I stood outside of the small building, rubbing my hands together in an attempt to accumulate some warmth in them. It wouldn't be very long before I was engulfed in the heat and welcome of my family, something I used to hate, but grew accustomed to.
I walked up the three flights of stairs to our shoddy apartment, unit 8C, and unlocked the door.
"Kalli's home!!" My five year old sister ran her way over to me and sprang for my arms.
"Hey Lilah." I smiled and hugged her quickly before putting her down, only to be attacked by three more little sets of hands. My siblings yelled out their activities of the day at me, each one vying for my attention.
"Kalli! Kalli!" My oldest brother, Jack, yelled at me. "Today, my friend at school gave me a new Lego!" He held up a small orange square in front of my face.
"What? Jack, you're not old enough to play with Legos, you're only two." I teased and pried myself from the kids grip.
"I'm 9, Kalli!!" He giggled and ran off to play.
"Hey mom." I called as I walked past the kitchen.
"Hey sweetheart, your father got paid today so I made baked chicken!" She ecstatically gestured towards the oven, her eyes bright.
"Sweet." I smiled and ran my hand through my hair. "I'm going to my room."
"Finish packing soon, you're leaving in less than three days." She waved a wooden spoon through the air as she spoke.
"Don't remind me." I grumbled. I stepped into my room and shut the door behind me, muffling the sounds of my family.
My room was small, barely bigger than a walk in closet. I didn't worry much about it though, considering that I was the only one in the family who had their own room. I sighed heavily and tossed my backpack onto the small bed, walking over to the window. I gazed at what I could see of the city, relaxed by the many lights and sounds of the Big Apple.
I began to imagine myself after graduating, strutting down the sidewalk in my expensive clothes, talking on my smart phone to important people. I was pulled from my thoughts by a sharp knock on my door. My 7 year old sister, Adalaide, entered my room.
"Momma told me to tell you that dinner is ready." She stood in the doorway with a hand on her hip.
"Okay Addie, I'm coming." I followed her tiny figure out of the room and into the small dining room. On it sat 7 plates of chicken and mashed potatoes, and the sight made my stomach growl. I was quickly surrounded by my siblings, and my parents sat at the heads of the table.
"Momma," Lilah spoke up, "why are we poor?" I choked on my mashed potatoes and stared at my little sister with wide eyes.
"Why would you ask that?" My mother placed her fork down and folded her hands on front of her, staring intently at the little girl.
"Today, a girl at school told me I couldn't play with her because we are too poor to buy me a new dollie." Her long eyelashes grazed her cheeks as she stared down at her plate.
"Well," my mom sighed heavily, eyeing my father across the table. "Honey, we aren't poor. We are just... Down on our luck, that's all!" Her voice turned cheerful at the end and she smiled widely at Lilah.
"Oh." She replied, shoving a forkful of chicken into her mouth. "So does that mean I can get the new dollie?"
My mother opened her mouth to reply but I beat her to it, "Yes, Lilah. I'll get you the new doll, hush and eat your food."
Lilah grinned widely, her small white teeth shining in the dim light.
"Can I have seconds?" Jack asked, holding out his empty plate.
"Here." I stood and scraped my food onto his plate, knowing that we didn't have anymore food in the kitchen. "Share with Samuel." I placed my plate in the kitchen sink and walked back to my room.
I stared around the room and searched for an unpacked item. When I found nothing, I returned to my spot by the window. As I scanned the many lights that engulfed me, a light flickered on in an apartment across from mine.
I peered into the uncovered window in shock, seeing a tall man with chocolate curls pushed off of his forehead, and a short blonde woman who looked to be just the type of girl you would find in a bar at this time of night. He pushed her onto the bed and she giggled as he ripped his shirt off and fell on top of her.
Disgusted, I drew my shabby blinds and walked back to my bed. I opened my backpack and pulled out my calculus homework, nervously chewing on the end of my pen as I worked through the problems.
I was drawn out of my deep thoughts by the sound of my door opening. My mother walked in and sat next to me on the springy mattress.
"Kalli," she started, a deep worry line being creased into her forehead. "Your father and I wanted to thank you, for what you did at dinner. For Lilah, and for Jack. We were going to wait until you were officially leaving to give you this, but we think you deserve it now."
She plucked a thick envelope from out of the waistband of her loose sweats and handed it to me. "We love you. Tomorrow, I'll come and help you move all of your things downstairs into the car." She stood up and retreated out of my room, without saying another word.
Puzzled, I opened the envelope. 100 dollar bills sprang out from the small space and littered my bed. Shocked, I pulled out the rest of the contents, a lot more cash and a few checks, a set of keys, and a small white piece of paper. I unfolded the paper to find shaky cursive handwriting in blue ink, and immediately knew who it was from.
"Dear Kalli,
At this time I know I am long gone, but you my dear, you have much more to come. I can see it in your eyes, the way you want success and happiness for yourself and for your family. Even as a small child, you yearned to make everyone around you happy.
Never have I seen such a pure heart or spirit, so for that, I leave you these things. These things are tools that I expect you to use in your journey, and know you will use to make your life better.
To you, my granddaughter, I leave 3/4s of my life savings, an approximate amount of $800,000.00. I leave my car, the old Honda that kept me around. And lastly, I leave you with this piece of advice:
Follow your heart, wherever it tells you to go, you follow. Do not listen to your old fool of a brain, even though you are smart, your heart truly knows the way.
Best of luck and all my love,
Grandma Evie"
I sat sobbing for what seemed like hours, reading the letter over and over. I counted the money with shaky hands, several times. The total was always the same,
$800, 324.00 exactly.
I folded up all of the bills and stuffed them into my backpack, along with the keys. I wiped my swollen eyes and curled up underneath my thin blanket, hugging my knees to my chest. My door swung open again, this time it was Lilah.
"Kalli? Can I sleep with you?" Her tiny hand gripped my arm and shook it.
"Yeah." I lifted the blanket so she could crawl in and pulled her tiny frame closer to mine.
"Kalli?"
"Hm?"
"Are you leaving?"
"Yeah, Li. I'm leaving."
"I'm going to miss you." She yawned widely and closed her small blue eyes.
"I'm going to miss you too." I grinned.
We lay there in silence and my thoughts ran wild as Lilahs breathing slowed.
"I'm leaving." I whispered into the darkness. "I'm not trapped."
I shut my tired eyes and fell quickly into a heavy sleep.
