The Loneliest Girl

Maya ran her pointer finger over the worn creases of the letter on her lap. Though she had opened her mailbox to find the letter less than a month ago, she had folded and unfolded the piece of paper so many times it now appeared fragile and antique.

She gingerly folded the letter, careful to realign the creases then slipped it behind the front cover of a small black book. The book itself appeared even more worn than the letter residing within its pages, having been Maya’s prized possession for as long as she could remember. More often than not, her only possession. It was left on her tiny chest wrapped tightly in a blanket with but three words on its many pages. ‘This is Maya’. Everything she knew about herself was between those two tattered pieces of leather.

She had clung to that little black book like her life depended on it as she was apathetically and unapologetically swung from foster home to foster home until one day, she was declared an adult. On that very unceremonious day, she was dropped off at a bus stop just as she had been the day she was born. Except this time, she had more than a blanket and a book. Though she had built herself a modest little life in the two years that had passed, she had not managed to build what she wanted most; a family.

However, according to the letter she had read countless times, all of that had changed. Maya had a family. A family that had been searching for her for years. She had been more than a little suspicious at first, the contents of the letter seeming too perfect, but that feeling had faded as both time and conversations passed.

The sender of the letter, Lucas Kinion, had a voice as sharp and elegant as the keyed letters themselves. Though, as the phone calls continued, she had come to adore his quick wit and surprisingly soft laugh. According to the family tree he had described, she was his cousin, younger by some years, along with many others. Lucas had chronicled a rather large tree consisting of many branches, but all somehow connected by their Great Grandfather Reginald Kinion. His recent passing had been the key to Lucas finding Maya. He had kept meticulous files on every family member, even Maya’s mother who had mysteriously disappeared one day and never returned. With some funds and detective work, she had been found.

The letter had invited her not only into the family, but also to a ‘Reading of the Will’. A will that she had been written into as the child of Ada, her mother. She had never known her mother’s name, but Ada somehow suited her, or at least the person Maya had created in her mind. Maya had to be present to receive the portion of her Great Grandfather’s fortune; millions divided among the remaining. Maya was left twenty thousand dollars. She could change her life with that amount of money.

She had hopes of renting an apartment closer to her new family and enrolling in college to become a teacher as she had always dreamed. Maybe she would minor in art as Lucas had. He was a collector of fine art and even sculpted a few pieces of his own. He had laughed and told her that maybe it ran in the family. She daydreamed of all the ways her life would change for the better as she sat on the cracked leather seat of the city bus, each turn of the wheels bringing her closer.

The bus rocked to a stop with a hiss. She carefully zipped her book into her bag then stepped into the chaos of the bus station. She smoothed the fabric of her dress. She had spent the last of her savings on that dress in an attempt to make a good first impression. Her fingers shook as she dug two dimes out of her purse. She slipped the coins into the slot of the pay phone before picking up the receiver and dialing the number to the Kinion home.

The line rang twice before Lucas answered. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Maya began. “It’s me, Maya. I made it into town.” She said, her voice lined with excitement and nervousness.

“Maya!” Lucas responded joyfully. “I’m so happy to hear that. I’ll send a car for you! Everyone will be so excited to finally meet you. I know I am.”

She returned the affection and hung up the receiver. Eighteen minutes passed before the taxi arrived, calling her by name. She slid into the back of the car, picking at a loose thread on one of her gloves as the vehicle rolled onto the road.

She thanked the driver when they arrived, who had to politely ask her to exit the cab, her swirling emotions freezing her in place. She closed the door behind her. The cabbie pulled away down the long driveway, the car shadowed by the massive trees. The Kinion home was exquisite, unlike anything Maya had ever seen. Before this moment, the largest building she had ever stepped foot into was the orphanage. This was somehow even larger with a gorgeous garden endowed with brightly colored flowers, statues, and glorious bushes trimmed into intricate shapes.

She paused to admire a bronze statue of a woman praying, her eyes closed, her fingers interlaced against her soft mouth. Another depicted a young woman dancing, her leg extended in a perfect line, her arms wide at her side. There were multiple of the similar style. She wondered if Lucas had created these.

She walked to the large white front door, her fingers hovering over the giant doorknocker. She steadied her nerves and knocked, the heavy sound carrying through the empty garden.

The door opened and a tall blonde man with broad shoulders and piercing blue eyes opened the door. He smiled softly. “Maya?”

She nodded, her eyes pricking with tears. “Hi, Lucas!”

He extended his arms to her and she dropped her bags, wrapping her arms around his waist. She laughed into his chest, a feeling of belonging washing over her.

“You came,” He mumbled into her hair. She sniffled through a laugh in answer. “It’s always the lonely ones that come,” he said, his voice dropping.

She slowly lifted her face toward him, her body still pressed against his. “What?” She questioned, her heart pounding as she pushed against his chest.

He shushed her and pulled her in tighter as she struggled. Still gripping her tightly with one arm, he raised the other to her face and cupped her round chin.

“Oh, yes. You’ll be the perfect addition to my collection.” He swung the door shut behind her.