Boston: Twenty-one years ago...
An awful smell finally coaxes her eyes to flutter open. Thick black smoke clouds the air making her lungs wheeze and cough in protest. She lunges forward but the strap across her chest keeps her tied against the backseat.
"Mommy?" She coughs out for her mother, but her voice is barely audible passed her dry lips. There's a feeling she doesn't quite understand stirring in her chest, but she is all too aware that she doesn't like the sensation. "Daddy?" She calls out, but the only sound she hears is a sizzling or maybe it's a hissing noise.
She rubs her tiny fists against her eyes, hoping to clear away the foggy sight. Her blurred vision refocuses, discovering her mother's long black hair is in disarray as her head leans toward the center of the car.
"Mommy!" She tries again while stretching her hand as far forward as the seatbelt will allow.
Her tiny hand pats her chest where the belt is keeping her contained. Her mother always made her promise never to remove her seatbelt unless her father or mother granted her permission. She thinks long and hard if this occasion is different because her parents aren't answering her.
"Daddy?" She calls out again.
Her voice breaks on his simple little name. Hot tears are forming quickly in her eyes, but she's far too young to hold them back. One after another the warm liquid burns a path down her cheeks.
That sensation she hates claws at her chest again, provoking her hand to press the little red button to free her from the seatbelt. The sound of her door popping open, catches her attention, forcing her to leap into the center console toward her unconscious parents.
"Mommy, wake up," she cries as more tears stream uncontrollably down her face. "Daddy, please!"
"Little girl, please come here. I need to get you out of here. It's not safe," some stranger calmly states but she ignores the woman.
"Mommy!" She lifts her mother's head to discover a sight she will never be free from, for as long as she lives.
Her mother's face is covered in thick red blood. She stares aimlessly at her tiny hands that are stained in her mother's blood. She's frozen in place, her little body is too young to endure this type of trauma.
"Little girl! Please come here!" The strange woman pleads desperately in an attempt to save the young girl from the horrific sight.
"Mommy! Please wake up!" She cries once again.
She is begging and pleading with anyone to listen to her frantic cries. She needs to hear her mother's voice again. She just wants to go back to this morning when her mother hugged and kissed her when she placed her into the backseat of the car. She just wants to see her father's warm eyes and soft smile that always makes her feel safe.
All her thoughts are forced out of her mind once she feels a strong set of arms wrap around her. Someone's tearing her away from the car, away from her parents.
The young girl shrieks out in agony for her parents but the person is refusing to loosen their hold. The frantic child claws at the headrest, where her father's lifeless head remains. She screams on the top of her lungs and kicks her little legs, pleading with the person not to take her away.
"Little girl," the woman kindly coos as she holds the distraught child against her chest, desperately trying to calm her broken heart.
"My name's Regina!" The child cries out, furious at this woman for prying her away when she needs to save her parents.
"Regina, ssshhhh," the stranger drags her away, whispering soothing words into her ear until she can no longer fight the five year old any longer.
The woman collapses to the hard pavement with Regina fighting against her body. The five year old flails about until an earth shattering explosion erupts from the car she was just torn away from.
Regina stops her fighting, her tears running dry as her eyes lock onto the red fiery flames. Her heart actually stops beating when she feels the heat colliding painfully into her skin. She's far enough away to be safe but she still feels the burn against her, even if it is only in her mind.
The car is distorted from the flames rippling against the air. Another ear piercing explosion bursts, inspiring the strange woman to cover Regina's big brown eyes and pull her even further from the fire.
"You're okay Regina. You're going to be okay."
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Regina's soot infested shoes connect with the pavement below. The not so nice lady packed a small bag for her but wouldn't allow Regina back inside her own home. Now she's stuck with these shoes that haunt her everyday. She hardly has enough clothing to make it through one week and they didn't even allow her to bring a blanket or teddy bear.
"Come along dear," the cold woman instructs, persuading Regina's little feet to follow behind.
The old woman with gray hair, slicked back into a bun is not Regina's favorite person. Every time the mean old lady speaks, Regina's tiny face scowls with nothing but hate. It could also be the horrible stench that lingers around the old hag that turns Regina's nose up in distaste.
The car door slams behind her, scaring Regina into submission. The five year old scurries her little feet until she's walking beside the nasty woman. Regina peers up at the tall building that might as well be Rapunzel's tower, in her eyes, even though it's just a simple two story home. The poor child trembles violently as they approach the brick building far too fast for Regina to adjust.
The woman opens the front door and ushers little Regina inside. "This way," she instructs as Regina's eyes scan over the simple foyer.
They walk down one long hallway until they reach a sliding glass door that opens up to a backyard. A few children are playing on a rickety wooden play set while another woman keeps watch.
"Move along Regina," the cold woman orders, kick starting Regina's feet once again.
"Miss Charlotte," the other woman calls out to the nasty woman who's hand is now resting on Regina's shoulder. The little girl grimaces once again from the unwanted touch but refrains from saying a word. "How are you today?" The younger woman questions as she reaches out to shake Miss Charolette's hand.
