Lilac

Chap 3: Passing Memories

When Aila was nine years old, she was told she was going to go live with her mom.

At first, she didn't know how to feel. Scared? Maybe? She wanted to finally meet her mom Maria, since she couldn't remember her. Of course she had pictures and videos, things mom Maria would send with toys and clothes for her dearest daughter. Her family never told her when she was going to leave or how she was going to leave but she knew she was going to get a visa for traveling. The visa gave her a fake last name and fake parents, things she needed to memorize.

Aila left two days after she was told the news. She wasn't able to tell her friends, her family and her favorite teacher goodbye. She was only able to hug her mom Glenda at the airport while she had tears streaming down her face, getting pulled because she didn't want to let go. Oh and her father came to see her at the airport as well. This would be the last time she saw to him, for he died a year later. And because she was in the US under a fake visa, she couldn't travel to tell her father goodbye.

She arrived in Miami September 18, 2002. Her mom's new husband went to pick her up. Aila didn't know how to feel about him but he seem to be nice to her at least. From there they drove all the way to North Carolina where Aila's mom was waiting.

Aila knew she was going to meet a complete stranger.

She knew it was the stranger called mom. She was nervous and scared. But it turned out into a beautiful meeting. Aila was overwhelmed when she meet the most beautiful women she had ever seen. It was like love at first sight for her. The warmth her mom Maria had was incredible, her arms where like a bed she could fall asleep in. Yeah it was love at first sight. And Maria couldn't stop crying either, to have her daughter in her arms after 7 years of being away from her seem like a dream. And a dream it was.

But things didn't go well for Aila.

Again she was a child that loved school and loved keeping up her high scores, so when she finally got enrolled in school she started struggling with the language and everything around her.

This led to a depression. Her mother was always working. She came not knowing she had a sister and her mom was pregnant with her baby brother so she didn't get much attention from mom.

Her new stepdad always made sure to tell her she was dumb for taking so long to learn English. She was dumb for her low grades in school. She was a control freak, organizing things by color and keeping things in such order.

Aila became depressed, she cried herself to sleep every night. Within her tears she had to tell herself she was worth it, and she could prove to everyone just how smart she was.

She became a quiet child, not really talking to her mom much. She kept all her pain in, and learned to put up walls to protect herself. She always did what she was told. Mostly it was taking care of her little sister and little brother. Aila thought her mom only kept her around for that.

She learned English within the first year of living in the US.

When that happened she drowned herself in books. She loved the "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," "Judy Moody," and "The Series of Unfortunate Events." Her favorite book became "Out of the Dust."

She got into more books as she got older, as well as painting and writing. She wrote poems about the pain she felt but never showed anyone. She began to love art class. Painting how she saw the world on paper. She also loved to drown herself in music. Anything that would keep her from getting too noticed or having to talk too much with her house. She still loved her mom very much. Aila never held a grudge against her. Her stepdad finally got off her back, once he saw how her scores began to top the class. How she became a straight A student, and in middle school didn't get below a 95 in any of her classes. Not to mention that in high school Aila only took honors and AP Classes.

Everything was going great. Aila had friends and she started to have more and more conversations with her mother. She could care less about her stepdad, she thought her mom could do better. Her mom was strict with her, not allowing her to sleep at other people's houses or going out to parties and staying past 12. Aila wasn't the type of person to argue, specially with her mom, so she would just tell her ok it's fine.

Everything turned out better than expected.

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