The common string that runs through both life and a storybook is that they both start at page one, and as the pages keep turning you keep getting deeper and deeper into the story.
Astoria's story started fourteen years ago. Her life is what one could call the definition of monotonous...well until that one dreadful day.
Just like every other day in this fourteen—year old's life, this one too appeared to be a normal one. But looks can be deceiving at times...
...
Numbness...
That's all she feels as she sat still on the cold tiled floor of her house. Unable to process anything the two strangers in front of her are trying to convey to her, she resorts to just staring into nothingness. She watches their lips moving but she cannot comprehend a single word.
With a blurry vision and thoughts that are running at the speed of lightning, she remains seated on the floor like a lifeless doll. As she thinks back, never in a million years did she anticipate that her life would take such a drastic turn. As she walked in through her house doors, back from a dreadful day in school she didn't imagine that such a surprise would await her.
The moment she saw a bunch of strangers, two of which happened to be cops in her living room, it was a dead giveaway that something was seriously wrong. She looked around to spot her mother but turned out empty—handed.
The female cop guided her towards the small worn—out sofa in the center of her small living room and motioned for her to take a seat. She then proceeded to tell her the heart—shattering news of her mother's death, sympathy evident in her voice.
Her entire body went numb, the world stopped and like her heart, she too came crashing down to the floor.
Still situated on the floor, she tries to process the news. But it's like her brain refuses to process anything. All she can do is stare into space. Tears refuse to flow and her clenching heart and throbbing head is just a bonus. Flashbacks of the time she spent with her mother flooded her memory. That mother she would never see again.
The two officers desperately tried to console the poor child, but it's like she can't hear them at all. Her mind blocking out any sound from being registered and preventing her from making any.
The other woman present in the room remains dead silent. She just sits there watching the scene unfold before her like a soap opera, insensitive to the entire situation.
Finally, something snaps within the young girl. She looks up at the strangers occupying her living room with tear—filled eyes, but not a single drop breaks the invisible barrier holding them back. Still trying to process the horrifying news, she manages to muster up the courage to seek an answer.
"Ho—how? " she whimpers; her voice barely audible.
"A car accident. A hit and run case by the look of it," the female officer replied sympathetically. It isn't the first time she had to deliver such news, but that didn't make her job any easier.
All the heartbroken girl can do is nod aimlessly. A thousand questions swimming in her mind, but her body refused to cooperate. After a few deep breaths and with a lot of strength she asked the question she dreads the most.
"Wha—what...happ—happens no—now? " She snivels. All the mortifying stories she had ever heard of foster care and orphanages keeps replaying in her mind like a broken record.
"You're going to go stay with your elder brothers, they are your legal guardians now," the officer replied gently, trying to provide the girl with some type of hope.
To say the heartbroken fourteen—year—old is shocked is an understatement, she was always told she was an only child, a drunken mistake.
Then how does this lady say she has elder brothers?
"This is your social worker, Mrs. Black, she will give you further details," with that said the officer moves out of the way and a short curvy blonde woman takes her place. The girl looks at her expectantly, wanting to know more about her so—called brothers.
The woman went on and on about how lucky she was that her brother agreed to be her guardian and not put her in the foster system and that this is a legal process and so on. This went on to a point where the girl just turned her off. Too engrossed in her own thoughts she doesn't even bother to look at the lady who doesn't seem to have an off switch and lost herself in her own thoughts.
All the girl can think of is that she had elder brothers and according to Mrs. Black five of them. She is to get on the next flight to get to them and she would be living with them from now on. Her mind is in a haze, she can't seem to process anything. To enthralled in all this and consumed in shock she doesn't oppose or question the newly found information.
Life is going to change for this fourteen—year—old. It is going to change for good and she knew it. But she had no other option than to embrace it with open arms.
After about another ten minutes of Mrs. Black talking her ears off, she sent her to her room to pack her things. She would be leaving first thing tomorrow for an early morning flight.
She does as she's instructed, like a robot without raising a single question. Finally, after all this time all she could gather till now is that, her mother is dead and that she was not her only family. And the only thing she could think is:
'I have brothers, five of them and I'm going to be staying with them'
