Valentine, a young lady still in her teens is taking the responsibility of an adult. She is living in the suburban areas of Connecticut with her grandmother. Her father passed away in her very early childhood years. Her mother ran off as soon as she had Valentine, therefore, leaving her daughter a life so different from others. Valentine never really got to know her family except her grandmother, Ella. Now that Ella is sick, Valentine dropped out of school to care for her grandma. Valentine acted as of an adult all her life after she turned 12. She was never given much of an opportunity to just play and relax in the summer, or to hang out with a couple of friends on the weekends. She never even got a chance to have some actual friends, except referring to them as “just classmates”. Leaving for school early in the morning with breakfast and lunch prepared for Ella, then returning in the late afternoon. She quickly finishes her homework, before starting her chores and helping with dinner. That was Valentine’s schedule before she dropped out of school. Now, she stays home just with chores, and supervises her grandmother’s activities.

       Whenever there are opportunities, she tries to take them. The opportunity for her to go to night school is very limited. She could try to finish all of her chores during the day, which she always does, but she can’t leave her grandmother alone in the house. What if she fell? Who would she call for help? They also can’t afford a caretaker for Ella. One day, Ella realized what she is doing to this poor child. So she said, “Valentine sweetheart, I really thank you for all of the things you have done for me. But now, I want you to take the opportunity to just go finish school. I will ask a friend to come take care of me.”

    Valentine hesitated, and then said, “Grandma, I really do wish to complete school, but I know my responsibility is to take care of you.”

    “I know you do very much Valentine. You also know that I need a caretaker and that job is filled by you!” replied Ella. *Sigh*

       “Sometimes, I just wish I could be a regular teenage girl.” She muttered under her breath.

     The next day was the same as ever. Get up, get dressed, prepare breakfast, and then start on chores. Nothing ever happened at the Wilson’s. Valentine always daydreamed during her work. Daydreaming about how a school day would be like: with friends, classmates, and teachers.

 

   Journal:

       Dear Journal,

           Why? Why must my life be made into a miserable one? Everyone around me has parents, parents that love them. They would also protect them to the extreme that they are willing to sacrifice themselves. Yes, it is true that my grandmother would do the same for me, but it is just a complete different feeling. I can't exactly describe it. One thing I can say is that as far as I can see, there is a tight bond from parent to child, not grandparents to grandchildren. There are some children out there that just don’t appreciate the love they receive. They just take things for granted. I think if they were to be in my position, they would cherish everything they own. I wish I could experience that feeling with my biological parents. Why? If only my mother could be understanding and be at home to watch me grow, like every other mother.

                                          Still dreaming,

                                                                                    Valentine

 

    Dear Journal,    

         Today was an even more miserable day, compared to others. I was raking the yard right next to the fence after eating breakfast. I heard the next door neighbor’s daughters Lillian and Marie back talking about me. They were often referring to me as “Cinderella” because I am always doing housework and I don’t get to hang out with friends. Lillian and Marie have always been the mean girls since elementary school, but it was middle school when it all started. My first day of middle school was a nightmare! Suddenly, when I came back to school, everyone hated me. They started trash talking about me. That night, I just wished I could have run to my mother and cry in her arms and everything would be better.

                                             - Valentine

 

“Yet another day passed without drama. Sigh…..sigh…sigh…”Valentine was sitting next to an open window listening to herself breathe. “I wish I could be anyone else for a change. Even Mr. Fields who works in the bakery in town will do.” She sighed for the 4^th time this minute. Suddenly, Ella called for her from the book room on the opposite end of this floor. I dashed out of the room wondering what could have been so urgent. But, when I looked inside the room, she was only sitting calmly beside the window staring out as I did just minutes before. She curled her finger at me, signaling me that she wanted me to come over. She then gestured to the chair that was sitting beside her. I did as I was told.

   I honestly didn’t know what she was trying to accomplish. I was somewhat hesitant. She pointed out the window. I saw a bird couple, perched next to each other on a small branch, slightly in the shadows. They were singing happily. Then, a few branches up the same tree, I saw a mother bird chirping to her young as though she was saying, “It is time for you to fly, to take off.” There was silence between us when we looked out the window.

    After what seemed to have been hours of silence, Ella finally said, “It’s a good sign.” I didn’t ask any further questions and returned to my bedroom. I think my grandmother saw my puzzled face, but she didn’t explain.

