Page 21 of Mila: The Godfather

Her stunning face is void of any emotion. I look at her red lips instead of her eyes. “All I do is for you, Mila. Never doubt that. Never…” She pauses, making me look at her eyes, and for a second I think I see a flash of hurt before her eyes look empty again. “Never doubt me.” With that, she turns and heads out of my room, closing the door quietly behind her.

I know my sister loves me, and I’ve never once doubted her.

She had to become this cruel and harden her heart to keep us alive.

Because our world? It’s a man’s world and a cruel one at that. Kadra had to build walls around her already-broken heart to be able to survive. I just wish she would trust my ability to take care of myself.

I don’t wish to be her burden or dirty secret as well.

Turning on my seat, I open the computer once again and type a quick message to my sister, congratulating her on her upcoming nuptials. Suddenly, I notice a light tapping on my window. Looking up from the computer screen, I see a small butterfly flapping its wings against the glass as if trying to come into the room.

The blue morpho.

One of the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches.

How beautiful and how rare.

Oh, how freeing it must be to be a butterfly in this world.

To fly and travel and not be bound to just one place.

How lucky…

But what if…an idea pops up.

I glance at the clock, deciding what I’m going to do next.

Guilt claws at me when I think about what I’m about to do. But I only have one day.

One day… to have my someday with my big sister.

What could possibly go wrong in one day?

I should’ve known that a million things could go wrong in twenty-four hours.

And they did.

Message from M

Dear C,

Your message made me smile today.

Oh, and my plants.

They always make me smile.

What makes you smile when days are dark? - M

Bad Idea

MILA

“Did you know that bad ideas create the best memories? I didn’t, but I do now.” – M

Scrolling through my phone, I go over all emails from the last three years and find the ones I’ve been looking for. I do this until I find one of the last ones.

Message from: C

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