This new woman with short red hair and bright blue eyes smiles kindly at Regina, slightly settling the young girl's anxious nerves. She's dressed in a flowing sundress imprinted with sunflowers and a pair of white plain sneakers.
"You must be Regina, welcome." The woman bends down to meet Regina's wary gaze. "I'm Miss Katie and you're going to be spending some time at my house."
Regina just stares at the kind woman, not moving one muscle in her face to express anything she may be feeling. Blue eyes shift toward the nasty woman but she doesn't really care for her job to offer the younger woman any assistance. Miss Katie looks back at Regina and offers the child her best smile.
"Would you like to see your room?" Regina blinks. Her big brown eyes numb from the trauma she endured only yesterday. Regina blinks again. "Miss Charlotte will you please keep an eye on the other children, while I show Regina around."
"Of course," she curtly answers before Miss Katie guides Regina back into the house.
The little girl walks through the new house the old woman brought her to in a daze. She doesn't acknowledge the kind woman's words or the rooms she is pointing out. Regina's too lost in the burning flames that haunt the back of her mind.
Miss Katie opens a door and waits for Regina to take a step in. When the small child doesn't make a move forward, the red haired woman crosses the threshold first but something catches her eye and Regina is no longer her concern.
"Emma, you don't want to play outside with the other kids?"
Something stirs deep in the pit of Regina's stomach, forcing her eyes to tear away from the ground to discover blonde wavy locks blocking her view from this, Emma.
The other little girl is sitting crisscrossed upon her bed, picking at a white blanket as she stares endlessly at the soft ends. She shakes her head, sending those waves of golden tresses to sway all around her face.
"Okay, you don't have to." Miss Katie kindly states as she moves closer to Emma's bed. "There is a new little girl that will be staying with us for awhile." Emma peeks through her long blonde hair, instantly grasping Regina's attention because she's never seen such bright green eyes before. "She's your age, her name is Regina." Miss Katie gestures toward the shy brown eyed girl lingering in the hallway.
"Hi," Emma murmurs but instantly drops her gaze back down to her blanket, her prized possession.
Regina doesn't bother speaking to the other little girl. Why should she? Anyone she seems to come in contact with disappears from her life, so why would this time be any different?
"I believe you two have a lot in common," Miss Katie draws out her statement, hinting toward some unknown secret that bother girls are too young and naive to understand. "Regina would you like to play outside and meet the other children?"
The raven haired little girl is shrinking before Miss Katie's very eyes. If Regina's play time super power would actually work, she would make herself disappear from this very spot.
"Alright Regina this is your bed," the redhead points to the bottom of an old bunk bed.
There's already a simple beige pillow case and a blue comforter that Regina knows has been used by other children as unfortunate as she. Miss Katie fluffs the old worn out pillow before she makes her way back toward the small child cowering into the doorframe.
"I'll be up to check on you two in a little bit," the woman informs the children before her white sneakers pass by Regina's watchful eye.
Regina doesn't move. The poor child hardly breathes as her eyes stay glued to the floor as if the floorboards may break apart and swallow her whole.
Emma takes a chance and peeks up at the other little girl. She's ready to cast her eyes back toward her favorite blanket but Regina isn't looking at her like most children do. So, the blonde takes this opportunity to study the other little girl. She cocks her head to the side and wonders if a family sent her back, just like the last couple did to her.
Regina can sense the other girl's intense gaze, so she snaps her head up in annoyance and glares at Emma, instantly causing the blonde to turn her attention back toward the soft white strings. Regina huffs and stomps her feet toward her bed. She climbs onto the bottom bunk and brings her knees to her chest, despite her dirty shoes laying on her clean bed.
Emma fiddles with her blanket refusing to make eye contact with the new mean girl. Nobody else talks to her here anyways, she can handle one more child treating her like a ghost. Emma was born with thick skin, this won't break her. Not much does.
Regina rocks herself gently in her new bed, hating the blue comforter. Come on lady, she's clearly a girl, she thinks to herself. She hates how dirty her shoes are. She wants her mom to scrub them clean like she always did after playing in the mud. She just wants to go home. She would give anything to see her mom and dad just one more time.
Neither girl makes a move until they are called down to dinner. Regina watches the blonde as she begins setting the table with forks and napkins, working diligently on autopilot. An older boy, maybe nine years old, pushes passed Regina to make his way to refrigerator, causing the raven haired beauty to cower in her spot once again. She's unsure of where to stand or what she should be doing right now as everyone else works around her.
Another girl much older than Emma and Regina helps Miss Katie fill the plates with food, while a younger boy, runs to a seat that must be just for him. Regina's eye are flicking back and forth watching the chaos unravel around her. She was an only child, she is not accustomed to this kind of stampede of children.
A tall scrawny man with jet black hair and thick framed glasses makes his appearance in the kitchen of abnormally loud people. He leans forward and places a kiss against Miss Katie's cheek, causing the woman to smile shyly in return.
"Charlie sit down nice in your seat," the man states firmly but he's still holding a warm smile, that tells Regina that he is safe. He slides into the seat next to the little boy and turns his attention toward the bashful girl in the corner of the room. "Well you must be Regina?" He waits for an answer he knows will never come, this isn't his first skittish foster child they have taken in. "Well I'm Miss Katie's husband, Michael." He flashes the girl a genuine smile and points to a seat, two chairs over from little Charlie. "You are more than welcome to sit there."
