Packing only the essentials is something that many people struggle with. Many, if not most, people are too sentimental and have the tendency to pack useless emotional crap. Like some old journal they had and need to keep. Or an old ratty blanket their grandmother hand-sewed. Letters they had received that had no actual purpose other than they contained pretty words from a so-called significant other. Jewelry from some old relative. Pictures of long ago memories. All of that stuff was pointless to carry on a cross-country trip.
Nadia wasn't most people. She had no problem packing only what she needed. Clothes, but not too much, just enough to handle most types of weather. Toiletries, only the basics, no fancy lotions or perfumes. Emergency kit, fully stocked with about everything short of actually having to go to the hospital. Extra pair of glasses. An extra pair of shoes. She would be wearing her hiking boots. The only non-essential item she was going to carry with her was her big, silver and turquois ring. She had gotten it from her dad for her 16th birthday. She always wore it. Plus, if she got short on money on her trip, she could always pawn it. But hopefully, it would it come to that.
Once everything was packed, it all fit in a big, sturdy backpack. Nadia took a minute, exactly a minute, to mentally say goodbye to her room. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be seeing her room, or rather her hometown, for a while. The city of Canastota, New York was really all she had ever known. They only time she had ever been out of this city was for a couple of weekend trips to New York City or to go camping in some woods a couple of hours away. She had never actually left this state. And with that thought all of a sudden, it hit her how small her world was. And how she was about to shatter the glass dome her father had placed her in for her safety. Rather than being afraid, Nadia's whole body buzzed with excitement and her mind raced with possibilities.
Nadia left her room behind and headed into the small living room. Her grandmother was there sitting in the rocking chair reading the newspaper. She looked up when Nadia entered.
"Anything interesting going on around the world?" Nadia asked like she always did whenever her grandmother was reading the newspaper. It was a tradition of sorts since Nadia had been little. Her grandmother would tell her exactly what was going on around the world, no censoring for her age. Her mother, when she had been around, would always forbid her grandmother to tell her about such gruesome things, but her grandmother continued regardless. She said that the world was a messed-up place and if her granddaughters wanted to survive and thrive in this world, they had to know what was going on around them. Nadia's mother would always end up infuriated and yell at her mother that she was going to traumatize the girls, both of whom were much too young to be exposed to these types of news. Her grandmother just laughed and told her to calm down. She after all had done that to her and her brothers and they had turned out fine. Nadia now realized that argument was spotty since both of her uncles were pretty bad drunks and her mother ended up abandoning her family. It did calm her mother, though, but the cycle began again over and over.
"Same old, same old. War. Murder. Famine. Corrupt government. Nothing out of the ordinary," her grandmother replied. It was a rare brief reply compared to her usual lengthy, detailed explanations. That's how Nadia knew that her grandmother was still upset with her.
"I'm going to leave whether you are upset or not," Nadia firmly said, looking her grandmother directly in the eye and crossing her arms defiantly. That caused her grandmother to crack a smile on her beautifully wrinkled face. Nadia only hoped she looked like her grandmother when she was her age. Her long, braided, raven black hair was heavily dappled with a silvery white and her wrinkles were so unashamedly set on her proud face, proving she had lived through life. She wore no makeup, and refused to dye her hair. Nadia was overcome with nothing but love and respect for this strong woman in front of her.
"When I was your age, I aimed to be like you," she said.
"To be stubborn?" Nadia asked.
"To have goals and ideals that are so set, they cannot be wavered. You are a proud mountain, granddaughter. You bow down to no one and rise above the rest," she explained.
Nadia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That was very poetic of you," she replied.
At that moment, Jazz walked into the living room carrying a bright purple suitcase. Nadia frowned.
"Jazz," Nadia began.
"I'm coming with you," Jazz said, sticking out her chin defiantly.
"No. You are not coming," Nadia said firmly.
"I want to go, Dia. I want to go find daddy, too!" Jazz pleaded. Her bright green eyes, which glowed against her warm tawny-brown skin, glistened with tears that were moments away from spilling onto her baby faced cheeks.
