Soon after leaving home, Adora had finished her four years of Etherian community collage. Her parents were critical, but Adora didn't mind. She needed a break from stuffy prep schools anyway. The time seemed to fly by, Adora's grief becoming a bit more manageable each day. Her major was in sociology, and now becoming a family social worker.
She cried while reading her potential cases. The details of physical examinations were nauseating, the psych evaluations the stuff of nightmares. But to Adora, the worst part was seeing photos of the children.
Their eyes gleamed with both deep sadness and unforgettable joy.
A beautiful zest for life.
They all reminded her of Catra, one way or another.
Every single one.
Her current case was Ivy, a talkative little girl with strawberry-blonde pigtails. Adora listened to her babble endlessly as she picked her up from kindergarten. It seemed like a pretty average day until Ivy went dead quiet in her cart seat.
"Ivy, are you okay?" Adora cautioned.
"My friend wants to talk to you," Ivy whispered.
Adora rolled her eyes. Ivy had a dozen imaginary friends. At least.
"And which friend is this?" Adora asked in her most condescending voice.
"Catra."
Adora chuckled in disbelief.
This had to be a joke.
How could she have heard about her?
Who told her?
"What's her name?" Adora insisted.
"Catra, I just told you silly!" Ivy erupted into a fit of giggles.
Adora took a deep breath. If she got distracted, she would crash, she pulled over.
"And what does our friend Catra have to tell me?" Adora asked hopefully.
Ivy clumsily looked through her small backpack and pulled out a tiny square of paper. Adora took it from her.
Adora looked at the print. It couldn't have been Ivy. It really was Catra's writing.
The red ink glistened in the light.
Goodbye, Adora.
Adora gasped as Ivy shook her from tears.
"Miss! Miss!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Do you like it?"
Adora dried her face. "Yes Ivy, thank you."