I Found You by Maya Candy (brene brown rising strong .txt) 📕

01

It was hard leaving Seattle to move Los Angeles. Nonetheless, I had to do it. For my future career of course. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move, I wanted to, but when the time came I realized how much I would miss this place. I would miss the cloudy weather and lousy summers. I’d probably miss Mrs. Higgins who was always bugging me about all sorts of things. Good old Mrs. Higgins. She was that classic woman who lives next door to you with around 5 cats. I always thought she was a bore, but lately I’ve come to realize she was just a lonely old lady. Her family, they all lived in Florida, so she was alone here. She had only us, so I decided to stay in touch. I’ve grown to like her and she grew to like me, seeing I wasn’t just another rebellious, guitar playing teenager.

I remember she once told me ‘if you don’t chase the rainbow, how will you ever climb it?’

It struck me as a deep thing to say. You know, climbing a rainbow. She told me she wanted to be a ballerina when she was young. She wanted to dance and travel the world, then she met her husband and she settled down and left all of her dreams behind. That’s when she told me to never give up my dreams, not even for the love of my life because if he really is the love of my life… he’ll want my dreams coming true. Yes, Mrs. Higgins was a wise lady as well.

She was also a magnificent cook, you know. I have never tasted a better pie than hers. She bakes all sorts of pies, cakes… you ought to try it one day. My favorite is cheese cake and her cherry pie. One more thing that I loved was that her place never smelled like old people or cats, it smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. It always smelled like Christmas. And if I haven’t figured this out in the last couple of months, I have realized it now – I considered her my grandmother. She was an excellent grandma type. Nice, caring and loves baking. And I am pretty sure she thought of me as her granddaughter, which flattered me.

Tomorrow was leaving day. I had packed all of my suitcases this morning and currently I am sitting here, just thinking about Seattle. I would miss more than just Mrs. Higgins here. I would miss the street in front of the building where I used to live, I’d miss the cold weather, I’d miss a lot of things. The smell of spring in this city, even school and my teachers. I think I’ll even miss the jocks from the school. You know, I only realized how much I’ve grown fond of some things I thought I hated when I came to terms we were leaving.

We as in my mom and I. I live with my mom only, since I was 11, that means for 6 years now. Dad and her divorced because, well, dad found other woman. First I was extremely mad at him for just leaving us, but I realized it’s for the best. They used to fight constantly and once he moved out, it was all over and mom and I were a happy family. Of course, I didn’t stay mad at my dad, I loved him. And I still spend two weeks each summer at his place in Nashville. My dad and his new wife Kayla, they moved to Nashville once they got married. They have a huge house and a ranch there. Dad even bought me a horse. I liked going there over summer. It was peaceful and relaxing, plus dad and Kayla, they made a nice couple. They made a better couple than my mom and dad ever were. Kayla was also like my other mom, or at least like my aunt. Mom didn’t really adore Kayla, but they were on good terms. Kayla and I, we had our misunderstandings in the beginning but then we started getting along very well and even now, when I am miles away, I call her when I am unsure of some things and I don’t want to ask mom.

My mom and I had a nice relationship, she trusted me and I came to her whenever I had a problem. We weren’t picture perfect, we fought and I would get grounded, but we shared respect for each other and I think that’s very important.

If you want to know about my friends, well I didn’t have many here. I’m not a people person actually, I’m quite an introvert. That’s why people considered me strange in my school. I didn’t mind it. I was and I am the way I am, if it’s not fine with them, they don’t have to like me.

Plus, I wasn’t that popular because I was the talented girl, the girl who could play music really well and everybody knew that. My school didn’t really have many talented kids so if you were one with the talent, then you were very well know in school. Also, there was no way some one normal would hang out with you.

Well, that’s why I was finishing high school with all As. I spent most of my free time studying and when I wasn’t studying I was writing. Writing poems or lyrics, doesn’t really matter. Writing is writing, no matter what shape it takes. Weather it’s a silly child song or a mature love song, writing is a way to express your emotions. And even if it is a silly child song, writing begins when we are young and innocent and through the years we learn to improve our writing and we change our views on world, thus our writing grows and changes with us.

