When Trees Talk

Prologue

  Freya Idoya was no stranger to foster homes, although this time Mrs. Green told her that the person, she was going home with was her biological grandmother.
  Mrs. Green was the founder of Newlight Children's Home in the small town of Abita Springs, Louisiana. Freya had been in between foster homes and Newlight since she was three years old, she knew how it went.
  This time however, she was being told that her new home was permanent. Freya was supposed to be over the moon about this amazing news but all she could think to herself was 'Why hadn't my grandmother come for me sooner? Why leave me here while knowing I'm alone and lost?'  Freya was angry more than anything and couldn't seem to make sense of why her supposed grandmother would leave her own granddaughter to grow up in an orphanage.
  Ever since her parents passed when she was only a year old, Freya knew nothing but this town and those whom resided in it. She never found out how her parents passed, all she was told was that it was a tragic incident, something a young girl should not worry herself about. Although Freya was no longer a child, but a beautiful young woman at seventeen years old, still no one would tell her what had happened. She had tried to find out as much as she could but each search ended in disappointment.
  "You're getting adopted?" Freya heard a familiar voice from behind her ask. She turned to see the only true friend she had made during her time at the orphanage, Roman Alder. Roman was a handsome young man whom was a year older than herself, with dark brown wavy hair twisting in awkward wisps around his eyes and ears. He had these faded blue eyes which made them look grey on occasion and a small freckle just below the right corner of his bottom lip, Roman was much taller than Freya to the point where if he stood next to her the top of her head would only barely reach his broad shoulders.
  Freya had met Roman when they were only five and six years old, she was running through the dimly lit halls of Newlight looking for her stuffed blue rabbit who she called Thumper. As she was running and crying looking high and low, behind book shelves in the library and under tables in the play room, she bumped into a boy with faded blue eyes who said, "Who are you?" to which Freya replied, "d-did you see a blue rabbit?" while trying to hold back tears and breathing heavily, completely ignoring the young boys question.

  "a blue rabbit? Rabbits aren't blue" the boy said laughing, but quickly stopping when he had realized that Freya was crying once again. "I'm sorry I didn't want to make you cry" said the boy, nervously shifting his weight while looking at Freya who was now wiping her eyes and shaking her head.
  "It's not you, and it's not a real rabbit"
  "I'll help you look for your rabbit! I'm, Roman" the boy said grinning in an attempt to make Freya smile, and she did softly "I'm, Freya."
  Eventually the two children found Thumper, he had fallen between Freya's bed and the wall in her room.
  Freya found out that Roman was not an orphan but he came that day with his father looking for a missing child of a family friend, although Freya had never met Roman's father, she knew Roman did not like him very much. They had been friends ever since.
  "uh...I think so" Freya replied, shrugging.
  "That's amazing, Frey!" Roman pulled her into an embrace as she rolled her eyes before pulling away .
  "you don't get it, Roman"
  "woah! Roman? What happened to Ro?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
  "I'm sorry it's just...this is serious. That woman adopting me..." Freya scowled, while turning to usher in the direction of Mrs. Green, her long grey hair tucked into a neat bun and she wore a velvet fitted royal blue suit, the skirt of the suit stopping just below her pale boney knees where a pair of black pumps covered her frail vein covered feet. Freya's grandmother was barely visible due to Mrs. Green's tall slender figure that towered over the woman.
  "she's my grandmother" Freya continued.
  "Holy shit. You mean this whole time you've had a grandmother and she never came to get you?" Roman practically yelled in a whisper.
  "yes. That's why I don't trust her. Or this. Whatever this is" Freya was everything but excited, she had so many questions.
  "Freya, come here please" Mrs. Green called from the end of the hallway.
  Freya looked up at Roman who shrugged before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in then exhaling as she walked towards the two women. Mrs. Green stepped aside and Freya stopped abruptly.
  "HOLY SHIT!" Roman exclaimed, from behind her.
  Holy shit is right, Freya thought to herself. Her grandmother didn't look a day over thirty, the woman had long red hair, much like her own hair, but it looked almost too good. The woman's hair fell in perfect auburn waves down to her lower back. She wore a forest green dress with a white trim but, unlike Mrs. Green's skirt, her dress stopped just above her knees. The sleeves of the dress fell below her shoulders and her skin was pale. Again, unlike Mrs. Green, this woman's skin was not the kind of pale that would make a person look sick or near death, in fact her skin was the type of pale that seemed to be almost porcelain. As if touching her would break her. Her feet covered by plain white canvas shoes which matched her white crocheted handbag. The woman's face and shoulders were covered in faint freckles and she had bright green eyes, again much like Freya's, which were gleaming with joy.
  The woman laughed and said, "I've had many things said to me regarding what I look like for my age, but that has to be a first." Freya looked back again at Roman who still seemed to be stunned in place before looking back at the woman and making the rest of the way towards her.
  "Freya, this is your grandmother who I informed you about earlier" Mrs. Green ushered.
  "I'm, Eleanor" The woman said, opening her arms to embrace Freya.
  "I-uh...I'm, Freya" Eleanor lowered her arms and nodded while smiling acceptingly.
  "I know sweetheart, I'm sure you have a lot of questions" Eleanor said, as if reading Freya's thoughts from a few moments ago.
  "Well, I'll let you two talk before Freya packs her things to get ready for Ireland" Mrs. Green nodded while walking away.
  "IRELAND?" both Roman and Freya exclaimed, in unison.
  "Yes dear" Eleanor nodded, "you'll love it I'm almost sure of it."
  "How am I supposed to see Frey? How? Where in Ireland?" what?..." Roman said, jogging up to the two women.
  "Is this your boyfriend, Freya?" Eleanor asked.

