I could see my aunt and uncle waiting beside their car. She clung to him with tears streaming down her face as I got to the entrance of the gate. The minute it began to open, they started toward me. When there was just enough space for me to slip out, I broke into a run to them. Placing my box on the ground, I fell into their arms, crying profusely.
“You’re free,” Aunt Penny whispered, kissing my cheeks.
“We’re so happy to have you home, baby girl,” Uncle Clive added.
“Thank you.” I pulled back to look at them. “Thank you for never giving up on me. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you—”
Aunt Penny placed a finger to my lips. “None of that. You are our niece—practically our daughter. We love you. There’s nothing in this world we wouldn’t do for you.”
She kissed my cheek and pulled me back in. It felt so good to hug them. I could feel the love flowing through them and into me. I needed that like I needed air to breathe and food to sustain me. They loved me. They’d spent thousands of dollars fighting for me for ten years. Every week, they were there for visitation. And now, they were the first people I saw when I stepped out of prison and back into normal life.
I wasn’t sure what lie ahead for me, but as long as I had them in my corner, somehow, I knew I’d be okay.
We pulled up at the home I’d spent much of my childhood in. Everything was just as I remembered it. Uncle Clive still kept a neatly trimmed yard. Aunt Penny still had the beautiful rosebushes lining the front porch. The tire swing I used to push my sisters on still hung from the big oak tree, and the familiar birdhouse my uncle and I had built was still there, too.
As happy as I was to be here, I was too nervous to get out of the car. Every negative thought flooded my brain. What if I couldn’t survive out here? What if my aunt and uncle decided they didn’t want to help me anymore and put me out before I could take care of myself? What if I was doomed to go back behind those barbed-wire fences and concrete walls? I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear my uncle open the back door.
He stooped down and took my hand. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m scared.”
“What are you afraid of, baby girl?”
“That I’m not gonna make it out here.”
“Listen to me: Penny and I didn’t fight this long and hard to get you out to let you fall by the wayside. You’re home. This is your home for as long as you want it. We will always be by your side, Alayah. If you don’t believe anything else, believe that.”
I looked from him to my aunt who simply smiled and nodded.
“We can take all the time you need,” Uncle Clive said. “When you’re ready, we’ll go inside.”
I sat there for a moment with my eyes closed. Fear was once my worst enemy. It was the one thing that held me captive for so many years. Fear of speaking up caused me to be subjected to unspeakable acts. It led me to taking a life that ultimately cost me my freedom. I was free now. Rodney was dead, and he could never hurt me or anyone else again. I had a second chance at a new life, and I had to make the best of it.
Opening my eyes, I turned to my uncle. “I’m ready.”
He nodded and stood to help me out of the car then grabbed my belongings. I followed my aunt up to the front door. When she opened it, the familiar scent of lavender and honey floated into my nostrils. I hesitantly stepped in behind her. Aside from new furniture and new paint on the walls, it looked almost as I remembered. I slowly walked around the living room, looking at the pictures on the walls. There were several of me and my sisters.
I stopped in front of one of the three of us from the last Christmas we spent together. I was sitting on the floor, and the two of them were sitting on my lap, all three of us wearing big smiles. There was so much pain behind my smile, but I always managed to put on a brave face for Adrienne and Amiyah.
Reaching out, I touched their faces. I missed them so much. If nothing else caused me pain, it was not being able to see or talk to them in ten years. Tears pooled in my eyes as I looked at the picture.
“Do they still come over?” I asked.
“Adrienne comes whenever she wants,” Aunt Penny said. “She’s the rebel of the two of them. Her and your mama don’t get along, but Kennedy refuses to let her come live with us. Amiyah is a little more timid. She doesn’t like confrontation and tries her hardest to appease your mother. Sometimes she comes with her sister, but she mostly calls or FaceTimes us.”
“Are they safe with her?”
She sighed. “I’d like to think so. I always ask Adrienne if there is anything going on that we need to know about. She always says no. I do know that Kennedy has a new man. She’s been with him for a while, but he isn’t allowed to stay over or be around the girls without her being there.”
I gave a sigh of relief. At least she learned from me. It would kill me to learn that she’d allowed yet another man to do to my sisters what Rodney had done to me.
“I miss them so much, Auntie.”
She came up behind me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “I know, baby.”
“I need to see them.”
“Kennedy knows you’re living here. The day of your parole hearing, she called and cursed me out for allowing it. Apparently, Rodney’s mother called and told her everything. She forbid us to see the girls as long as you are here.”