 

     Journal:

         Dear Journal,

              I keep thinking about the moment when my grandmother called me into the room. I still don’t quite understand what she meant when she said, “It’s a good sign.” Is she trying to tell me that something good is going to happen to me? To us? How long? My head is swirling!

            From the past, I know my grandma usually has a meaning or purpose behind strange things she would say.

            This time, I hope it is for the reason that either her health gets better and/or I get to go back to school!

                                                                                   

                                                                                     With Love,

                                                                                         Valentine

        

            P.S.  Oh! How I wish you were a talking journal. Then, you could suggest me with ideas to help me solve my problems!

 

   One day, two days, three days, a week has passed. Everything is the same as always. Is this what my grandmother meant by “It’s a good sign.”? The weather has been nice and nothing bad has happened? I don’t know. She started with her chores once again.

      <2 hours passed>

    “Ding-dong, Ding-dong” I suddenly bounced up, awakening from my nap. I was so exhausted for some reason. *YAWN* “What time is it?”

        I ran to the door. It was unusual, the only time the doorbell rang is when the mailman stops by to greet us and give us our mail which is at 1:00pm, but now, it is 6:00pm!

    When I opened the door, I saw a lady in her late 30’s in the doorway. Something sparked. She in some perspective resembled my mother, but I wasn’t 100% sure.

    “Hello,” she said, “Is this the Wilson Household?”

    ”Um…,” I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t too sure of these women, therefore, if she was trustworthy or not. She did look friendly.

     “Yes.” I finally replied.

    “Oh good! My name is Alice Wilson, the mother of Valentine Wilson.”

     My jaw dropped so wide! My whole body just went into shock! “You, you…” I stammered. It was just too much to take in. I couldn’t finish my sentence and almost fainted.

    “Does her father Andrew Wilson live here?” she continued to ask. Ella didn’t know what all the commotion was about and was slowly making her way down the stairs.

   “Mother!” the lady yelled. From her look, it is as though grandmother also went into shock.

    “What on Earth are you doing here?” Ella finally said. “You’ve been missing for 14 years now!”

     “I know it is sudden, but I finally realized what is wrong and decided to come home.” She replied. “I felt it was wrong to abandon my daughter at such a young age. She never really got to know me, so now, I hope is still not too late.”

     “I have raised Valentine very well on my own, thank you very much! You might as well not exist in her life any farther than before.”

    She said in anger, “Mother, I know I haven’t been a good mother myself, but now I can change. I don’t think Valentine has completed school, so why not I take care of you in substitute?”

    I first thought mother could have been a fraud or something. She didn’t really act the way grandmother described her. But, by acting with the person she described, I put the pieces together and came up with a conclusion that she was my real mother. She stayed at the house for a week. She could cook, do the dishes and laundry. Things I wouldn’t expect based on Ella’s description of her. She did lift some of the weight off of my shoulders. I actually feel that I can bond with her.

    At one point, she said to me, “Valentine sweetie, I would really hope to see my only daughter to graduate as I said before. Can you fulfill that dream of mine? I can take care of my own mother, but I can see that you have already done a very good job—Thank you.”

    I thought long and hard and replied by saying, “Yes, I will!”

     She went to her room for at least what have felt 3 hours. Then she appeared once again.

    “Valentine,” she began, “this year’s semester is about to be finished, so I enrolled you to next year’s fall semester. I couldn’t hold it back; I dropped to the floor and started crying. She pulled me up and walked us to the couch. I soon fell asleep on her shoulders.

 

 

       Four Months Later……

 

    Dear Journal,

         Here I am again! Today was the first day back in school! I was enrolled in the town high school. As soon as I walked in, I met my very first “friends”. (Wait! Why am I still using quotes for the word friends? They are my actual friends!) It was a nice feeling, a new feeling, one that I never got to experience, and will remember forever. Their names are Madeline and Katie. We share some commonalities. We were raised by people other than our parents.

    After school now, I might hang out and gossip with them. We go to the movies on the weekend. That is the positive side, but the negative is that I have homework—lots, so there is a lot of pressure on me. I need to have the stamina to stay up late every night to finish my homework. After a while, I eventually adjusted to the “harshness”. My grandmother and mother are both doing very well, so I’m really happy.

                                                                                         

                                                                                Always Well,

                                                                                    **Valentine**

  

To Be Continued…..