Amara stared out her room's window. Her eyes swollen as she had been crying. Her mother didn't want to see her and today, strange people dressed in black, came to their house.

She was a child but in her eyes, her family had been fine. Her Dad, her Mum, and her brother were happy. Till a week ago, her mother fell and she was rushed to the hospital. 'And mum came back fine,' she thought.

But her Dad, he never came home from the office that day. Amara recalled a week ago when she was told by her teary mother that dad had gone on a long business trip.

At thirteen, she understood what her mother tried to say, but she couldn't process it. She couldn't believe it either. Unknowingly, tears started to fall. She asked for her dad but no answer. Then she kicked and screamed; demanding when her dad would return home but her mother ordered her to her room in tears.

Amara stopped for a minute, noticing her mother's legs could give way any minute. Andre appeared behind her to hold her from falling. With helpless guilt and angry tears, Amara stormed to her room.

Presently, she wanted her mother. As she turned towards the door, her nanny, her friend, stepped in front of her, stopping her.

"Where are you going, my dear?" The older woman asked softly.

She whirled around to the older woman's kind face, hazel eyes wide. Amara wiped her eyes, frowning a little. "Mrs. Abigail, I want to see my Mom. You know how upset she is. She can't see Dad too, like me? Is that why she is sad?" She questioned innocently.

The Nanny's eyes teared up as she tucked a strand of Amara's auburn hair slipping from the bun of the already short hair behind her ear. Amara cried till she was allowed to cut her hair weeks ago.

The woman blinked hard tears at the memory. She looked at Amara, the child she took like hers. "Yes, my dear, your mum can't see him, neither can your brother. He has gone to a very far away place."

Mrs. Abigail burst into tears as she said this. Why wasn't he coming back Her Dad loved her, he loved them, and he loved everybody.

Amara remembered her persistence to see her dad, but no one talked to her. Unconsciously, her hand reached up to her short locks. She had cut her hair because of her father.

Dad liked short hair like her mother's, so she wanted short hair too. Dad tried to coax her he loved her long hair, but she had been adamant to cut it anyways. She remembered him smiling down at her, ruffling her hair.

"I want to see her," Amara said almost with a scream.

"Sure. Of course, let's go," the nanny said.

Slowly, they walked out of the room and into the hallways of the mansion. Throughout her childhood, she lived in this big house. Was she still going to live here?

The halls filled with people speaking in low tones. Eyes turned as she stepped into the room.

Needing comfort, she reached for her Nanny's hand as they walked together. Amara could see people whispering and glancing her way with pity in their eyes but no one said a word. Her nanny directed her towards the stairs leading downstairs.

Her legs halted midway. She heard low sounds coming from her brother's room. She moved closer and heard clearly.....a sob.....more sobs then a loud shatter from inside.

All low talks stopped. Everyone heard the noise and turned towards the direction the noise came from, mirroring looks of surprise and confusion.

Afraid something happened to Andre, she slipped her hand from her Nanny's. She started to break into a run to her brother's room, ignoring Mrs. Abigail's calls to see if Andre was okay when a very young man she had never seen in her life, stepped out of the room.

"My apologies. I bumped into a stack of books, my mistake. Please carry on," the man said with barely a smile before entering the room again closing the door quietly behind him.

Puzzlement filled her. Who was the stranger and why was he in her brother's room? Was Andre okay? Is he hurt? Is the stranger a thief?

She was determined to find out.
Quietly as she could, she walked over and pushed the door a little. Immediately, the door opened the tiniest bit. She peeked inside and a low gasp escaped from her mouth.

Andre was seated on the ground, blood dripping from his hand and the other hand covered his face. He didn't even look up when the man strolled over to him. Amara determined to save her brother; she virtually started to scream when she noticed the stranger, holding a familiar box in his hands.

The man knelt beside Andre and opened the first aid kit. He started to clean Andre's wounds.

He muttered something and Dre raised his head. Amara's eyes widened, she put her hand to her mouth as pain gripped her. Andre's face was bloated; his eyes red, and his face swollen.

Amara didn't know for how long she stood there, staring at them. The strange man finished bandaging Andre's hand. Andre's body trembled the stranger put his arms around Andre, hugging him and blocking him from her view. The stranger was consoling Andre.

Instantly, she remembered seeing the stranger's face in her brother's freshman orientation pictures. He was her brother's friend.

Amara stood there for a while and not once did they notice her or could she hear anything they murmured. She smiled a little as she heard certainly the stranger's husky but low voice from a distance. Till this day, she held his exact words to her heart.

"Everything is going to be fine, Andre. You'd see."

And things did turn out to be great!