  "What?! No!" the two said, again in unison while looking at one another.

  "This is Roman, my best friend." Freya stated "Roman A-"
  "Roman! Just Roman" Roman interrupted, then saw Eleanor's confused look while explaining, "I don't get along well with my family so I don't particularly like to be associated with the family name."
  Freya looked at him with sympathy as Eleanor nodded, "Well, 'Just Roman Freya's best friend' I can't tell you where in Ireland due to personal reasons, but I can give you the address of a post office in the town of Kenmare."
  "But-"Freya started.
  "I'm sorry, Freya, I'll explain everything later but you have to trust me" Eleanor shook her head apologetically.
  "I don't even know you. How can I trust you?" Freya looked at Eleanor with disdain.
  "You have to trust me. I'll tell you everything. Even the things you want to know about your parents" Eleanor smiled faintly, trying to get through to Freya...and she had. Her parents? Freya thought to herself, this is what she's wanted her whole life. An answer to everything.   Roman looked at Freya pleadingly before she took his hand.
  "Give us a minute to say our goodbye's?" Freya suggested, as Eleanor nodded in agreement.
  "take all the time you need dear."
  Freya led Roman into the dining room where they were out of earshot of Eleanor.
  "Goodbye's? You can't be fucking serious, Frey!" Roman jerked his hand away while looking at Freya with glossy eyes. His eyebrows furrowed in agony and Freya knew his heart was shattering just as her own was.
  "Ro, I have to go...she's, my grandmother. She knows things about my parents, she knew them! I have to find out what happened. What they were like. She's family. She- "
  "Family that left you here for thirteen fucking years! And only shows up now? Why? Why show up now? I've been here, Frey! Me! I'm your fucking family! I love you, Frey! I- "Roman couldn't hold it in any longer, he collapsed onto the dark brown wooden floors of the dining room sobbing digging his fingernails into the knees of his dark washed jeans, his knuckles turning white.
  Freya knelt down in front of him "I love you too, Ro, I'll come back... I promise" Freya's face felt hot as tears made their way down her cheeks and onto her lap. 

  Her chest felt tight and her throat was on fire as Roman pulled her into his strong embrace, she wrapped her arms around Roman tightly burying her fingers into his sides and hiding her face into the dip of his neck while they both cried and she whispered, shakily "I promise I'll come back."