"Jasmine, I said no. I am not changing my mind," Nadia said, trying to remain unaffected by her little sister's tears.
"Don't go Dia. I don't want you to go," Jazz begged. She wrapped her small arms around Nadia's waist and looked up at her. Her eyes were screaming at Nadia not to go.
"I have to, Jazz. I have to go and find dad. I'm going to bring him back home," Nadia gently explained. She softly stroked her eight-year-old sister's dark brown hair, the color of rich soil.
"No! You are not coming back! You are going to leave me, too! You are going to leave like Mommy and Daddy did! I am going to be by myself and alone!" Jazz screamed and pushed Nadia away. A part of Nadia cracked at hearing the pain in her baby sister's voice. It was pain that a seven year old should not have.
"You are not going to be alone, Jazzie. Grandma is going to take care of you while I am gone, but I'm coming back. That is a promise. And I never break my promises. Have I ever broken a promise I made to you?" Nadia asked, crouching down to get to her eye level. Jazz shook her head. "So, I'm not going to break my promise now. Trust me, Jazzie, I am coming back for you."
Jazz was silent. Her usually bright happy face was set in a frown. Slowly, it turned into small smile and she asked, "And then we will live happily ever after?"
"Yes, Jazzie, and then you, me, Grandma and dad will live happily ever after," Nadia agreed with nothing but adoration for her little sister.
Jazz smiled her brilliant, sunshine smile, and hugged her. Jazz's smile was contagious, and Nadia couldn't help but give her a small smile back, but she quickly untangled herself from Jazz's embrace. She didn't need another reason not to go.
"Dia, JT is here," her grandmother said from the window where she had been watching the whole scene.
Nadia walked toward the window and saw the small red car waiting in front of the house. A small wave of panic coursed through her. She let none of it show. She could not express any doubt now. She was going no matter what.
Nadia turned to her grandmother. "Here is something to help out until I get back," she said, handing her grandmother an envelope. Her grandmother gave her a puzzled look and opened the envelope. She frowned and pushed the cash back into Nadia's hand.
"I cannot take that, Nadia," she said.
"You have to. It will help out around here with Jazz. You won't have my income helping out until I get back. This should make sure Jazz and you are set for awhile," Nadia said, shoving the cash back into her grandmother's hand.
"You are going to need the cash more on your trip, Nadia. You take it," her grandmother said and attempted to hand the cash back, but Nadia jumped back and held her hands behind her back.
"Don't worry about me. I have enough cash for me as well," Nadia responded.
Her grandmother gave her a curious look, but didn't ask the question that was on her mind. Nadia was glad for that. She didn't want to tell her grandmother how she had made that money. It wasn't how she wanted her grandmother to remember her.
Her grandmother grabbed the envelope and curtly nodded. That was her way of accepting the money. Nadia would take that. She wasn't sure her proud grandmother would accept the cash at all.
"Well, I better go before JT decides not to wait anymore. Grandmother, remember to lock all the doors at night. You always forget the kitchen door. Garbage comes on Tuesdays and recycling every other Wednesday. I've set it up so you don't have to pay the electricity or water. It will automatically deduct from your bank account every 15 of the month. You just have to make sure there's enough money there. Also, make sure you are getting paid for the right amount of hours. Double check your paycheck. Last time, they almost didn't pay you for 10 hours. They said it was just a clerical mistake, but I don't trust them. I've also asked JT to drive you to the grocery store every week, so you won't have to take the bus. I am leaving my car, but I know how you hate driving, so I convinced him to come every week. Jasmine, school start next week. I got everything you need in your purple backpack. All you have to do is take the bus at 7:35 on the corner. It's where you took the bus last year. You have to do your homework, even if you say that it's boring and too easy to be worth your time. You got to do it. No exceptions."
"Nadia, we will be fine," their grandmother replied.
"I'm going to miss you, Dia," Jazz said sadly. Tears were already starting to brim her eyes. She ran to give her sister a hug.
"I'll miss you, Jazzie," Nadia said, crouching down and holding her tight.
"Nadia come give your grandmother a hug," her grandmother said once Jazz had let go of her.
Nadia gave her grandmother a quick, tight embrace.
