Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Oh, I don’t…”
“Take it, Princess. I want you to have something in your pocket in case of an emergency.”
“Okay.”
He could tell she thought he was crazy, but she took the coins to make him happy. Watching her ponytail swishing happily as she bounced out of the room, Khadar missed her immediately when she disappeared from view. He would be uneasy until she was back on his mountain.
Eager to go, Lalani checked to make sure she had the key. Sure she had everything she needed, Lalani didn’t stop to grab anything else but went straight to where they were loading the first wagon. “Khadar said I can go with you. He’ll come pick me up later.”
“If you’re sure,” the man said nervously.
Lalani knew he didn’t want to get in trouble. “Really, it’s okay. I’m going to my mother’s house. It’s just off the square.”
“Oh,” he said relaxing.
She suspected he thought her mother was still alive, and there would be relatives to look after her. Lalani didn’t say anything about her real purpose for visiting. After helping load a few light-weight boxes they’d let her move, she climbed up onto the seat next to the driver and held on as the cart lurched to a start.
The driver was a very quiet man. After a couple of attempts to make conversation, Lalani started planning where to start. She had a strategy in mind by the time they arrived at the square. Sliding down from the seat, she thanked the driver and blended into the crowd before he could stop her.
Lalani looked around the square for a few minutes and stopped to say hello to the huge stone dragon. He looked friendlier than he had the first time she’d seen him on her mom’s tour at the beginning of her visit. She looked at the steps and spotted her name freshly etched on one riser just after Ciel and Aurora’s names. Were all those other names mates? They had to be.
Mind-blown, she wandered away from the square and toward her mother’s house. Hers, now, she guessed. The house of the horrible neighbors was quiet next door. If only the Petersons hadn’t been there after her mother’s death. She waved at the man who’d promised Khadar to keep an eye on her house and heard him welcome her back.
“Just here to visit.”
With a wave, she let herself inside and closed the door behind her. A wave of sadness eased over her. She ran her hand along the polished wood of the entryway table and felt the grit of dust that never would have gathered if her mother had been around. The photos displayed happy times. The last in the row featured her birth mother and Lalani.
She picked up the frame and hugged it to her chest, wishing she’d hugged the kind woman more freely when she’d been alive. Lalani had felt odd meeting her. With time, their interactions would have become more natural. They’d really just started learning about each other.
Placing the frame back safely on the table, Lalani roamed through the other rooms in the house to make sure everything was okay. The air was stale inside, so she opened the back door to allow the breeze to come inside through the screen door. Upstairs, she opened a window in her mother’s bedroom as well.
Lalani decided to start in the closet. She found a light-weight cardigan sweater that was worn with use where the clothes on the rack had been pushed apart. This must have been a favorite of her mother’s. It was soft cotton and would go perfectly with jeans. Instantly, she decided to take that with her. She could wear it when she rode on Khadar’s back. Folding it, she set it on the bed to remember to grab on her way out.
Back in the closet, Lalani concentrated on the items stacked on the shelves and tucked under the clothes. She loved that her mother had so many shoes. Lalani had a slight shoe addiction herself. It was fun they had that in common.
Pulling a box from the very back, she carried it to the bed to open it in better light. Lalani pulled off the top and discovered two albums. She opened the first one and stared at a small baby alone in a hospital bassinet. In schoolgirl-precise lettering her mother had labeled the child, Lalani, royal child of heaven.
Her heart ached as she looked through the other items. The plastic ID bracelet bearing her name was stuck to the next page. The third page held a picture of her adoptive parents. It must have been attached to their application. The next page held a letter. It was written to Lalani in case they ever got to meet. She wiped the tears away as they fell, reading her mother’s assurances that she’d allowed Lalani to be adopted so she could have a good life. There were small round marks blurring the page in different spots and she knew her birth mother had cried writing it.