I sighed, closing the window. It was almost six o’clock which means I would have to go get ready because we were invited for a dinner over at Mrs. Higgins’ place. As I had already mentioned she was an excellent cook, so I was looking forward to going. Not to mention I came to love the old woman as family. And that’s what she was, a part of our little family and I felt bad for leaving her here all alone. But when I expressed my doubts to her the day before yesterday she had called me a silly, sentimental teenage girl and told me not to be stupid and to go chase the rainbow or she’ll never bake me pie again.

Mom wasn’t home, yet. She was finishing her last day on her almost ex job. She wasn’t sad to be leaving that company, but she had to finish it all up today. She would probably be home in about 10 minutes.

In the lack of anything merely interesting to do I went out of our apartment and over to Mrs. Higgins’ place earlier than intended. I didn’t knock or ring the bell, I just let myself in. it was a common thing to do.

“Hello? Mrs. Higgins?” I called through the place. It smelled wonderful, vanilla and cinnamon scent mixing with the one of preparing food.

“Kitchen dear.” She called back as I walked into the kitchen. She was baking her lasagna. I loved her lasagna, the best ones I have ever had. Better than the ones you would eat at some 5 star restaurants, I guarantee you.

“Smells wonderful, Mrs. Higgins. You know I love your lasagna.” I smiled.

“I know, I am baking it for you. Plus, I have a little something just for you, too.” She smiled.

“I’m guessing it is a surprise.” I sighed and walked over to the sink to start cleaning the dirty dishes.

“Yes and oh, my. Dear, put that down. I’ll take care of it later.” She chuckled. “If you must you could… set up the table.”

I nodded happy that she let me help for once. Usually she wouldn’t even let me touch a thing while she was cooking. She made me talk to her. That’s how we connected. She would bake and cook while I would talk about my dreams. I think she knew me better than my mom did, better than my friends did. It was this huge trust I had in her that she was a hundred percent supporting me. I took out the plates and set them around the table and put the napkins around. I put a center piece, well in the centre of the table and put down forks and knives. We didn’t need anything else since we were eating lasagnas.

“When are you leaving tomorrow?” She smiled even though I knew she was sad about us leaving.

“When I think of it, I’d rather leave never.” I sighed and let my face fall down.

“I will not repeat what I told you last time darling. You are crazy if you want to stay here when everything you would ever want is there.” She smiled. “And to think you are concerned about old me, more than you are about yourself.” She shook her head as she checked if the lasagnas were done. “I told you, no more pie if you don’t put on a smile and tell old Mrs. Higgins how excited you really are.”

She smiled and clapped her hands as she sat down on a chair in the kitchen, I knew she wanted me to talk. I smiled and sat next to her.

“Well, I am excited. I truly am. But I only realized how much I will miss this place. This building. You. Everything. Your cat. Strudle is the cutes.”

“Oh, there you go again. Have I asked you to tell me about the things you will miss? I don’t recall so. Tell me, what do you think California will be like for you?”

I chuckled. “I won’t fit in, that much I know. I don’t know how we’ll manage school and all. But I do know I will try and work with a good label, mom said she talked to a few people and it’s working out fine. And when I have enough money, I promise I’ll bring you down and you will live with us. If we could afford it I’d do it now, but you know our financial situation isn’t the best at the moment. I mean moving costs so much and… but as soon as I get my first paycheck… you’ll be seeing California sunshine.” I smiled.

“Oh, honey. You don’t have to do that. I am happy here. I like it. And the thing that would make me the happiest is to see you happy. To see your name in all these magazines I read when I go to get my haircut.” She chuckled an stood up to take the lasagna out of the oven seeing it was done. “Oh, here they’re done.” She smiled as she took them out and placed them on the side counter.

“Have I mentioned that those smell delicious?” I smiled.

“I believe so. Oh, that must be your mother.” She said as the door bell went off and we both made our way to the door. “Always so punctual.” She smiled as she saw the clock in the hall saying exactly 6:30. I chuckled to myself, knowing my mom was never the one to be late. I was the one to be either too early or too late, and out of those two, most of the time I chose to be