The Remains Of Me

Chapter 3:Lost And Found

Lost. Brought into a world without a mother or father. My first in site of the world was a terrible one. I knew nothing yet I saw everything tumble down into a black hole of my existence. My aunt took me in as if I were her own. She somehow contacted my father and told him that my mother died. His voice stopped, in the echo of the phone you could hear a small cry. He hung up without saying a word. I guess he too felt the pain. The pain of actually losing the bond forever.

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My mother's family devastated still from the birth. They can't believe it happened, but it did. At this point, they worried about what I'd become more than anything. Their thoughts became the worse part of them. Filling their minds with every worse scenario of my soon to be life. I was just a baby. A sweet,innocent child brought into a world of pain. What did I do to deserve this?

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Tori Reed. My name. Given to me by my aunt. It was a remembrance of my mother, Victoria Reed. It was sweet, yet now every time they call me its like I'm a dark cloud waiting to ruin their day. The name gave triggers to memories in their mind. Memories they wish to forget... Its been 4 years now. Since everything. My birth. My mother's death. The start of my life that ended another. Everyone has mostly moved on from it. Every once in a while a family member excuses themselves to cry. My mother was close to everyone. So everyone took a lost to her. The saddest part of it all was that everyone knew but me. I was the one who watched my mother die right in front of me but no one told me. I called my aunt mom. Just like her children. Who I assume was my siblings. No one said a word. No one spoke of it. I was hidden from the very truth for years. I was young but I deserved to know.

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October 13th. My birthday and I couldn't imagine that this day would change my life forever. I was turning 5. 5 years on Earth. 5 years of life given to me. 5 years of happiness. My "mom" threw me a simple, little party. Few classmates came and family showed up. There was a beautiful cake with my name across it and big, red balloons all in the kitchen. Presents lined up against the wall waiting to be opened. Everything was great. The atmosphere gave off a wonderful vibe.. In the backyard, the air smelled of fresh cut grass. Oh how I loved the smell... There was a huge trampoline and a rusty, old swing set. I ran to the swing, letting the wind take my hair as I made my way down. I sat down and pushed myself to move. I'd close my eyes and imagine I was flying in the sky. I felt free...My classmates shortly came out. I hurried to meet them. We were running back and forth, enjoying the sunlight on our skin. Laughing and smiling til our hearts content. At some point, someone mentioned we should play a game of hide and seek. I had a bad feeling in my gut, like something was telling me no. I figured I was just hungry so I ignored it. We decided who was it and took off. I ran to my spot behind our oak tree to make sure no one got there first. I crouched down so they wouldn't see me. I peeked every so often. As my back rested on the tree, I felt scared. I felt the need to cry. Fear took over me and I couldn't pin point why. My heart was racing. My hands were shaking. I was sweating from head to toe. I leaned over to take another peek and a hand covered my mouth and pulled me back.