Lilac

Chap 2: Lost Memories

Aila Kailani Zaid didn't really comprehend why she was different. Her early memories are probably just glimpses of when she was six.

She remembers climbing trees, playing on the dirt road with her neighbors. She remembers the time her grandpa went to jail, how he hit his grandma and then went to the neighbors house saying one of their daughters was gonna be his no matter what. She remembers how he was an alcoholic and died when his liver collapsed.

She remembers the funeral. And she remembers how her mother couldn't make the funeral because she live in the USA. She knew her mother left her when she was two years old in the care of her cousin, whom she calls mom, and went to work in the USA. She knew it was far from their country of Honduras. She remembers she liked school, in fact she still does. She likes to study hard and get praised for her high scores and well kept notebook.

She remembers when her mother started to build a really nice house. They told her it was going to be hers so she could live in it. The house even had a toilet inside.

She knew the story of her parents. They weren't soulmates. Her mother was 26 and getting tired of people telling her she was getting too old and needed to get married or no one would want her. So she decided for her dad, which was a big mistake. Her mother didn't last a whole year before she left him, then asked for money to pay a "coyote" to take her north. She wanted something better for Aila and the father agreed.

So she left when Aila was two. Her father agreed because he knew Maria, Aila's mother, would keep her promise to give their daughter a better life. So she went away to work, and Aila always had the best cloths to wear and the best shoes and the best toys. However Aila never really liked to boast about it. Almost all of her neighbors where poor. Hell she was poor if it wasn't for her mother who worked her ass off to provide for her. Her father never really came around to see her, but Aila was always a happy kid, that loved school, and didn't really complained. She knew how lucky she was.

It was a shame that Aila didn't remember what was special about her.

It started when her cousin noticed Aila was having a hard time telling colors apart. It was like no matter how many times they went over them, they would over lap. The cousin knew this wasn't normal, Aila was a very smart, quick learning kid. So they took her to see an eye doctor to see if there was something wrong with her eyes.

Eye doctors are expensive, they are considered Soul Specialist.

Thank God Aila's mom was in the USA.

Getting to see the doctor was a very scary event for Aila. Good thing she was 4 and wouldn't remember anything of the trip. Aila had never traveled so far. She was whining in the bus that took her and her cousin to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Aila was scared of the buildings they were going into. The houses in her town were old, small and shabby and this building was huge! Even bigger from a child's perspective.

"Mama, what are we doing here?" Aila was able to say the whole sentence without stuttering.

"Nena we are just going to check your eyes amor. Promise you are going to do everything they say" Glenda, her cousin answered. She also left proud of Aila. She had a stuttering problem and she had said that sentence perfectly.

Aila nodded her head. They went inside, both in awed at how expensive the facility looked. They got checked in and were walked to go see the doctor fairly quickly.

Glenda explained her concerns to the specialist, a middle aged women. She listened and said in order to check Aila's eyes, she probably had to be put to sleep for a while. Aila didn't like the sound of that. She was a big girl so she didn't need nap time any more. When the lady came close with a needle, she started to cry. Soon she felt the pinch and sleep took over.

Glenda had to step outside the room while the tests were being done. It was about an hour later she got called back into the office to talk to the doctor.

"Aila's eyes are healthy, there's nothing wrong with the clarity in which they see. However I need to inform you Aila is a multi soul. She has this beautiful pale Lilac hue as her soulmate color, but she has this layer 7 times over, turning this layer into a purple. She has 7 other people that share her soul. It's going to be difficult, specially because this layer changes the way she sees. That explains the trouble she's been having. Not to mention how she would be treated if word got out of what she is."

The doctor paused, letting this information settle in.

"We do offer training on how you can help her with this. How to teach her about the colors she sees. But that decision is up to you."

Glenda was speechless. She couldn't begin to think.... seven people no wait eight people total shared a soul. She remembered the most ever to be recorded was 5 soulmates but eight is crazy!

"We do promise all this information will not be shared, unless you want to send it off to the International Bonding Institute. That would be up to you Ms. Glenda."

Glenda finally had the courage to speak.

"Have you ever heard of eight people?"

"To be honest everything is possible. Remember people didn't have the technology we have now to check on the eyes, things could have happened without some type of record and not everybody can afford glasses."

Glenda was confused by the last statement, but she decided to ignore it. She decided to take the doctor up on the training, which turned out helped Aila tremendously. She became like a normal kid, it took time but she got the hang of her eyes. Glenda, however, kept the visit a secret from Aila, only telling her mother and that was it.