Pieces of Me by Pua Ramona (small books to read txt) 📕

little arms around my neck and whispers back, “Mama, I got you a present.” I put her back down and she hands me a little woven bag.

“Thank you, my sweet girl” I gush, pulling her in for another hug.

“Open it Mama! Open it !” Laughing at her insistence, I reach into the bag and find homemade coupons which I love instantly. There is also a necklace with half a heart that has ‘Best’ stamped on it. She grabs my hand and says “I have the other half Mama.” She pulls her half out from under her shirt and shows me where it has ‘Friends’ stamped on it. “ Now we both own half of each other’s heart.”

I drop the bag to the ground and I envelope my baby girl in my arms. “I love you so much Emma, don’t ever forget that” she looks at me and nods her head. I hear my mother calling for Emma, so I set her down and watch as she takes off running inside.

“We have a surprise for you Sis,” Luka says.

I look at all three of them and I say “I swear if you guys are pranking me I’m going to be so upset with you all.” They laugh and tell me to follow them.

We walk over to the garage and Daniel says “You got to close your eyes now.”

I back away as I say, “Hell no. As if I’m doing that!”

Grabbing my arm, he says, “I swear Sis, it’s not a prank.”

I believe him because I can see the emotion filling his eyes. I give in, taking his hand and closing my eyes. As we walk through the garage doors I can smell fresh wood.

“Okay Sis are you ready?” Micah says from somewhere on my right.

I take a deep breath. “Yes, I’m ready”

Daniel moves his hand from mine and I open my eyes. Before me is the most beautiful handmade bookcase I have ever seen. I start crying… again. Ugh dammit.

“Surprise!” They all say and I look at my three brothers and sob, happy and a little bit of sad tears.

“Oh my goodness, how did you guys even make it look so brand new” I ask. They all look at me and start laughing.

“We had a lot of help,” Luka admits.

I’m staring at my bookcase again when Reese and Leila walk in. “Happy Birthday!” Leila screams as she runs and hugs me super hard. “Happy Birthday, Sina. I got you some goodies!” I can’t believe that Reese and Leila are here just for me.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart” Reese says and I hug him so tight that Leila says, “You’re killing my man, girl.”

Stepping back and trying to get some control over my emotions, I say, “I’m sorry Reese” feeling my face get all warm.

“Reese helped us with your bookcase” says Daniel. I look over to where Reese is now wrapped around Leila.

“Go look at it Sis” Micah says, pushing me towards it at the same time. I walk to my bookcase and take a closer look at the woodwork. I have never seen anything so outstanding in my whole life, the designs carved into boards are our father’s family tattoo design. The boys know how precious my books are, and how close they make me feel to Dad. Having a part of him on the shelves they live on lights a fire in my heart as I picture the titles stacked up against his artwork.

“Oh my God! It’s Dad’s design Luka” I say with both my hands covering my face.

Luka steps next to me and says “This was supposed to be your graduation present, but it was such a fucked up year for us. Dad passed away, you left and things just felt like they were getting worse. But when we heard you were coming home for the family reunion, we figured it was the best time to get it done for your birthday.” I look at all of them and tell them I love them, Reese and Lei included.

“Go look, enjoy your bookcase nerd” Daniel says. I laugh, making my way around it, looking at the shelves, the carving and imagining all of my pretties sitting on there. Just as I’m finishing up my inspection something catches my eye.

There are words carved into one of the bookshelves and I’m reading them aloud before I realize what the passage is and I lose it. Right here, on my bookshelf is one of my favorite scriptures/quotes:

1 Corinthians 13;4-7.

LOVE is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.

I stand here feeling overwhelmed, I am in love with my bookcase no doubt. Now I have to figure out how I’m supposed to get it back to New York, but that’ll be tomorrow's problem. “I love it so much!” I squeal and they all start laughing their asses off, including Leila. I can’t help being an absolute nerd over it, so I join the laughing session too.

Leila gifts me with a dozen of my favorite cupcakes and pulls out the book that I have been dying to have for an eternity. “I decided to drive 2 hours to get this book for you, so you better claim me your bestie forever Sina. Or I’ll take my cupcakes and that book back with me” she says.

I hand the cupcakes over to Reese and throw myself at my new bestie. “I know we don’t know each other well, but I am glad you’re here Leila”, I whisper into her ear so the guys can’t hear me.

She whispers back, “Me too Sina, I’m so glad you came back. Even if it’s for a short time” as she lets go of me to wipe her tears away.

“Okay birthday celebration tonight