Chapter 5

I almost took off then and there to go find Annie. But by the time I found myself in my car, I remembered there were things I needed to do to prepare. I needed to get packed, I needed a plan, and I needed to talk things over with my sister. Then there was the thought, would Annie really want me to find her, maybe she was happy now. When I arrived home, I saw that there was a new car in the driveway. When I got in the house, I saw a very familiar brunette.

“Cindy? What brings you here?” I asked.

Cindy looked surprised, “I could ask you the same thing, Leo. May tells me you aren’t supposed to be back for another couple of hours.”

“Something came up. Charles didn’t need me today. And that’s not what I asked. What brings you here?”

She rolled her eyes, “I’m moving back into town. And May said I could stay here for a few days until my husband arrives.”

“Where are May and Lynn; I need to talk to them,” I asked.

“They went out to get some grocery shopping done and to pick up a pizza. It’s good to see you again cousin.” Cindy then gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Can I answer that at a later time? I need to pack,” I said.

“You’re not leaving because I’m here are you?” Cindy asked. I smiled, “Not at all. I’d love to spend time with my favorite cousin. It’s just I need to go on a trip that will hopefully help me get better.” I went to my room and packed my things. Then I got onto the computer to check out my route to California and doing research on the area when everyone walked in. “Hey, big brother. Cindy said you were back. Did Charles let you go?” May asked. “No, he didn’t. He told me to take some time off. I know I just got back. But I may have found a clue on where Annie is.” I replied. May’s eyes went wide and she smiled, “Where is she? Where’s Annie?” “Wait, who’s Annie? I’m lost here,” asked Cindy. “She’s Daddy’s girlfriend,” Lynn supplied eagerly. Cindy’s eyes shot wide, “You told Lynn the truth about Leo? Why didn’t you let me know?” “What? Since when did you know? Am I the last one to have found out about this?” I demanded. The two grown women looked at one another and May said, “Out of the people in this room, yes you are. Mom doesn’t know. She still thinks Steven was the father. And Cindy knew about you being the father since before I knew I was carrying Lynn’s egg. Sorry.” She picked up Lynn. “When are you going to leave?” “I’m already packed and I’m waiting for some things to print then I’m going on my way to California,” I answered. “No! You can’t go now. Not if you’re going that far. It’s too late in the day for that. It’ll be dark soon. Eat and sleep then you can leave in the morning when you’re well-rested.” May ordered. “May I need to find her. If I can’t convince her to com ed back with me I need to know why she left,” I pleaded. May gave me a look. I nodded and resigned myself to staying for just a little while longer. That night I had a dream of Annie. She was worried and in pain. She called out, “Leo I need you. Help me.” I awoke with Annie’s name on my lips. While trying not to wake Cindy I hurriedly got dressed and grabbed my things and started for the door. Cindy had fallen asleep on my bed while we were catching up. So I covered her with my blanket, glad that I had just washed them. On my way out the living room door, I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. “Are you leaving without saying goodbye to me, or our daughter?” May had a sad look on her face. Without hesitation, I said, “No. You two are my family. I wouldn’t dream of leaving without saying goodbye. I just wanted to put my things in my car before I left so I could have my hands free to do this.” I wrapped my arms around my sister and kissed her cheek. It hurt to lie like that. I hadn’t intended to see them before I left. I thought it would have hurt too much to see them before I left. I was just going to leave a note I wrote. To help with the guilt I told a truth. “I love you. Both of you. You know that don’t you?” May walked behind me as I entered Lynn’s room. I quietly opened the door. Lynn slowly sat up rubbing her tired eyes. “Hey Lynn, I didn’t mean to wake you, Sweetie,” I apologized. “Was already awake. Take me too. Please,” Lynn asked. “What are you talking about? Take you where?” I asked Lynn. She smiled, “To find Annie.” “I can’t take you with me. I wish I could. This is something I need to do by myself. But there is something I need for you to do for me. I need you to take care of Mommy.” I told her. It took about 10 minutes to talk her into staying. By the time that was taken care of my heart ached. Before I stepped out of the