aware of it"
"Mrs. Murray wanted a picture. She knew I would make you change. Any person with class would have forced you to change out of that plain thing you were wearing. As for taking it when you were not aware, it was due to the fact you have a disturbing expression when you looked at a camera. It was quite unnerving"
"I was not that bad" Sarah tried to argue but it was probably a lost cause. She knew how she looked. She hated having her picture taken.
"Whatever you say" Vivian was tired of arguing.
Even Sarah agreed that she looked beautiful in the picture although she was too proud to say it. She looked as if she belonged, even though if it were for a moment. Vivian had caught Sarah teaching her aunt Tarla how to sign a few words. Her hands were handsomely intertwined with each other with a relaxed pose. Her shoulders were released of the usual tension Sarah usually had and her smile was genuine. Sarah thought it funny to see a fifty year old lady awkwardly moving her hands to form signs she would forget days later.
"How about rock-climbing?" Sarah announced suddenly making Vivian look at her with a frown.
"Excuse me?"
"This is what we do" Sarah explained pointing at her then Vivian repeatedly "I brought you to the sauna, then you brought me to that dreadful ear killing show and now it's my turn. And as my turn, I decide we are going rock-climbing"
"Are you serious?" Vivian exclaimed startled.
"Very. Come on, it's going to be fun" Sarah said getting excited and sat at the edge of her chair "I miss climbing. I used to do it all the time; fences, buildings, cars. My favorite one was when a mugger tried to assault me but I was faster than him. He had me in cornered in this ally with his hands on his belt and I did this spider-man move where I jumped on the dumpster then used the water pipe to-"
Sarah stopped talking when she saw Vivian's stunned face. Sarah cleared her throat and started again with the original conversation. "Plus you need to have muscles in those spaghetti arms of yours"
"I have muscles, thank you" Vivian growled returning to her normal self.
"I saw your arms. You wouldn't even be able to lift a box without breaking them"
"I used to be a gymnast. I assure you my arms are strong enough"
"Then prove it to me, when we go rock-climbing" Sarah grinned evilly. She had Vivian where she wanted and the latter knew it. The black hair girl knew she had just been caught in Sarah's game. They both knew that Vivian was a proud girl who would not back down to prove herself. Vivian pursed her lips but remained quiet.
"For a girl with no vocabulary, I think I did pretty good at tricking you with words" Sarah laughed and winked. She was so proud of herself. She didn't want Vivian to beat her this time so Sarah dashed away as quickly as she could.
Sarah found Carly and her group of friends. Nim had decided not to come to the party because his parents brought him to a restaurant in Montreal. It was a tradition for the Rodriguez family for them to go out every second weekend.
Sarah sat between Carly and Hanna. She didn't really like Matt simply because he had a crush on her. Everyone could see it and Sarah hated that. She wasn't found of men mostly because of how they acted around her; either they drool or they bully. But she liked Nim; not because he was gay, but because he didn't do anything she didn't like and he was an artist. Sarah even liked Gabe because he was very calm a polite.
"Hey Sarah" Hanna said happily and Sarah returned the greeting.
"What's up?" Sarah asked around. They all shrugged their shoulders and decided to include Sarah in their conversation.
"Sarah, who do you think is stronger: Superman or Thor?" Matt asked.
"Superman, obviously" Carly said and Matt agreed "The only thing that could kill him is Kriptonite"
"I say Thor because he's a God with Godly abs" Hanna said dreamily.
"And because Gods can't die" Gabe finished.
"I would say a Super Saiyan" Sarah said. She didn't want to take part of the conversation but even as she knew both characters, Sunny introduced her to Dragon Ball and she would vouch that San Goku and Vegeta could annihilate the other two. All four screamed and cheered in surprise.
"We totally just got owned" Matt laughed. They weren't expecting Sarah to know Dragon Ball or comics for that matter.
"Sunny loves comic books and mangas. She would read anything in that style every opertunity she got. Plus she would read the synopsis and story on Wikipedia when she couldn't pick up a book"
"That's cheating. You cannot be a guru in the comic world if you read the stories on Wikipedia"
"Let's just say we had more access to internet than a comic book store and the fact that we had no money to buy or rent a comic book" Sarah said honestly. No one responded at that. They would sometimes forget she came from a poor family.
