Hunter turns his bike off and holds it steady, offering me his bicep to carefully climb off. I made the mistake in the past of rushing and burned myself. He practically had a cow and freaked on me being hurt, so now I take my time. He’s also begun to teach me the basics of how to drive the motorcycle. In my opinion, it’s far too heavy and imposing for someone like me, but we’ve discussed getting me a dirt bike or something similar to learn on. He toes the kickstand down and swings his leg over, coming to stand beside me. I grab for his hand, needing his silent strength he always seems to have an abundance of.
The front door opens with Luna rushing outside. We screech in excitement as soon as we see each other and race into the other’s arms. We grip each other so tightly, I feel like one of us may burst, but I don’t care. I finally have Luna in my arms, and I love her.
Mary and Laura are right behind, and soon we’re all crying and pulling each other in for hugs. “I thought I’d never see you again,” I confess to each of them as tears roll down my face. “This is my guy, Hunter. He’s been searching for you from the moment I could remember your names.”
“What do you mean, remember?” Mary asks, still holding my hand. “Did something happen to you?”
I nod. “I’m still not sure what exactly, but it caused me to lose some of my memories. They still haven’t returned and may never.”
Hunter cuts in, “We’ve been hoping you can fill in some pieces for us.”
Laura replies, “Yeah, sure. I can try to help. I was with Aura the day we lost her.”
My gaze snaps to hers as I attempt to put missing pieces together. What were we doing?
An older lady comes outside last and goes straight for Hunter. She wraps her arms around him and cries, thanking him repeatedly. “If it weren’t for you searching and sending those people, I’d never have gotten my girls back. I can never thank you enough. The child protective office harassed me for years, believing I had something to do with their disappearance. Just because they each came from a different broken home and I adopted them, it doesn’t mean I’d value their lives any less than my own. I was heartbroken. So devastated because I’d loved them so much already in the short time I had them. Please come inside and make yourself at home.”
She finally lets him go, and we follow her into the house. Mary pulls me down on a couch next to her while Hunter takes my other side. Laura, Luna, and their mother take the adjacent couch. “You all look good, but it’s weird seeing you in pants,” I admit, causing them to laugh. They had weaved clothing, but it was always dresses since they were the least difficult. My own was the cloth of my old dress mixed with vines to cover me fully.
“What happened?” Hunter asks, cutting straight to the chase. I’m glad he’s focused because my emotions are all over the place right now, and I can’t think.
Laura speaks up. “We were collecting fallen coconuts when I saw someone.” She meets my confused stare, saying, “You didn’t see him. I didn’t want to frighten you, so I never said anything about them. I told you to run back to the hut and remain there since we were out further than we usually went. Food was scarcer than usual that year, so we were forced to scout areas we wouldn’t normally visit.”
My stomach pangs, remembering us being hungry so often and not having any food. We never completely starved, but there were many rough times. I’m so grateful we never have to worry about going without food again.
She continues, “I wanted to follow slower so I could watch the man and look for any others. I’d rather get caught than them find you three.” She glances at each of us, and we share a knowing look. Laura has always been the protector, being the oldest, and has taken all the risks to keep us safe.
Luna acknowledges, “We’d have died if it wasn’t for you, Laura.” The three of us nod, knowing it’s the truth. She was brave when we were kids, and it followed her as she got older. She was the one who taught me how to swim and catch fish as well as face down anything we were uncertain of. She made sure we learned how to survive, and without her, none of us would be here right now.
“I did what any oldest in the family would do, even if we were somewhat new to each other. Plus, I knew Mom would tan my hide if I didn’t come back with you all.” She plays it off, making their adoptive mother smile.
“So you live with Hunter now?” Luna asks, moving the conversation away from the heavy, and I nod.
“You love him?” Mary’s next to pipe up.
“Yes, he saved me. Something happened when I went back to the hut, and I didn’t end up making it all the way there.”
Hunter leans forward, giving my thigh a reassuring squeeze. “We think you had a serious allergic reaction. By the time we found you, you were barely breathing.”
“Oh my God,” Mary gasps, her hand moving to her mouth.
“Hey, I’m right here and better than ever.”
Laura nods. “I heard a loud noise and saw your group coming toward our spot. I thought Aura was already safe somewhere, so I gathered Mary and Luna, and we ran. I was too scared to stay longer and see what your group wanted.”
Now it’s my turn to gape. “The entire time you were right there, you saw them… you guys could’ve come home with me.”
Hunter offers me a tender look. “No, beautiful, she did the right thing. She kept herself safe, which was the smartest thing to do. I wish I’d known I’d find you there, I’d have come better prepared for others, and maybe circumstances would’ve been different.”
Their mother stands. “What matters to me most is you’re all here and safe now. We’ve each been given a second chance at life, and I don’t ever intend to waste it. Now, who’s ready for a slice of cake? I have a delicious strawberry cream cake waiting on the counter to be sliced up and shared.”
I smile gratefully and stand, then with a burst of emotion, I hug her. “Thank you for loving and adopting such amazing daughters. They were everything to me on the island and will be a big piece of my heart for the rest of my life. You should be very proud of everything they’ve done.”
“Oh, honey…” she pats my back, “… I’m extremely proud of all of you. You’re the strongest young women I know.”
We follow her into the kitchen, and I’m ambushed by my friends. “We’re not going anywhere,” Laura chides.
“Yeah, you’re stuck with us,” Luna offers with a flirty wink.
Mary lightly tugs on a fallen strand of my hair. “We love you too much, you’re one of us. We’ve adopted you into our family, too, if you haven’t caught on. We’ve spent too many years with you to let you off the hook now.”
I smile widely, used to her teasing me in the past about how I was meant to be adopted with them. She used to say it’s why I ended up with them looking out for me. It was meant to be.
“Love you, too, Mary.”
She smiles and presses a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Hunter, has she sung for you yet? Our Aura has quite the voice.”
He smirks. He hears me daily. “Yes, but not for me, only our plants.”
We all laugh, and I can’t deny it because it’s true.