living room door I turned to my sister, “Why didn’t you ever have more children after Lynn?” She grimaced, “I’ll tell you later. Now go and find Annie. Promise you will.” The drive to California seemed to take forever. However, when I did finally reach the state I had this strange feeling inside. It was almost like what I was looking for was here. But it wasn’t time to find it. That I needed to do or accomplish something first. I wanted to ignore that feeling and look for Annie, but whenever I thought of doing that it was like I knew something bad would happen. So I took in the sites and thought of my sister and our daughter. Thinking of myself as a father did wonders to calm me. On the third day, I stopped off at a store to get some food to eat; the cashier was a pretty woman. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to her or anything but there was something about her that anybody could tell was beautiful even a blind person could tell that. She looked only a few short years older than me. She also looked a little like the nurse from the hospital in Wyoming. “I see you’re from out of town. What brings you here? Looking for adventure?” asked the cashier. “Yeah, I’m actually looking for someone, someone very important.” I don’t know why but I explained to her how my heart yearned to find Annie and all the other feelings I had. She had this look on her face that was similar to my sister’s when she would watch a romance movie and the lovers had been separated, and one character was explaining why he or she needed to find their love. She wiped away a tear, “I hope you find her. I hope you both find peace. If in your heart, it’s saying it’s not time to find her yet maybe it means you need to figure some of the turmoil in your heart out. For that, you’ll need calm surroundings. I know the perfect place for that. It’s somewhere that I go to all the time. Not many people know about it.” She drew a map, so I could find it. It was a beautiful place that I found. It had the purest green grass I had ever seen. And the trees were beautiful too. Off, in the distance, I could see the ocean. I was there for about 20 minutes before I had a strange urge to go to my car and bring back the eggshell I hatched from. I placed it on a smooth flat surface. “I can’t believe that I came from this small thing,” I said to myself. I noticed there were some pretty big pieces. I started to put it back together. When I put the first piece in its proper place, the shell seemed to fuse back together. When I finally got down to the last piece, however, it just fell down out of place. I tried a few times to put it into place but no luck. I started to worry, did I mess something up? Then I heard a voice behind me, “Only the mother can put that last piece in.” I turned around in shock to the cashier from the store, “And how do you know?” She sat down next to me with half a smile, “I’m just like you. I’m also a hatchling.” She looked longingly at my egg. “Did you lose your parents too?” I asked. She shook her head no, “I did leave them though. I did something that they didn’t approve of, and I thought back then that I knew better. I was stupid.” She took a deep breath. “You’ve bonded with that girl you’re looking for. When you’re descended from the alien race like us, you bond to your soul mate. Your mind may not know it, but your body, heart, and soul will. It’ll only work with someone whom you can love and that can love you back.” I looked her in the eyes and said, “You fell for someone you didn’t bond with didn’t you? That’s what your parents didn’t approve of?” Shock then pride crossed her face. “Yes. He ended up leaving me. He figured we were too different. I should have listened to my family. I haven’t seen my sister in close to 30 years.” I had been drinking orange juice and coughed when she said that. She laughed. “Didn’t you know that once Hatchlings get to a point in their lives they start to age much slower than humans?” “I never really thought about the differences between humans and Hatchlings,” I admitted. We talked about many things for a long time. She even had a lot of fun looking at my egg and its lone piece. She was nervous as she said, “I’ve come to realize that family is important. And we should stick together. I’m glad you said you weren’t angry at your mother for leaving you behind.” I was confused, “I never told you that.” She held the egg’s shell piece, “But you did tell a nurse in Wyoming. And that nurse happens to be my sister and...” She took in a deep breath, “I hope this isn’t a mistake.” Then she placed the piece of shell into place, and it sealed itself there. “Your Aunt.”