As I exhaled, I noticed the smoke like air slowly disappear from my view. My theory was, any place that I could see my breath was a place too cold for me.
Lucky Australia didn't get too cold apart from it's winters. But then again, people from places like America probably thought our winters where like hot summer days. That always used to confuse me.
I fiddled with my ring that was resting on my index finger, twisting it back and forth and admiring the silver as it captured the moon light coming through the window. I smiled slightly as I thought about the thick silver band that I had not taken off of my hand since I was 6 years old.
When it was given to me, my fingers where as skinny as noodles and the only finger I could get it to stay on was my thumb.
My father found it on a beach and I remember being set on the idea that it belonged to a pirate, and that it was hundreds of years old.
I guess no one thought to mention to me that it had a company signature engraved on the inside of it. From what I know now, pirates didn't do that. But then again if someone was to try and bring it up, I would have just shut them down. My imagination was everything but tame.
I slumped back down in the airport waiting room, pulling the sleeves of my jumper down to cover my shy, and cold fingers. I was one of the only people in the airport, my small sized suitcase and two carry on bags occupying the chairs next to me.
"Skylar?" I was torn from my thoughts as a woman stood in front of me. "You probably don't recognise me, the last time you even saw me was-"
"My parents funeral," I cut her off standing up. Her eyes widened slightly at how straightforward I was, but she recovered quickly.
I really didn't want to come across rude. I might not have seen my aunt in around 6 years but she was still my aunt and still I loved her. I just knew that if I let her finish what she was going to say, we would now be having an awkward conversation about my parents. She would come up with a series of deep and moving questions that I would answer with one or two words. She would then assume that I was going to cry considering my short responses and she would try to comfort me. Everything would be completely awkward and quite frankly, I could tell that neither one of us needed it. I simply destroyed a bullet that I would have had to dodge anyway.
"I didn't think you would considering it was nearly 6 years ago," she said sadly and I nodded.
"I remember you Aunty Liz," I replied softly and she nodded a small smile etched upon her mouth.
She reached forward to take one of my bags and then we walked out of the empty airport and towards her car. We drove in silence for a few minutes before she brought up the topic that I could see coming.
"This isn't going to be like the foster families," she said choosing her words carefully, as if I was going to shatter any minute. "This is permanent and we are actual family."
"Thankyou for this," I mumbled, truly grateful that she was taking me into her home.
"It's fine, I'm just sorry we didn't take you in sooner, that way maybe you could both be here."
As she said this, my body tensed up and I turned to focus on the buildings as we drove past them. With only a mention of anything to do with my little brother, I could cry a river.
"It's not your fault," I mumbled not trusting my voice enough to project my voice. I felt Liz look over at me as I fiddled with the ring on my finger yet again. Habbit?
"Do you remember your cousin?" She thankfully changed the subject, I looked over at her like she was crazy. "Right, silly me. Of course you remember your cousin, you two where inseparable." I smiled as she pulled up on a drive way that I assumed led to the house. We where eleven years old when we last saw each other, I really hope things where relatively the same. But then again how where things supposed to be the same, eleven year olds are stupid and immature.
