Mona of Dreamweaver (Book 1 of The Sisterhood Trilogy)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The drive to the airport was fast. Maybe because I was admiring my surroundings. I haven’t been outside the orphanage since I came there. Things have changed. There were new buildings. New people. More people. New cars. Lots and lots of trees. It was beautiful. We drove by the park I used to go to as a child and memories flooded my head. I will miss this. Will I really?

The airport was huge. There were hundreds of cars and even more people. People coming in and people coming out. People parting with hugs and people greeting each other with hand shakes. People with luggage and people without. To my surprise, we drive past the main entrance and drove up to a gate that opened to the plane tracks. There, I saw many large and small planes. This would be the first time I would be on one of these. The big flying machines-as the children at the orphanage used to say. We drove up directly to a jet plane that had the words- Dreamweaver on the side. The doors opened and we stepped out into the breezy outdoors. Mark took my bag out of the trunk of the car and headed up the stairs into the plane as another driver sat into the car and drove away. Jennifer gently guided me into the plane, keeping her hand on the small of my back.

I was nice and cozy inside. Everything was in a polished dark wood style. There were large leather seats, one of which Mark occupied and was already flipping though a magazine. Jennifer led me past him into a more comfortable area of the plane. It had large fabric seats and couches. There was a TV attached to the farthest wall, and a smiling stewardess stood waiting for us to take our seats. It looked like a very small apartment they showed in some movies we watched back at the orphanage. I seated myself comfortably by a window and looked out. This was a very different view. A view I never expected to see. I heard the engines turn on. Then a small jolt and the plane started to move. This was it. There was no chance of turning back. I don’t even want to turn back. I want this. I wanted it for a long time. Good bye mother. Good bye father.

A new wave of emotions swept through me. Would they like me? My new father and mother. What do they look like? Am I what they expected? What if I wasn’t what they wanted? What if they expected someone like Jennifer? I definitely wasn’t like her. I wore black clothes all the time. You might say I turned into a goth. My straight black hair was down to my waist and my bangs almost covered my eyes. To some I might even seem scary. But in reality, I just don’t want to attract attention. I was afraid that if I attract attention, then those horrible murderers would find me. Do they know where I am right now? Do they know I was adopted into an American family? Would they find me there? Are they looking for me? Slowly and unnoticeably sleep took over and I didn’t even know when we landed.

I was awoken by a gentle shake. Slowly I opened my eyes and met Jennifer’s blue ones.

“We’re here,” she said.

I looked around my surroundings. This didn’t look like the plane. It didn’t look like the airplane. It was a limo. A very long, black limo. Looking up at Jennifer, I gave her a questioning look which she understood and smiled.

“Mark carried you from the plane to the car when we landed. I told him you should sleep.”

“Thank you,” I said. This was the second time I talked all day today. All day? What time was it? I noticed that it was very bright outside.

“What time is it?” I asked Jennifer, getting out of the limo.

“One o’clock in the afternoon.”

Quickly calculating in my head, I realized it is exactly like it should be. 15 hour flight with a 12 hour difference. My calculations were interrupted by the sight I saw in front of me. There stood a beautiful, glorious mansion. I’ve never seen anything like this. Even in movies. I’ve imagined mansions that I read about in books, but this was far more glorious beyond my wildest dreams and imaginations. The mansion was made of red bricks lined with elephant bone white crown molding. I was 3 stories high. Around the house all kinds of greenery was growing. The entrance was decorated with cypress trees. Around the yard, large oak trees were giving shade to a little brown squirrel. The lawn was greener than I ever thought possible. It smelled freshly cut. Red tulips were planted next to the steps going up to the house. What was this? Were they taking me sight seeing? My question was partly answered when Mark walked past me with my bag. He walked up the steps and opened the front door without knocking. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Welcome to your new home Kai Lin,” Jennifer said smiling.

My eyes grew wide. No way. This can’t be. My new parents are rich? This is beyond my dreams. No, I couldn’t even dream of this. I wouldn’t let myself dream of this.

“This is where I’m going to live?” I asked unbelieving.

“Yes, do you like it?”

“Like it? This is far beyond my imagination. I only read about this kind of stuff in books.” Jennifer let out a small laugh.

I followed her into the house, scratch that, mansion. I was awe struck. I really couldn’t believe this was happening. It was too good to be true. It felt like this was a dream, and I would wake up soon to fin myself back at the orphanage. I pinched my arm. Pain ran up my skin and I realized I was really here.

A group of maids greeted us. Jennifer instructed them to take me up to my room, give me a bath and make me presentable. I wondered what was wrong with me now. It’s not like I was a dirty bum. I washed and my hair was brushed too. Nevertheless, I followed suit. We walked up a winding marble staircase to the second floor, down a corridor, through two sets of doors and into a large white room. In the middle stood a large queen size bed, with white sheets, pillows and blanket. It was all so clean that I was afraid to touch anything. The maids guided me to a linked bathroom that was painted a soft green. A large white bathtub stood in the middle. It was already filled with water, and rose petals were spread around the water. A fluffy white towel was folded on the counter next to it.

“Please get undressed and step inside,” a maid instructed. I stood there for a second. Was she going to stay here and watch me wash? She must have realized I was uncomfortable, so she walked out and closed the door.

After cleaning myself and wrapping myself in the towel, I went out into the bedroom, where on the bed, a dress was spread out. I examined it. It was a bright green color. I cringed. I never liked that color. Not that green was a bad color. It’s just that particular shade brought back memories. One of the loan sharks was wearing a shirt in that shade of green. There was a knock on my door and Jennifer came in.

“You’re done, good. Can you put that dress on so we can go meet Mr. and Mrs. Weaver at their office?”

“Um, can I put on my own clothes?”

“Is something wrong?”

”No I just prefer to wear black. That color…” I choked as tears swelled up in my eyes. Jennifer must have understood. I liked that I didn’t have to say much for her to understand, and she didn’t push. She quickly removed the dress from the bed and ordered a maid to bring in a black outfit.