How Long

We sat in silence; waiting. I slowly ran my hands over the chilly goose bumps covering my arms as I felt a shiver run down my spine. My mind wandered as we sat in a deserted wasteland. I watched the employee furiously typing on his computer. Click, click, click, click, click, click. The constant clicking echoed in my thoughts, knocking them from their place and they fell to the ground with a shatter. “Who’re you waiting for?” I looked up quickly, the shock of the sudden voice hit me like a bullet.

            “Um.” My voice cracked; my thoughts still loitering in my head, lying shattered and broken on the ground, crying to be cleaned up. I looked up at Regina as she smiled.

            “Rheaven Lodas.” She looked at me again. “My daughter; her sister.” I smiled nervously and looked back down to the carpeted airport floor to pick up my thoughts. I inhaled the thick, crisp, cold, San Diego night air. It had that smell; that feel. The smell of a new car, the feel of an empty new house. So many memories yet to be made, so many stories to be told in the future. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as my jacket slowly clung to me like melting plastic; the soft cotton sleeves brushing gently against my many goose bumps. I sat quietly, breathing deeply, feeling my chest inflate like a balloon with each breath.

            Sitting just out of her line of vision, I watched my “sister” look around in confusion. I saw the slightly disappointed look on her face and took that as my cue. I flung out of my chair and leapt toward her, sprinting, my shoes screaming under the pressure of each bound. She turned around quickly and I saw the huge smile that sat upon her face. There was not a drop of hatred in her eyes and for once I felt the love that someone could only feel for close family. I wrapped my arms around her in a bear hug. How long had it been? I squeezed my sister, looking over her shoulder and noticed two girls; maybe a year or two older than myself, laughing and smiling, walking together and my smile grew wider.