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Freedom

I am small, you do not care to see me.
I am more free than you will ever be.
I fly fast through the sky,
You know I'm not shy.
My long golden hair flutters in the wind,
Every strand so delicate and thin.
My wings are so light
If they tear, I have no flight.
I live in a forest of green,
We must blend in so not to be seen.
I am a faerie, a being of home.
We are never alone.

(Yet Another Incomplete)

My name is Kai Taylor. I am 17 years old. This is my story.

When I was 2 years old, my mother, who was 15, realized that she could not take care of me. She decided to take me to a foster home for well being until she was in better shape. She found a home that would take care of me as long as she needed.
I always knew that who I lived with was not my mother, partly because she insisted on me calling her my aunt, but mostly because we were so different. On my 6th birthday, my foster mother, Aunt Myati, as I came to call her, gave me my mothers graduation photo and explained the whole story. I was happy, and mad, and sad at the same time. I was happy that I had known all along that I had a mother out there, and now I was going to see her again after 4 years, I was mad that she left me, and I was said I would be leaving Aunt Myati. But Aunt Myati reassured me that she would come and visit me sometimes and sometimes I would come with my mom to visit her. The next week, my mother and I were reunited.
That day, no cheek was dry. I was the happiest I had ever remembered feeling. I remebered my mother's sweet lavender smell, her soft brown hair, her smooth calming voice, it all came back to me. I remembered my room, with the pink fairy sheets and the soft plush unicorns. It was always nicer than my mom's room. She had spent everything she ever had on me, and only finished school so she could see me again. Her world revolved around me, so I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. I wiped my face dry, then turned to look at her. "Don't buy me any more stuff." I said. "What are you talking about Kai?" She said, clearly confused.
"Don't buy me anymore toys." I said.
"Why?"
"Because."
"Do you want something else?"
"No!"
"So no more toys for you?"
"No. Put the money in the bank."
"What for?"
"For you to make your room pretty like mine." I said. She smiled and laughed and started to cry again. She hugged me tight. I loved to feel her arms around my body. It felt reassuring.
That night, I went home with my mom.
When we got there, I fell fast asleep on my soft cottom sheets next to my mom.
I woke up in the morning to the smell of fresh bacon and waffles. Every morning with my mom was like that, bacon and waffles. Then I would walk to school with the girls next door and my mom would go to work. She was an arts teacher at the local high-school. As I grew older, my mother grew older. She had a very stress free job, but when I was 12, I saw some gray hairs on my mom's head. "Mom?" I said, walking into her newly redocorated room. "Yes Kai?" She said, continuing to paint the bird she was working on next to her bed on her wall.
"Well, it just seems like, you know..." I said.
"No Lani-Kai, I don't know." (Lani-Kai is my nickname)
"Well, I think you're working too hard." I said, sitting on her bed. She sat next to me.
"Kai, I am stressed. And it is not because I am working too hard, but it is because I am not working hard enough."
'What do you mean?" I was confused.
"Kai, the high-school fired me."
"What?! How could they fire you? You were their best teacher for 6 years!"
"I know Lani-Kai, but apparently I just didn't have what they wanted anymore."
"Oh mom." I said, wrapping my arms around her.
"Now Kai, I need you to be strong for me. I think I have found a job in New York that will suit our needs."
"New York?!" I said. "New York is so far away."
We lived in Jacksonville, Florida then. I couldn't imagine leaving warm, friendly Florida for cold, mean New York. The things I had heard about it.
"Yes, Lani-Kai, New York. That state is always looking for aspiring artists. Just think about it, you could do alot more dancing there!" She said, grabbing my hands.
"I know mom, I just couldn't bear to leave all my friends and warm weather behind."
