Lost and Found (A Novel) (10 page)

“Thank you for being my friend and for always being there for me.” Wilburn patted Annetta’s hand as she paused. He knew it was difficult for her to talk so much. “Please do me another favor.” Wilburn nodded his head encouragingly at Annetta. “Look after Caelie for me?”

Wilburn could feel Annetta’s fingers tightened slightly around his hand. “Of course Ann, of course.” He whispered, his own tears rolling down his cheeks now.

“Please don’t go Ann.” A whimper came from Caelie as her body shuddered against Annetta’s body beneath her. Annetta’s face winced slightly as she had difficulty breathing. Wynne knew that Caelie was squashing her and tried to pulled her up gently. Without struggling, Caelie lifted herself up from Annetta, kissing her cheeks and hands. She snuggled her cheeks in Annetta’s palm as Annetta took hold of her cheeks.

“My time is up Caelie but I will always watch over you.”

“No...” Caelie shook her head, grabbing hold of both Annetta’s hands that was cupping her face.

“You are a good daughter Caelie, remember that. Thank you for coming into my life. You are a special gift to me and will be a special gift to a fine young man.” Annetta smiled as Caelie nodded her head. “I love you.” Annetta closed her eyes as her last words left her mouth.

“I love you too Ann.” Caelie whispered as she felt Annetta’s hand slipped away from her face. Watching the serene face lying below, she knew that Annetta had left her for good. Dropping her head on Annetta’s shoulder, a heart-wrenching wail escaped from her mouth as she felt the weight of loneliness dropped again on her shoulders.

CHAPTER 8: 11 YEARS AGO

“Do you know what this is?” Judd held out the huge article made of light thin plastic sheets wrapped around a triangular frame. Without waiting for an answer, he fiddled with the nylon line attached to it that was held by something that looked like a fishing reel made of steel.

Hayley huffed indignantly, crossed her arms and stared at Wynne through the tiny slits of her eyes. Her mouth set in a small pout. “Of course I know that’s a kite. I’m not an ignorant girl.”

Judd chuckled at her reply but kept his eyes focused on preparing to get the kite soaring up in the sky. “Have you flown a kite before?” Judd glanced at Hayley who was shaking her head slowly. “Well then, you are in for a treat.” Judd gave her a toothy grin as he threw the kite up into the sky and started running backwards while maneuvering its movement using the nylon line.

Hayley looked up to the sky, following the movement of the kite. Her face slowly spread into a smile as she watched in awe the kite swaying in the bright sky, its brilliant colors contrasting against the backdrop of light blue with white specks of clouds. Her eyes squinting slightly from the glare of the afternoon sun.

“Hayley...Hayley!”

Hayley tore her eyes away reluctantly from the sky and shifted her attention to Judd who was eagerly trying to catch her attention. He beckoned her over when he caught her eyes. Hayley ran up to Judd, her sparkling eyes gazed expectantly at him. Smiling, Judd held out the handle of the line towards Hayley, motioning for her to take over control of the kite with his head.

“Can I?” Hayley asked excitedly as her eyes moved between the handle and Judd.

“Of course you can.”

Hayley gingerly took the handle, her small hands awkwardly pulling on the line. She had some difficulty managing it initially since the kite was swaying roughly in all direction caused by the strong wind. Judd sat on the ground, laughing his heart out as she stumbled along, the kite seemingly controlling her instead. Hayley did not mind though. She was enjoying her new experience too much to be bothered by him. Besides, after a while, she started to get the hang of it and could handle the steering much better. “What time is it now, Judd?” Hayley asked absentmindedly.

“Almost 3 o’clock.”

Hayley’s head whipped sharply towards Judd. She could not believed that it was already that late. Hurrying to him, she thrust the handle back at him, hopping impatiently from foot to foot as she waited for him to take it. Judd looked at her in puzzlement. “I need to go home now. My mother will be back soon.” Hayley explained.

“Oh.” Judd replied simply but Hayley could detect a hint of disappointment in his tone. He kept his eyes down as he rolled back the line, pulling the kite down. Hayley felt a pang in her heart.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to fly the kite. I really enjoyed it. If it is not too much to ask, I would like to do it again another time.” Hayley said hopefully.

“Sure.” Judd’s face brightened considerably and he grinned at Hayley as she waved him goodbye before running off towards their bench. Judd watched her picked up her bag and skipped away to her home. He stood there for a while smiling to himself.

The friendship between Judd and Hayley had grown closer over time. Judd always looked forward to their time together at the park. From just talking, they gradually moved to doing activities together. Every day he would go to the park with a hopeful feeling that Hayley would be there. Sometimes Hayley would disappear for a few days to weeks before turning up again. During those times, Judd would feel restless, as if a part of him was missing. When asked, she would just say that she had to follow her parents on their overseas work trips. It was pretty random though and Judd could never guessed when and for how long she would disappear again.

Whistling, Judd skipped up the stairs towards his room, smiling at the helpers as he passed them. Looking down at the kite in his arms, his smile broadened. He could not wait to see her reaction when he gave her the kite the next day. He had bought the kite on a whim when he passed the shop on the way to the park, with the intention of flying it with Hayley. It had made him immensely happy to see the excitement in Hayley’s eyes earlier. On the way back from the park, he had decided to give the kite to Hayley as a gift. He had another kite that he kept with care in his wardrobe, one which his father had given to him when he was younger. He could use that kite and they each could fly their own kite together in the park, he thought.

As Judd turned the corner of the hall, he saw his stepsister leaning against her door, watching him with amusement in her eyes. Judd gave her one of his rarest broad grin and winked cheekily, causing her eyebrows to shot up an arc.

“You seem really happy today.”

