SOFIA

For a day that held such stakes, it was beautiful.

The sky was arrayed in a gorgeous display of white fluffs over an endless stretch of startling blue.

The air smelled of new beginnings, hope and various corporeal wafts like that of coffee, freshly baked confectioneries, blooming flowers, fresh paint, even stenches of exhaust pipes, dogs shit and waste as I made my way to Charlie's Vet.

Dressed in what I hoped was corporate enough, a blue flare-sleeved shirt, tucked into a gray crepe skirt. A pair of Mary Jane's on my feet. My hair pulled up in a tight bun, accentuating my faded gold earrings.

The same earrings I had on yesterday. The same ones I had on the day I was

dropped off at the Blake Mansion.

It was a gift from my mom, Joan. It just occurred to me that this is actually the first time I'm stating her name here.

I kept the earrings with me even though I want to hate her, even though a part of me wants to be rid of it.