Page 78 of Hidden Falls

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Malia

Mom gave me a new cell phone as we walked down the hall from the meeting in a boardroom that would always be seared into my mind. “I will pass your number on to your father’s people so he can get in touch with you as soon as he is able to.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Of all the things Mom had done to get me back, I appreciated that the most, and I was starting to believe she hadn’t known the FBI was going to grab Papa.

Dad seemed completely frazzled when he met us outside the baggage claim area once we finally touched down on Maui, but the only person I was really ready to hug was Kylie.

It was like my heart had stretched wider and gotten bigger through all of this. I still had a long way to go with my bio brother Fernando to get to any kind of good place, but my new little sister Antonia had already taken up a spot in my heart, right beside Kylie. I could hardly remember how Kylie and I used to fight, and how jealous I used to be of her being Mom and Dad’s natural daughter.

Another good thing that had come from all of this: the lingering bad feeling about having been adopted from an orphanage because my parents didn’t want me was totally gone.

I mean,gonegone.

All I had to do was look down at the antique gold and ruby ring on my finger to remember that I was something of a princess: a drug lord’s princess, but still.

Later on that evening, the four of us sat with Dr. Wilson around our dining room table for therapy time.

“In law enforcement, we call a meeting like this a debrief,” Dr. Wilson said. “In such a gathering, everyone tells their own experience of the operation that just happened, how it was for them, and kind of compare notes and gets questions answered. I’d like for that to be what happens here. Why don’t you each tell what Malia’s disappearance was like from your point of view, and what happened for you over the time she was gone.”

We all looked at each other, unsure.

“Why don’t you begin, Malia?” Dr. Wilson prompted.

I blew out a breath. “I was excited to go to school that day by myself,” I started out. “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings, Kylie, but it was still pretty cool to drive my car alone to school. I haven’t had the car that long.”

“I get it.” Kylie smiled. “And I was happy to have a day all by myself in bed, even if I was sick.”

Dr. Wilson gave a little head shake. “I know it’s going to be hard, but we need each person to tell their part without interruptions.”

“Sorry,” Kylie said. “Go on, Malia.”

Dr. Wilson hadn’t liked it, but what Kylie said had helped me; we each had a story, not just me.

I shut my eyes a second to remember better. “I headed out, and I was in a good mood. Relaxed. And then this windsurf rental van pulled out in front of me.” I began to shake, my voice to wobble. Mom, sitting beside me, reached over to squeeze my hand. “They pulled in front of me, and I had to slam on my brakes. They were on me and grabbing me before I could call anyone or do anything. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through, and with what happened to Camille last year, I’ve been through some scary stuff. But it was really intense to realize how helpless I was, and how quickly they got me into that van. I bounced around in the back for a while, tied up. Then, they took me out and wrapped me up tight in a big carpet. I had a bag on my head, and I couldn’t get enough air. I passed out.”

Kylie’s eyes were huge. Dad put a comforting arm around her.

Mom squeezed my hand, and her eyes were fierce as a hawk’s when I glanced at her. She hated the trauma I’d been through, but it made me feel better to have her know everything.

I told the rest of the story as best I could, from the decision I made to try to make the best of the situation after I was smothered in the rug to when the standoff happened in the road.

I glanced around the table and met each member of my family’s eyes. “I feel really guilty if it hurts you that I came to care about my biological family. I wished I could have met my birth mother and I caught feelings for my bio dad, even though he is a drug lord.”

Dr. Wilson thanked me for telling my truth, and then invited the rest of the family to share.

Kylie spoke up next. She told us how terrifying it was to have had me disappear, how she cried all day and slept in my bed every night. How she prayed for me and refused to go to school because she couldn’t handle people asking where I was and what was going on.

We were all crying by the end of that.

Dad went next, and he shared that he understood totally that I had a hole in my life that had always longed for my biological family. He was happy I had found them however weird the circumstances and dysfunctional the whole situation, and he hoped my biological father would be inspired by having me as his daughter to move away from a life of crime.

My dad’s generosity was so great, big enough to let me have another father in my life. I couldn’t help getting up from the table and running around to embrace him. I felt closer to him through all of this—he really did love me.

I came back to my spot and sat down.

Mom went last. “Malia. We’ve always had a special bond, haven’t we?”

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