“Yes Elise, I am.” Judd replied, still grinning. His relationship with his stepsister had also improved considerably although it was still far from being congenial. At least now they could stand being in the same room with each other without one of them throwing a snide remark causing the other to stomp off out of the room. Judd had Hayley to thank for opening up his mind to accept the changes in his life. If it weren’t for her positive outlook in life, he would have continued on with his brooding self. Judd gave Elise another wink and skipped to his room.

Elise watched as Judd disappeared inside his room, closing the door shut behind him. She shook her head, chuckling slightly at his almost childish behavior. Elise had to admit that she had been too quick to judge him when he first came to the house. She had taken one look at the boy dressed in black with his long fringe falling all over his face and she had grown an immense dislike for him. She had thought then that he was just like those boys who were always out looking for trouble. Besides, she needed to let him know clearly where he stood so that he would think twice before attempting to swindle her father off his wealth. Elise knew her father very well, and he would probably have given in to Judd’s whims regardless of how much it would have cost him just to please Judd.

As time passed, she had realized that Judd’s appearance was just his way of disguising his true emotions. Judd was a good kid who kept mostly to himself and preferred to live a simple life. She had been surprised when he first turned down an offer from her father to get him his own personal television so that he could watch whatever channels he wanted at his own convenience and in the privacy of his room. Judd had refused point blank, telling him that it was pointless and a waste of money to have another set when he could just go to the den if he felt like watching the television. This had earned Judd some respect from Elise but as much as she was pleased with his attitude, she could not stand his tendency to shoot his mouth as he like, sometimes even to the point of being extremely rude. It was this brattiness in him that irked her to no end. Otherwise, she would have embraced him ages ago like the brother she wished she had when she was younger.

Hayley looked up at the clock anxiously as she continuously chopped the vegetables on the chopping board. Her mother would be home soon and she was nowhere near finished with dinner preparations. To say she was worried would be an understatement. Lately, her mother’s temper had gone from bad to worst and she could only imagine what would happen when her mother walked through the door to see her still frantically trying to finish cooking. While Hayley’s hands had been busy moving on autopilot, her brain had been working on overdrive trying to come up with an excuse for the delay. To make matters worse, Hayley had been shocked to find her father sitting in the living room as she entered the house. Usually, he would not be home until late evening. Mr. Price had stared at her with a sneer on his face as she hurried past him to her room. There was no way she could use her school assignments as an excuse. Although he had not questioned her, she did not think that he would readily help to cover her for returning home late.

The sound of the door opening caused Hayley’s heart to jump in her mouth. Her movements quickened even though she knew that her efforts were futile. She held her breath as she counted the nearing footsteps of her mother. Mrs. Price stopped at the kitchen entrance. She dropped her bag on the floor and her hands went to her waist. Her face grew darker as she took in the sight of a scrambling Hayley. For a moment, time seemed to pass at an excruciatingly slow pace as Hayley waited for the first yell from her mother. She purposely kept her gaze averted from her mother’s direction, not wanting to see the anger and disgust in her face.

“Hayley.” Her voice was sharp despite the soft tone.

“Y…yes, mother?” Hayley stopped what she was doing and faced her mother meekly.

“Why is dinner not ready yet?”

“I...I…I” Hayley stuttered, still unable to form any excuse.

“What?!” Mrs. Price roared, causing Hayley to jump. The metal ladle in her hand dropped to the floor with a clang. Hayley stooped down to pick up the ladle and was instantaneously jerked back with a sharp pull of her hair. Hayley’s hands went to her hair to support it, her eyes shut tight. She gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out in pain. A moment later, a stinging slap hit her cheeks. She spun to her left, her forehead hitting the edge of the cabinet. A trickle of warm blood dripped down the side of her face to the floor. A kick to her ribs caused Hayley to double over, clutching her stomach. “Now, tell me.”

“I’m sorry mother, I lost track of the time while doing my schoolwork.” Hayley’s voice came almost in a whisper. She had no choice but to use the first reasoning that came to mind, praying hard that her father would not suddenly decide to join them in the kitchen. He had never interfered in their mother-daughter affair before and she hoped that he would leave them alone as usual. Then again, her hopes never came true and she cringed when she heard her father’s heavy footsteps entering the kitchen.

“Don’t you dare lie to me.” Mrs. Price hissed, throwing another kick at Hayley, this time with a greater force that caused Hayley to fall to her side from her crouch position. Mrs. Price herself had to hold on to the kitchen counter as she stumbled from the force.

“It’s true. I had reminded her to watch the time but she didn’t listen. I wonder why she even bothers to spend so much time on her school work.” Mr. Price spoke nonchalantly. Hayley glanced nervously at him from underneath her hair that had fallen over her face. He leaned lazily against the wall, twirling a cap in his hand with a bored expression on his face. Hayley wondered what her father was up to. He had never stood up for her willingly before. There must be something more than meets the eye with his gesture. Mrs. Price seemed to have the same idea as she stared shrewdly at her husband.

“You reminded Hayley?” Mrs. Price’s tone was sharp, her voice full of incredulity.

Mr. Price was not rattled though. He shrugged his shoulder and went to grab a drink from the fridge. “I can’t have her holding up dinner, can I? A man got to have his timely meals.”

Mrs. Price seemed to have accepted his explanation as she returned her attention to Hayley. “Listen to your father next time. Now clean up this mess and get dinner ready on the table.” With that, Mrs. Price turned on her heels and stomped out of the kitchen. Her cold voice was like another slap to Hayley’s face. There was no apology for what she had done even though it might have been a mistake had Hayley and her father been telling the truth. The realization tore through Hayley’s fragile heart causing her to let out a defeated sigh as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.