"Anyway, how do you like our village parties?" Carly asked breaking the tension.
"Fine I guess" Sarah replied. She had no idea what to say since she didn't like the party at all. She just wanted to go home but apparently it was not ethical to leave the party since she was part of the hosts' team.
Sarah froze. Home, she thought. Why would the word home to mind when she thought about the Murray Mansion? She had forgotten what home was. Her last one died the day the cops came to get her. It disapeared the day her mother was lost to her. Sarah had found a home in Sunny but they had lived such a hard life they had nowhere to live. She never thought her heart would be open to another place than her childhood house.
"Excuse me, I need some air" Sarah mumbled and ran to the door to get her coat. She couldn't breathe; it felt as if her lungs were squished and felt lightheaded.
Things had gotten more complicated now. Sarah made sure that she had no emotional links whatsoever with anything. Sunny had become an exception and it was already too much for Sarah. Everything that Sarah got attached too got taken away from her and the last thing she wanted was to be attached to the Murray's. She didn't want like them because she knew she would lose them soon one way or another.
"Is everything alright?" a voice asked behind her. Sarah turned around and faced a concern Leanne.
"yeah" Sarah said nervously. Leanne came closer to her and touched her cheeks with her knuckles with affection.
"There is no need to cry" Leanne said trying to understand Sarah's sudden outburst. She had never seen the young girl so vulnerable.
"Fuck" Sarah cursed as she whipped her eyes. She hated crying, it showed weakness. "Nothing's wrong"
"Please talk to me" Leanne begged. She only wanted to comfort her, hug her or do anything that would help the young teenager go through whatever was happening but she felt at a loss.
Sarah started walking down the road and Leanne soon took a step beside her and followed silently. She waited patiently for Sarah to speak her mind.
"Everything I've ever had was ripped away from me" Sarah said quietly. "My mom, my god-mother, my dog. Sunny is the only thing I haven't lost yet and even that takes everything out of me not too. I got so used of having nothing and I made sure it stayed way"
"Why would you want to have nothing?" Leanne asked confused.
"Because if I have nothing, then I can't get hurt of losing anything"
"That is a sad way of thinking"
"It's the only way of thinking" Sarah told Leanne. She stopped walking and turned to face Leanne "I don't want to be attached to anything. I don't want to feel comfortable and I certainly don't want a place called home because if I do, I'm only going to be disappointed. Again"
"I understand" Leanne said sadly. "But please do not stop yourself from feeling what comes your way. Let your heart beat for what it wants"
"My heart broke a long time ago Leanne. I'm not sure I want go through the pain again"
"What is life worth if your heart and soul is not in it?" Leanne asked.
"Gosh, you sound just like my shrink" Sarah scoffed amusingly. "Are you sure you're not in the wrong job department"
"Nope, as you children say these days. I am perfectly happy whit what I am doing now" Leanne laughed slightly. "But I have had my share of suicide victims on my table. I know how they speak and think. All I want is to help you"
"You are relentless" Sarah huffed. She passed a hand over her eyes to try to reduce the forming migraine.
"I am" Leanne replied "I truly hope you will let your emotions guide you. Also, if you ever need a place called home, you know where to find us" Sarah looked at Leanne for any humor or lie but all she saw was sincerity. She didn't know what to say or how to react.
It was official, Leanne was not human but Sarah didn't seem to mind. She wondered if Leanne was going to feel the same about her when she figures out all the things she did. Sarah wanted this feeling of acceptance and belonging to stay and decided not to talk about her past, no matter how tempting it was. The Murray family was the closest thing to a dream come true and Sarah would make sure to stay in the that dream for as long as possible.
"So, do you want to go home?" Leanne asked. It was getting chili and her cheeks were getting sore of all that forced smiles throughout the night. "Dean and the children will find their own way somehow"
"Have I ever told you how weird you are?" Sarah said with a smile and Leanne laughed.
"All the time. I have also learned to take that as a compliment"
It was moments like these that made Sarah determined to hide herself and her past to Leanne. It was moments like these that gave Sarah hope for a future she may never get.
Especially if they find her.