Chapter 1
“Kira, hurry up we’re going to be late!”
“Coming!”
Kira quickly tied the scarf around her neck before running down the steps. She quickly placed her boots near the front door before running out of the house with mama yelling for her to slow down.
Her boots splashed against the puddles as her legs moved towards the car. Mac stuck his tongue out and pulled the bottom of his eyes as she entered.
“Slow poke, slow poke!”
“Shut up you brat!” Kira screamed, rolling her eyes as she buckled up.
Papa shook his head before closing the door. Mama soon entered the passenger seat and instantly, it grew quiet. Mama didn’t like loud sounds, and especially hated it when she fought with her brother. Given that he was 10 and she was 16, it was understandable. However, he was so annoying, and she couldn’t help herself.
“Are you ready?” Papa spoke.
“Yes!” She yelled as Mac followed afterward. She cut her eyes at his sly smirk but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned her head towards the window and watched the neighborhood pass by.
Kira was excited to finally go on the vacation her parents had promised them. It was Winter Break and it had been raining for several weeks so, they weren’t able to go anywhere while the town flooded. For the past few days, it had stopped just enough to dry slightly before it started raining again yesterday. Mama thought it would be a good idea to leave the town for a while so we could enjoy the rest of our break. Papa didn’t think so, but he would never object to mama. He loves her too much.
“Papa, can we stop somewhere. I have to use it.”
Mama turned around her seat with a look of disapproval. “Kira, I told you to use the bathroom before getting into the car. How many times do I have to say it?”
“Michelle calm down. We are only a few minutes out, it’s fine to stop,” Papa spoke as he turned off the freeway to a rest stop.
Mama smacked her lips. “You’re always spoiling her. She needs to learn to be more responsible; she’s almost an adult Terrel.”
“She’s 16 not an adult. And even if she was, she will always be my baby.” Papa looked at her in the mirror before winking.
Kira smiled in response.
Her papa always had her back. She knew her mama loved her; however, she was a tad bit too strict compared to papa.
The car stopped at a small gas station and before it could fully stop, Kira was out the door and running towards the restroom. She sighed as she finally was able to let herself free. Afterwards, she washed her hands and made her way back to the car. Kira could see her parents arguing where she was.
She was sure they were arguing about her as they always were.
Kira looked at her feet as she slowly walked towards the car. Once she made it, she silently sat in her seat and looked away from her mama’s disapproving gaze.
“…Well let’s get on the road, shall we?” Papa spoke before he pulled out of the parking lot and was once more on the freeway.
What was meant to be a carefree journey became tense and angry.
Kira did her best to ignore the shouting of her parents but, it was difficult when a 10-year-old was huddled against you, holding their ears.
“Please stop,” Mac whimpered making mama turn to look at him with a soft gaze before looking at papa with anger.
“You’re upsetting him! We can talk about this later when we get to the mountains.”
Papa scoffed. “I’m upsetting him? You’re the one who is making a problem out of nothing. This was supposed to be a lighthearted trip for them but, you always make things so difficult!”
The shouting started once again, and it started to become too overbearing for Kira. Before she could say something, a light flashed on the side of her. She could only look before the scream of her brother was heard.
Kira awoke with a flinch.
With a grimace on her face, she pulled herself up against the headboard. The sheets were drenched in sweat as usual. It had been almost ten years and yet, Kira still has the same night played over and over in her dreams every night like clockwork.
“Get a grip Kira. You have to get up for the day,” she muttered to herself before wincing as she moved wrongly.
She grabbed the beam that was beside her before leaning over to her wheelchair. Once it was closer, she used her arms to lift herself up, turn over and sit in the seat. She bound her legs against the rest before pushing herself to the bathroom.
Kira emptied her catheter before getting herself ready with a shower. She made sure to oil herself before attaching the catheter bag to her upper leg and pulling on a long-pleated dress.
She rolled herself to the sink to brush her teeth, wash her face and put on sunscreen. Kira didn’t bother putting on any makeup; it wasn’t like anyone paid her any attention.
They only saw a wheelchair bound girl and avoided her like a plague. Even if she wanted a love life, it wasn’t possible for her.
Kira then went into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. And by quick, it was only a bowl of cereal.
She was a nuisance in the kitchen. She was sure if given the chance, water would set fire.
Kira cleaned the dish before she took her keys and was out the door. She rolled down the ramp and went towards the elevator.
She rolled her eyes as the usual trash that was supposed to be taken away last Saturday was still sitting there.
“So unprofessional,” she muttered before slowly maneuvering herself around the trash to press the button.
“Come on, come on.”
Kira tapped her finger against the arm rest impatiently. She could feel the anger brewing within her. Kira has spoken to the superintendent about the crappy elevator however, he only said,
“Maybe if you had two working legs, you would be able to take the stairs.”
She couldn’t believe pieces of trash existed in this world. Kira wasn’t defected, and her condition wasn’t something to be made fun of.
People just didn’t respect what they didn’t understand. And unfortunately, Kira was the butt of the joke.
It took a painstakingly four minutes for the elevator to come up to the 4th floor.
She sighed in relief as she entered the rickety box with a cross of her fingers.
Four minutes later, she was finally out of the death trap and on her way to her job. What would usually take only ten minutes to walk, took Kira almost thirty minutes.
The small town didn’t have any accessible sidewalks and Kira had to be forced on the streets with the road-ragers and student drivers. She had to be cautious in how she positioned herself or she would risk getting hit.
By the time she made it to her work, Kira was sweaty with aching arms.
Her breathing was ragged, and her vision blurred for a few seconds. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Slowly, she opened her eyes before facing the building.
Poppyseed Cookie Shop was written in cursive letters on the building. To the the naked eye, the building was something that anyone would look over. The bricks were as brown as a brownie, there was only one large window on the left center that glazed over so anyone who passed by wouldn’t be able to see in.
However, the inside was like walking into another world.
The interior was like a magical treehouse with maple-colored flooring, illusion walls that made the building look like the inside of a tree. There were twinkling lights covering the ceiling and travelled over the walls that replaced the lights, to create a dim and romantic feel.
The tables were created as bark, the chairs and benches were like cushioned slabs of wood that looked hard to touch but, was as soft as a pillow. In a tiny corner was the employee station that displayed the cookies and cakes. The display was like a dream with almost every flavor displaying a beautiful sight.
People say that Poppyseed Cookie Shop was a place that was blessed by God himself.
However, Kira thought it was a piece of crap.
It was just a regular shop that gave people the opportunity to eat and work at the same time. It was just a hole in the wall that most wouldn’t give a second glance.
Kira rolled her eyes before she rolled into the shop. Luckily, it was one of the wheelchair assessable places in the town besides the grocery store.
“Welcome to Poppy- oh! Good morning, Kira!”
She fought the urge to cringe at the sound of Melodie’s usual bubbly voice.
The woman was beautiful with smooth brown skin, and golden brown eyes. She was slim in all of the right places and average height. She had a small dimple on the side of her left lip that showed itself whenever Melody was excited.
Which happened to be an everyday thing.
Melodie was a catch until she opened her mouth.
Kira grunted at her greeting before she hurriedly went into the employees only door. She grabbed the light pastel pink apron with disgust.
She glanced at the clock to see it was half past eight. She quickly clocked in and made her way back to the front of the shop.
Kira plastered a fake smile across her face as the door chimed open to an upcoming customer.
“Welcome to Poppyseed Cookie Shop where your dreams come true! What can I get you today?”
