Jevae-

We finally had a plan, I thought as I washed the dishes. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. Now only the weight of the moon rested on them. Finding a place to live and dad being accepted into the program was great and all, but we couldn't stay with Ms. Sage forever. How long would it take for dad to find work? Would he even find work, considering his drinking history? My sister grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around.

"I could sense your worrying from the other room. Stop worrying. Everything will turn out okay!" I removed her hands from my shoulders and rinsed my hands from the soap suds, dried them, and leaned against the counter.

"How can I not worry? Our lives were turned upside down in a matter of seconds. Ms. Sage is being awfully generous. But for how long? How long before she kicks us out?" I questioned, pushing off the counter and pacing the length of the room.

"You have to trust that God has a plan for us." I stopped my pacing and looked at her in astonishment. How she could still believe in a higher being after everything we went through, I don't know. How could a being, who was described as kind and merciful, be so cruel? What kind of sins did my family and I commit to be forsaken by him? If he was real, he would have guided us on a better path by now.

"Whatever. Come. Let's help everyone pack." We walked into our room and put our few belongings into the two boxes dad had provided us and our book bags. I carefully put my journal in between my binders, I hadn't had a chance to put them in my locker, zipped it up, and slung it over my shoulder. I thought we were leaving soon, but I wasn't sure so I ventured to dad's room.

When I went to open the door, I hit a heavy object. I pushed again and it was gone. I opened the door fully to see dad sitting on the ground, surrounded by boxes, with his head in his hands. I walked up to him, shoving away some boxes, and rubbed his back. I had been so busy worrying about what was going to happen to my siblings and I that I didn't bother to worry about what dad was going through.

"Are you okay?" I don't know why I asked considering I could see he wasn't.

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time deciding what to throw out. So many of your mother's things...so many memories." His eyes lost focus and I could see he was remembering some long ago time when everything was filled with joy and happiness.

"If you want, I can help you sort," I told him, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Tell your sisters and brother to come in here. I want to tell you guys something." I threw him a worried look, but went to go grab my siblings anyway.

When we entered the room, dad had sorted all the boxes somewhat so it didn't look like a tornado had passed through the room.

"I know your mother...left. And that you don't have the fondest memories of her after the...incident. But, if you want you can all choose one of her possessions to make your own. Whatever isn't picked, I will be tossing. So...you can choose." With that final remark, dad moved out of the way and exited the room to give us some privacy. We were all frozen in shock at his words. Mom had never let us touch her stuff. What she would think now...but that didn't matter. She was gone. And she was never coming back. Victoria was the first to move. She approached a box that was smaller than the rest. Victoria pulled back the flaps to reveal jewelry. Dad had kept all of mom's jewelry. I had expected him to sell it to pay the rent, bills, or his alcohol. I would've sold it. I snapped back to attention, wanting to see what Victoria had chosen. She pulled out small earrings and a simple chain to match it. Victoria put them on and stepped away from the box. She motioned us forward. Kaisley went up and chose matching bracelets to put on each arm. Elijah chose a ring with a blue diamond on the center. It was finally my turn. I stepped up and sifted through the box. There were so many things to choose from. So many options. I kept looking until I reached the bottom. There, sitting under a heavy gold locket, was a hair brooch. I pulled it out gingerly, like it would break if I breathed on it. It was gold. It was in the shape of a beautiful feather. There were diamonds inlaid in it. I looked in the box again and found it's partner. I quickly swept my hair up into a ponytail and carefully placed the brooches in. I went back to the box and found a pair of silver hoops with a teardrop at the end, if Nova were here she would've chosen them. I put them in my ears. Then I saw a leather cord. I pulled it out and hanging on it was a small elephant. Hal would've worn it. I put it around Elijah's neck. If we ever encountered our brother again, which was unlikely, I would give it to him. As a reminder of everything he left behind and everything he would never have with us again.

"Pick out a clothing item," I told my sisters, closing the box with jewelry. Victoria, again was the first to pick. She picked a beautiful black leather belt with a teal flower as the buckle. Kaisley then chose a leather jacket with a phoenix on the back. Elijah chose black fingerless gloves that went up to his elbow. I went up to the box and pulled out a beautiful maroon cloak. I doubted I would find anything like it again so I swung it around my shoulders and clasped it. The clasp was a full moon, starkly white against the deepness of the cloak. How odd. We rifled through the boxes, not finding any other treasures.

We walked out of the room to look for dad. He wasn't in the kitchen. Or the bathroom. The living room was also empty. Where was he? I stepped outside on the off chance he was out there. I didn't see him, but the door to the shed was open slightly. I called inside, telling my siblings I was checking on something, and then just about sprinted to the door.

There standing in the center of the room was dad. He had a couple of bottles of beer in his hands and was looking at them sadly. Worried, I dashed in and all but yanked the bottles out of his grasp.

"Dad, tell me you didn't." I placed the bottles outside the door and turned to look at him.

"I didn't. I was putting them in the trash." He pointed to a large black trash bag filled with alcohol bottles. He maneuvered around me and placed the bottles I had discarded outside in the bag. He swung the bag over his shoulder and moved as if to go outside. He looked at me and did a double take. I was still wearing mom's stuff. Wait, no. They were no longer hers. They were mine.

"You chose the brooches. You're mother only wore them once and never again. They look beautiful on you." Dad reached up and pushed a stray piece of hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"Let's go inside. Your siblings are waiting." He pushed me aside gently and stepped outside, out of my view. I followed and closed the door behind me. When I looked up, dad was already at the edge of the road, putting the heavy bag in the trash in one swift motion. I waited for him to jog back to where I stood and we walked inside together. As I followed dad inside I looked back at the forest. I thought I saw movement at the edge of the trees, but as soon as I blinked it was gone. I had probably imagined it. I walked in and closed the door behind me firmly, just in case there really was something out there.