The First Time They Met

Seventeen years ago…

Six-year-old Ririna Zhou peeked around her, glancing warily at the new place they settled in. She and her mommy recently arrived in this area. Her mommy said they would live here from that day… just the two of them.

She sniffed; it has been weeks since she had seen her little brother Jared. She wondered if he was alright. Did Daddy really take him away? Jared was still young. He might be lonely by himself and did not have a playmate. Little Ririna really wanted to go back home. She wanted her daddy and her mommy to love each other again.

It was impossible because Mommy said she and Daddy already parted ways and will never be back together. Ririna cried and cried, begging her mommy to go back home because she missed her daddy and her brother, but her mommy shook her head and gave her a sad look.