"All I'll say to you is to be careful. Be ready for the unexpected, my granddaughter," her grandmother told her as she squeezed her hand.
"I'm ready for anything, grandmother," Nadia reassured her grandmother, and she really did think she was. After what she had been through the last couple of years, Nadia was sure she could handle anything that was thrown her way.
…
When she was 14 years old, Nadia's mother left. If asked when her life started turning to shit, that would be her answer. The day her mother left her. It had started out like any January day. Shower, breakfast, school. She remember nothing about that school day except that she wanted to tell Rachel, her mom, that she needed to buy some new tennis shoes. She remembered she was worried about what her mother would say. Would she be angry that she had worn out her tennis shoes so fast? Money was always tight, and any unnecessary spending made her mother stressed. When her mother was stressed, the whole house suffered since she took it out on them. Maybe she could just tell her dad, and he could buy her new shoes without her mother ever knowing. And that was what she was debating on her way home.
A letter was all that awaited her there, if you could even call it that. It was two sentences long.
I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry.
Rachel
That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that she had left freshly baked cookies on a plate beside the letter. Like cookies could fucking make this event easier to handle. Nadia, once she realized this was real and not some sick, heartbreaking joke, hated her mother. Hated her like you can only hate someone whom you once loved. Nadia was glad she was gone. She didn't need someone who could betray her family that way to be in her life. And that was what she told herself anytime she began to miss her mother.
If that day wasn't traumatic enough, it was also the day when her special abilities surfaced. It started with her fingertips, slowly disappearing, and spreading to her arms and legs. Nadia had frozen in panic, her senses all jumbled and unable to comprehend what was happening, all thoughts leading to the fact that she was about to disappear right off this earth. That she was vanishing. Her dad found her that way, mute terror written all over her face, the only part of her that was still visible. At the sight of her dad, Nadia finally started crying out for help, each word desperate and scared-shitless. Her dad, eyes wide open in surprise, reacted immediately.
"Don't panic, Nadia. Just focus on my voice. Take a deep breath and focus. Make yourself whole again. Just breathe and focus. Everything will be just fine," he said in a calm, controlled, comforting voice.
Nadia followed his instructions, and slowly her body began to appear. As soon as she was full again, her dad enveloped her in a hug. Nadia immediately started crying. Crying because she was confused. She was hurt. She was angry. She was so many emotions that she didn't want to feel.
"Oh, Dia, I know you are confused. But this is normal. Entirely normal. You are going to be just fine. That I promise you," her dad soothed. That was when he explained everything and Nadia's whole worldview shifted.
Her dad explained to her that in this world, this very earth, there were people with extraordinary abilities. Some were mundane enough that people just thought of them as special talents, like being able to hold your breath for over five minutes or jumping really high. Others verged on the realm of supernatural. Like shooting fire out of their hands, or changing the shape of their body at will, or like Josh's case being able to teleport over short distances, over distances he could see.
He demonstrated his ability, and Nadia's head throbbed at trying to believe at what her eyes were seeing. Her dad could teleport. Like sci-fi ready teleport.
"You cannot tell anyone, Nadia," he had warned her. "No one. Not even your mom. This has to be kept a secret."
At the mention of her mom, Nadia told her dad about the note. He took one look at it, closed his eyes, and locked his jaw tightly. After just a couple of seconds, he took a deep breath and sighed, his jaw loose again. He had looked at Nadia and said, "It's just you, me, and Jazzie now. We're a team. And we're going to be a hell of team, don't you think?"
Nadia nodded. And it was true, they did became a hell of a team. Nadia made sure of it. She made sure that if her mother ever decided to come back, that they would be even better off. That they wouldn't even miss her.
…
After the final goodbyes were said and Jazz hugged her one more time, she grabbed her fully-packed backpack and headed out the door. JT got out to grab her bag, but she waved him away and shoved her backpack in the trunk of the car. She took one last look back at her little sister and grandmother standing there in front of the house she grew up in. She gave them one last smile and wave before getting into the car and telling JT to ahead and leave.
