Unopened Letters//Adopted by Lin-Manuel Miranda//Book One

9_2016 Yo

January 1, 2016

I smile as I look out the window, watching a parade of people waking down the street. Lin and his wife just happen to be two of them. I see Vanessa dancing her way down the street, Lin behind her and carrying their son. "Naomi! What are you waiting for?! You have to go to the store!" I rush to Darla, take the 50 dollars and go to the store.

Of course the two, technically three, people I run into are Lin, Vanessa and their son. I pull my hood over my face where I have a bruise and a cut over my left eyebrow. I go to the dairy isle and soon enough Lin and his family are there. I turn around. He taps on my shoulder. "Are you stalking me?" I ask, trying to sound like a teenager.

"What? No! I just want to know what happened to your face."

"None of your business Mr. Miranda." If you read my letters you'd know.

"You're that girl I sang happy birthday to years ago! You were turning his old?"

"Eight. I have to buy this food. I'm sorry." I say and rush to get peanut butter and Nutella.

Again they show up in the same isle. I dart behind some other person. "Can you pretend to be my mom for a moment ma'am?" I ask a kind looking woman.

"Sure I guess." The woman says. "Come on dear, I'll pay for that. Is there anything else you may need?"

"Yeah. Just some bread. Thank you Mama." I say only loud enough for Lin and Vanessa to hear. For the third time, they approach.

"Excuse me, but what happened to your daughter's face?" Vanessa asks.

"I got in a fight at school. I lost clearly. But then again, I don't believe in fighting back." I reply.

"I asked your mother."

"She got beat up. Poor girl. Bullies are everywhere." The woman says and then turns to me. "Well, we better get home. Your Daddy is waiting for us." She leads me to the checkout line. She pays, I thank her but not before swapping names.

Her name is Melanie Rodriguez. She says that if I'm ever in trouble that I can find her here on weekends.

I rush. back to the orphanage. Darla sees me walk inside. "You're late, bitch." She punches me. Kicks me, slaps me. Even takes a razor blade to my cheek. Luckily for me, she doesn't know I've pocketed over 100 dollars from the shopping trips. I'll finally put my plan into action. I have to run away. Away from Darla. Sadly away from Emma. Away from Ali and all my other friends. But it's for the best. It's best for only me. Darla probably won't care.

~~~

At midnight exactly, I open the window, carrying a small backpack, a knife, the money I've pocketed, pens, pencils and lots of paper, envelopes and stamps. Also I pack all my clothes (three shirts, two bras, three pairs of short socks, three pairs of underwear and three pairs of skinny jeans that are all ripped), I wear my black and pink all star converse. I also grab the Nutella and peanut butter. I shove everything into my bag, though I carry Maggie. My dear stuffed dog.

I jump out of the window, twisting my ankle. I run, not really caring. It'll just get worse, I know.

I find a good alleyway and set up camp or what not. I can feel the temperature dropping. But honestly, I don't care. There's not much snow and it's not too cold. I decide to write some. A letter to Melanie Rodriguez.

Then I begin to sing.

"In this album, there's a picture
Of the ladies at Daniela's
You can tell it's from the 80s by the volume of their hair
There's Usnavi, just a baby
'87, Halloween
If it happened on this block
Abuela was there
Every afternoon I came
She'd make sure I did my homework
She could barely write her name
But even so
She would stare at the paper and tell me,
"Bueno,
Let's review.
Why don't you tell me everything you know?"
In this album there's a picture
Of Abuela in Havana
She is holding a rag doll
Unsmililng, black and white
I wonder what she's thinking
Does she know that she'll be leaving
For the city on a cold dark night?
And on the day they ran
Did she dream of endless summer?
Did her mother have a plan?
Or did they just go?
Did somebody sit her down and say,
"Claudia, get ready,
To leave behind everything you know."
Everything I know
What do I know?
In this folder there's a picture
Of my high school graduation
With a program, mint condition
And a star beside my name
Here's a picture of my parents
As I left for California
She saved everything we gave her
Every little scr*p of paper
And our lives are in these boxes
While the woman who held us is gone
But we go on, we grow
So
Hold tight, Abuela, if you're up there
I'll make you proud of everything I know
Thank you, for everything I know."

I lay my head on my backpack and close my eyes. Sleep overcomes me quickly and soon I'm dreaming.

"Vanessa let me get the next one, Vanessa let me interject some. The way you sweat, the way you flex on the floor makes me want you more." Lin sings. His wife dances, squatting before standing back up. The look adorable together. Dancing in a club.

And then I'm there. Watching them through the glass. Tears rushing down my face. I'm just silently begging them to take me home with them.

After a while, Darla shows up. She beats me. Then, she eventually kills me.

Lin and Vanessa watching the news. "Teen is killed by foster care provider Darla Stanson."

"We could have saved her!" Vanessa cries.

I wake up.