Unknown Happen Stance

Chapter 59: Overconfidence Is Self-Destructive P2

Chapter 59: Overconfidence Is Self-Destructive P2

Musa's Pov
The end of the moth of August arrives, and I'm still here, a ghost haunting the streets near the song wharf. Nearly three months have passed. Three months since the echoes of my father's rage, the splintering of guitars, became the soundtrack to my life. It's the tail end of August now, and the early fall bites with a cold that seeps into my bones. I shiver, longing for a hand to hold, a hug to ward off the encroaching chill, but there is no one. Or so I believe.

Unbeknownst to me, my neighbors have been watching, their concern growing with each passing day. My deliberate avoidance of home hasn't gone unnoticed. Then, she appears, a vision of warmth amidst the encroaching cold. Miss Courtnay, an assistant therapist in training from Zen Counseling Therapy who also owns the music cafe deep in the heart of Melodea, approaches with a cloak. She drapes it over my shoulders, her brown eyes radiating a sympathy that feels foreign, yet comforting.

"My name's Miss Courtnay," she says, her voice gentle. "And you, little lady, it ain't healthy for you live on the streets and starve to death. It's not what your birth Mother would want." Her words strike a chord within me, a reminder of the love I have lost. She opens her arms, an invitation to a hug, a sensation I haven't felt in what seems like an eternity.

And then, she says the words I never dared to dream of, uttered with a mysterious emphasis on each syllable: "Come live with me and pursue your dreams, Miss Musa. I will care for you till you can take care of yourself." The floodgates open. Sobs wrack my small frame, tears, once hot, now run clammy cold down my face.

Courtnay scoops me up, her voice a soothing balm as she begins to sing: "Family should be always there, to shelter and warm you through the rain and winter. Always there to catch you when you stumble and fall. Family..."

"They should be by your side in seconds if you ask it from them. Arms out wide, welcoming you to stay-yyy. Near enough, to listen to your heart's song, a rhythm and tune alone he should have recognized. Healing comes by helping you. So I'll always be there to help you on your way. You'll find your path at last, past dark and gloom." Her lullaby wraps around me, a promise of safety and belonging.

"I hope you see at last,
I'm Family,
Family
Family." Her voice softens, becomes a whisper in my ear. "A whisper in my heart made me come.
A voice of merciful pity commanded so,
From within it did not come.
But a fire in my heart wouldn't settle till I approached you.

A power stronger than the burn of stars, up above in the sky above, told me your need is me.
A mother to love you when
I know I can't replace your birth Mom, but I can do what she was unable To begin to,
Helping Heal you since she was taken so abruptly from you."

I cling to her, a lifeline in a sea of despair.

"Let me be your Family,
Family,
Family,
Family..." Her song continues, a gentle reassurance. "What is a family? I knew you are asking that now.
Caring and devoted hearts beating with empathy driven purpose
Strong as the glow of ten million fireflies in tbe air
With endless love to give and share!
Love that should follow you Everywhere!"

"Always there, To shelter you from the rain in fall.
Always there to keep you, Warm in shelter from the cold of winter.
What is Family?! Arms out wide,
To welcome you to stay!
Right by your side, Near enough
To listen to your heart's song,
A rhythm and tune, He alone should have recognized."

"Healing would have come if he had started helping you. Always, there to help you on your way.
I'll always be there to help you on your way.
Family!
Always there!
Family!
Family.
Family....." Her words wash over me, a promise of a future I never thought possible. Perhaps, just perhaps, I can find a home: a family with Miss Courtnay.