"Kai, it will be warm in New York during the summer. And you will get to see snow for the first time!" I thought about it. My mom told that if I was not ready to go with her right away, she could leave me at Aunt Myati's until I was. "No!" I said, as soon as the words plopped out of her mouth. "Wherever you go, I will come with you." My mother smiled and wrapped her arms aroung me. Then she told me to leave one outfit out for tommorrow and pack all the rest of my clothes into my suitcases. I started packing. Then, having all of my childish sheets and toys my mom worked hard to get for me only left in my room, I held a garage sale. I sold my sheets, my old clothes, and all my stuffed animals except for one. AbbaEllie. She was the first unicorn I got from my mom when I came back. She was lavendar and pink and smelled like roses. She was my favorite. Once I sold everything, I counted up my money. I had gained $783. I knew my mother would be proud of me. I brought up the money to her. She was taking pictures of my walls so she could remember what they looked like when we moved. She already had a whole new design for my room. Fairies and butterflys, and my bed would be facing a large stage painted on my walls. My mother was an artist. I walked up to my room and handed her the money. She pushed it back into my hands. "Oh no, Lani-Kai," She said. "I did not sell my toys and clothes, you sold yours. So this money is your." She said, smiling. The next day, we got all of our belongings and went in our little dinky truck and drove off to New York. We were to be staying in a place in downtown New York city. Mom said it wouldn't be as big as our other place, but I knew I would live. We drove for 2 days only stopping for gas and food, and eventually we reached the New York border. We stopped in Times Square to see all of the bright lights and then we passed Broadway. I have to say, I was very impressed by what they had there, and I thought all of New York was like that. I was so very wrong. As soon as we neared Downtown NY, the places got darker and messier. People were living on the streets, sleeping on doorsteps, digging around in the trash for something to eat. There were strip clubs tucked deep in the alleyways. I wanted to see people playing jump-rope in the streets, kids running and hiding so they could play hide-and-seek. But I saw none of that. I saw men by light poles smoking stuff, they probably lived on the streets, like so many others here. It was all misery and cold, shame and poverty. Nothing like Florida. But, now, it was my home. Every homeless person we passed, my mom made a strange face. Brave and strong, but at the same time helpless. Eventually we got to our apartment building. Our car came to a screeching halt. My mother turned to look at me as I grabbed the door handle and said softly, "Whatever you do, stay close to me. If I say run, you run, understood?" I nodded and felt chills creeping up my spine. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I smelt trash and smoke. Ther're was a pair of people exchaning something on the door step. The girl looked at least 17. She was skinny and beautiful, but she looked sick and hurt at the same time. It made me remember the time in the past year when my math teacher harrassed me. "Come on, Lani-Kai, don't be afraid." He said, pulling up a chair for me. "Mr. Langer, I really should be going home. I have to help my mom... um... get art paper ready." I said.
"No you don't. Your mom's class is having open house tonight." He said, grabbing a brush and brushing my hair.
"No really, I need to help her..." I started to cry. He grabbed and chair and sat next to me, then he grabbed my hand and put it on his leg. "Oh Lani-Kai, you're so beautiful, you know that? You have gorgeous eyes, your hair is so soft." He scooted closer to me, smelling my hair. He put his hand on my chest, and looked down where he put it. "And you are so well built." He said, laying his head on my breast. "Please," I said, scared out of my wits. "Please, just let me leave." He looked up at me, wiping the tears off my cheek with his index finger. His hands wrapped around my waist and moved down towards my butt. "Oh, Kai," He said. "You're so safe with me here. We can be together forever, just you and I, in our own little wonderland." He started to unbutton my white shirt. Then he suddenly pulled me onto his lap so I was laying on top of him. Then he pushed me onto his desk. He pulled off his pants and sat on top of me so I couldn't move. I was too scared to move. I just lay there, while he unbuttoned my shirt, and I cried softly. I knew I should yell, I knew I should push him off me, but I couldn't. I was too terrified. I was trapped. He was bigger, stronger than me. Soon enough he had my shirt off. All I was wearing was my bra and my skirt. He reached down into my skirt, and the door banged open. My teacher quickly pulled his hand out of my panties and onto his lap. My mother and teacher were at the door. I grabbed my shirt and ran to my mom, sobbing un-controllably. "It's...it's...not what you think." Mr. Langer said, rubbing his head. The cops came in and grabbed him.