"Where do you need a ride to? Cause that call with you just saying that you need a ride and to be here in half an hour was cryptic as hell," JT said with the usual teasing smile on his face. He shifted the car into drive and headed down the road. Nadia refused to look back at her family.
"The airport," she said without looking at him. She hadn't exactly told him she was leaving. She had lied to her grandmother when she said that she had arranged JT to drive her to the grocery store.
"The airport?" He asked, a confused look covering his face, as he turned a corner and Nadia's home was out of sight.
"Yes."
"Why do you need to go the airport?"
"I'm going to Texas," Nadia said, looking out the window.
"Texas! Why do you all of sudden feel the need to go to Texas?" JT asked, his voice raised in surprise.
"I'm going to find my dad," Nadia said finally looking at JT. His brown eyes drifted from the road and met hers. He frowned and looked back at the road.
"He's in Texas?" JT asked tentatively.
"Signs point out he could be there," Nadia said.
"What signs?" JT asked.
"Just signs," Nadia vaguely answered.
"Like what?" JT persisted.
"That's for me to know."
"Okay, mystery woman. How long are you going to be gone?"
"I have no set timeframe," Nadia said.
"Wait, what? Ms. I-always-have-to-have-everything-planned doesn't have a plan?" JT asked in mock surprise.
"I didn't say that. I just said I don't know how long it's going to take me to do what I need to do," Nadia responded.
"But you'll be back soon, right? Don't you have to move into the dorms soon?" JT asked. She almost flinched at that question.
"That's not going to be an issue," Nadia stated.
"Wait, why? Dia, you still are going to Columbia, right?" JT asked, worry creeping into his voice.
"I'm actually not going to college at all," Nadia nonchalantly said, looking straight ahead at the road.
JT was quiet for a while. Nadia wasn't used to him being quiet. Nadia had known JT since kindergarten. They had been friends since some older kid was making fun of JT's long braids and calling him a girl. Nadia had immediately stood in front of JT and insulted the bully right back. Her five-year old self had actually made the older kid cry. Ever since then JT followed her around. She became his human shield. Over the years, whenever he put his foot in his mouth, Nadia was there to bail him out. In return, JT softened her always serious nature.
"Are you okay, Dia?" He finally said.
"I'm fine. I just need to find my father," she answered.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked without hesitation.
She gave him a small smile, which he missed since he was looking at the road.
"That would be great, but you have to stay here. I promised my grandmother that you would drive her around each week I was gone," she said.
JT laughed and said, "I'm glad you asked me about it before hand."
"Well, would you have said no?" Nadia countered.
"No way. You scare me. You could kick my ass," JT said.
"Why do people think I'm scary?" Nadia asked, hoping to not talk about anything important until they got to the airport.
"Probably because you barely smile, glare at anyone who looks at you, and have this 'fuck off' vibe going for you. You should work on that," JT said, not in a mean way, but in a way like a brother teases a sister.
"Then why are you friends with me?" Nadia asked.
"Because I knew you before you got so cold and scary." Nadia frowned. She didn't mean to be cold and scary. She just had trouble trusting people. People could be pretty shitty.
"Plus your grandma makes some mean fry bread," JT said, lightening up the mood, like he always did. "So, enough talk about you. Let's talk about me. I have issues, too."
Nadia almost laughed, but rolled her eyes instead. She listened to JT talk all the way to the airport.
"So this is it," he said, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. Nadia had told him not to get out of the car. She didn't need the added stress of him trying to carry her backpack for her. She hated when boys tried to be all chivalrous and carry things for girls. She was strong enough to carry her own bag, thank you.
"I'll be back soon. Take care of my family for me, okay?" Nadia said, looking at him straight in the eye. His dark eyes crinkled on the edge with a smile.
"You know I will. Don't worry about things here. Just worry about finding your dad, okay?"
"Thank you." Nadia hoped her tone conveyed how thankful she actually was. She got out of the car and grabbed her backpack from the trunk.
She leaned to get a good look at him and waved. "Bye, JT. Thanks for the ride and everything. I mean it."
"Come back soon, okay?" JT said, through the lowered window. She nodded, waved again, turned around, and walked in the airport without a look back.
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