Secret in the Heart ||Descendants|| (♡Ben)

25

As Kara stepped out of the Chip Shoppe, her gaze fell upon two small children huddled together in a corner. They looked no older than ten. A sigh escaped her as she thought about Uma's demand for the wand. Uma's desire to free the Isle wasn't entirely unjustified; Kara knew firsthand the harshness of life there. She had been one of those children, forced to sleep on the streets because she had no family or because her family had rejected her.

Kara's voice trembled as she began to sing softly, her eyes brimming with tears:

"Some kids have and some kids don't
And some of us are wondering why
Why won't we get out of here
There's too much stuff that's making us cry."

Her mind drifted back to the year her father disappeared, and she was evicted from her home. The memory of the man who had thrown her out was vivid. He claimed ownership of the house and, despite her protests, he had slapped her and ordered her to leave. The house didn't belong to him, but he took satisfaction in knowing she couldn't return.

"We need some help
Here on the Isle
A thousand prayers, a million words
But no one was heard."

Kara remembered crying in a dark alley that night, feeling utterly abandoned. The man's cruel face had haunted her ever since. She had vowed to find him one day and make him pay for his actions, but he had vanished without a trace.

"A house, a yard, a neighborhood
Where you can ride your new bike to school
A kinda world where mom and dad
Still believe the golden rule."

For that entire year of solitude, Kara had dreamed of a different life—one where she had a stable home, went to a good school, and had parents who welcomed her back each day. Her dreams began to change when she met Jay, and her path took a different turn.

"Life's not that simple
Here on the Isle
A thousand prayers, a million words
But no one was heard."

Eventually, Maleficent had taken her in after much persuasion, seeing something in Kara that made her worthy of a place in their home. It wasn't an easy life; Kara had been relegated to the less desirable chores, like cleaning the toilets. Yet, she found solace in the fact that it was better than living on the streets. Here, she had food, a bed, and the ability to shower—luxuries she hadn't known in her time of solitude.

Kara stood there, her thoughts swirling as she looked at the two children huddled in the corner. The pain and regret she felt for not doing more for the Isle's children weighed heavily on her.

"One voice
One simple word
Hearts know what to say
One dream can change the world
Keep believing till you find your way."

Reflecting on how meeting Jay had transformed her life for the better, Kara felt a deep sense of gratitude. Without Jay, she might have succumbed to the harshness of life on the Isle, with no one to remember her. Jay had given her a chance for a better life, and she owed him everything.

Her gaze swept over the other children on the Isle, who, like her, had no one to turn to. Kara knew she had been fortunate to find someone who cared for her, but there were so many more like her who needed help. She remembered how she had turned her back on the Isle's children when she got caught up in her own problems after the coronation party.

"Just today, not long ago
I saw a man give kids some bread
He pulled the bread from his bag
And tossed it to the kids on the street."

The memory of the man sharing bread with the children brought a smile to Kara's face. It was a rare act of kindness on the Isle, and the Isle needed more people like him. Kara knew she could be one of those people. She needed to get Ben back and persuade him to help bring more children out of the Isle. They deserved a better life, even if it meant enduring more of the Isle's challenges herself.