Regina watches intently as Emma walks passed her with her head down. She climbs into the chair next to Charlie and fiddles with the edge of the table. Regina doesn't make a move so Michael turns his head away, understanding she doesn't want all the attention on her. If and when she is ready, she will come on her own.
"The seat next to Emma is open," he reassures her one last time before he helps little Charlie cut up his dinner.
Miss Katie sets down two plates, one for Emma and one for Regina, if she ever decides to cave and claim the vacant seat next to Emma. The brunette notices how Emma is eyeballing what should be her plate, not her own. Regina's eyes are glued to the blonde who watches Katie and Michael make their way to the stove to make their own plates while the other children sit down in their seats.
Regina is suddenly side tracked from Emma when two hands reach out toward her plate. The older girl snatches Regina's dinner roll while the older boy steals her chicken leg. The brunette is absolutely stunned by the theft occurring on her dinner plate.
"That's-" Regina begins but the older boy glares at her with a fierce snarl that snaps her mouth shut.
Brown eyes drift to the golden locks hiding the little girl. Emma's head his hanging low as she hovers greedily over her plate. Regina stands uncomfortably behind the chair she's suppose to be sitting in.
"Regina sweetie, please take a seat," Miss Katie kindly requests but the pressure from being in a new home is far too much for the little girl.
Regina's filthy shoes take off running, bolting up the stairs to the room she was told is now hers to share. Her bedroom. The little girl throws her self recklessly against the hard mattress below. Her tiny face buries into the flat pillow, that indefinitely has captured too many tears to count over the years.
Regina finally allows all her walls to come crashing down. She cries and heaves, screaming out all her pain and frustrations since her parent's untimely death. She's unsure how long her breakdown is going on for before she's interrupted.
There's a small creek in the floorboards, informing her that someone is entering the room. The brunette instantly stops her tears as if someone flipped a switch in the back of her mind. She's too embarrassed to face the person who has so rudely interrupted her meltdown.
Regina can feel the person growing closer. She can even feel the warmth of the unknown person's arm as it stretches near her pillow, but never touches her. The sounds of a squeaky bed from across the room echoes in Regina's ear. She takes this has her opportunity to see who has accompanied her in this lonely room.
Regina slowly lifts her tear soaked face to find a dinner roll resting upon her pillow. The little girl is no fool, she wouldn't allow someone else to come along and steal her food again. She scrambles to her knees and snatches the roll before it runs off. The brunette folds her legs and hunches her shoulders over while she inhales the small roll. Her stomach grumbles into the deafening silence, informing her that she is hungrier than she could have ever dreamed of.
Regina takes a chance and allows her eyes to drift to the little blonde sitting on her bed, blanket in hand. Emma doesn't acknowledge the fact that someone is staring her down. Instead, she curls into the fetal position as she falls to her side.
Regina decides to follow Emma's lead and curls into a tiny ball. The moment her head hits the crappy pillow, her eyes fall closed, too heavy to fight against the ever pending exhaustion.
Emma wakes sometime in the middle of the night from soft whimpers that won't quit. She knows by now that Charlie is too little to truly understand what's happening around him. Trevor's too mean to actually have a nightmare, dreams actually run away from him. While there's no possible way she can hear Tonya's cries from down the hall. That leaves one person.
Emma carefully slips out of her bed, security blanket in hand and tip toes toward the bottom bunk. There's enough moon light illuminating the bedroom for the young girl to navigate her way without tripping or bumping into anything.
Emma bends down, coming face to face with the new girl. She notices right away that the pillow is soaked, she thinks it could be from Regina's tears streaming down her face or the liquid could be from her sweat from the nightmare she is facing right now.
The blonde watches Regina carefully, but only for a moment before the crying little girl flings forward in her bed. She's heaving and gasping for air as she cries even harder. Emma doesn't say one word, instead she hands Regina her blanket and crawls into the bed next to her. Regina stiffens at first still shaken by her nightmare and not yet familiar with her new surroundings.
That's okay though, because Emma's been there before. She knows the heartache and pain of being abandoned. She comprehends at the young age of five, how those haunting thoughts never really go away. She can relate to the fear of being brushed off into another new home without an adult batting an eye of concern.
Regina's tears come to a screeching halt as she eyes the blonde suspiciously. Emma places the soft woven blanket in Regina's lap and begins humming. Regina doesn't quite understand what is happening, but she doesn't move to stop the other little girl either.
The soft melody Emma is humming is almost inaudible, but she's so close. Regina not only hears the sound, but feels the comforting vibrations from Emma's throat. Neither one says a word as they both lay back down and Emma continues to croon her lullaby.
Regina subconsciously brings the soft blanket to her chest and holds on for dear life as Emma soothes her pain. Emma's too young to fully understand her kind act, she just knows in her heart this feels like the right thing to do.
For as long as Regina will live, she will never forget the soft melody from Emma that will forever soothe her nightmares.