CHAPTER 1

Maya’s POV:

I've never had the privilege of being taken care of, it had always been me taking care of myself for as long as I can remember.

The only thing I remember from my childhood is waking up in a hospital with stitches, scars and pity filled looks from the people crowding where I lay.

I was as confused and scared as any five year old would be. An elderly woman, wearing a white overall and a metal thing hanging over her neck, shooed the other people crowding the room as if sensing my fear, leaving just us two in the hospital room.

“Hi Sweetie”, the strange woman said to me.

I had been looking around the hospital room as I could now see the empty room clearly, I was lying on a soft bed with strings and tubes attached to my small body.

I could see a small wooden table next to the bed and two chairs positioned close to it.

“Maya?”

That name sounded familiar, but my memories and thoughts were so confusing.

I could not remember anything, I didn't even know why I was in a hospital.

This strange woman is trying to talk to me, I realised.

She looked like she was in her 50s. She had pale skin, her grey hair was tied in a low bun, and wrinkles formed around her warm smile. She seemed nice.

I opened my mouth to give a reply but my throat felt dry and it hurt. She must have noticed cause there was a glass of water close to my lips in seconds.

I happily drank the water and thanked her.

“You're welcome sweetie, I'm Doctor Sarah but you can call me Sarah”, she smiled patiently , and sat gently on the bed, close to my feet.

Confusion was all I felt at that moment, Where am I? What happened? Why am I in a hospital? Am I sick?

“Where's my mummy?”,  was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

I wanted my mummy here, though this woman seemed nice, she was not my mummy.

She smiled sadly at me and scribbled on the clipboard she held in her hands.

“Maya dear, how do you feel? How does your head feel?” She checked me over, asked questions and scribbled on her clipboard until she was satisfied and sure I was okay.

I had confirmed now that my name is Maya and something bad happened to me.

I felt okay, apart from the banging in my head and soreness around my body.

“You should rest sweetie, I'll be back to check on you soon”

The nice doctor left the room and young me was left in my little thoughts.

I screamed suddenly as a sharp pain rang through my head. It felt like tiny needles were poking all through my brain. 

I closed my eyes in pain and held my fragile head. Images of people and what seemed like the scene of a terrible accident appeared in my head. They seemed like memories but I wasn't sure.

A brown skin woman appeared with thick curly hair and brown eyes, she seemed to be looking down at me with panic on her beautiful features. A man with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes was also in my line of sight. I felt a tug in my heart by the sight of their familiar faces.

“Mummy! Daddy!”

“Mummy! Daddy!”

I didn't know I was screaming ‘till I looked up and saw the nice doctor from earlier, tears dripping down my chubby cheeks, she looked down at me with concern and worry.

Only when I looked up, did I realize the other two people standing by the door of the room.

They wore matching tee shirts with a name boldly written in front.

( GOD IS GOOD ORPHANAGE HOME )

They had small smiles on their faces as they gazed at me expectantly. As if waiting for me to go with them.

“Maya dear, these nice people are here to take you somewhere safe and take good care of you”

I looked at the unfamiliar faces with fear and alarm, Who are these people?, Did mummy send them? Where’s my mummy?! I want to go home!

These panicked thoughts filled my little head as I couldn’t take the banging in my head anymore. I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head before I could reply to the doctor…

“Maya” “Maya”

“Mayaaa!”

I blinked in confusion, looking around my surroundings for the source of the interruption. I was so lost in my thoughts as I didn’t hear my best friend, Violet, call my name repeatedly.

I looked up from the painting I was engrossed in and looked at my best friend; her long brown hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and the blue sundress she wore really complimented her pale skin. 

“I spaced out, sorry”

Vi's blue eyes looked over me with concern.

“Any problem?”, she asked as she sat next to me.

“Nah I'm okay, I just keep having flashbacks of that day at the hospital. It's really weird”

She crinkled her little button nose and worry lines appeared on her forehead and sides of her mouth. Vi liked to worry about me.

I looked around the art studio my best friend brought me to, the space was filled with plain and used canvases hung on different easels. Vine leaves and other ornaments hung around shelves and windows. 

So beautiful, I would love to have my own one day.

Vi knew how much I love to paint, I couldn’t thank her enough for bringing me here.

She decided not to speak about the sensitive topic and instead chose to give me one of her warm hugs.

I instantly dropped my painting brushes and rested my  head on her right shoulder with my eyes closed and arms wrapped around her soft body.

I loved her hugs so much, they brought me peace, even though temporarily.

My thoughts once again drifted to that awful day 15 years ago. The day my life altered.

Doctor Sarah explained that I had been involved in a terrible accident that led to the death of both my parents.

I was barely breathing when the ambulance found me wrapped in the arms of my mother’s corpse, she had done her best to save my life.

I was immediately rushed to the hospital but my little body couldn’t handle the injuries I sustained, so I fell into a coma for weeks.

Waking up on that hospital bed was the first and only memory I had of my childhood as I completely lost my memories due to the accident.

After my recovery, I was taken to the orphanage home which was supposed to be a safe place for me but it was anything but safe.

I was treated unfairly and bullied ‘cause of the colour of my skin.

I had no friends, no parents and nobody to talk to.

The only person that truly cared for me was Doctor Sarah.

She came to see me a lot at the orphanage home and all I could look forward to were her visits. 

“They are only jealous of your beautiful melanin skin my love, don't ever let them get to you”, she always used to tell me.

I smiled at the thought of Sarah. She truly was an angel sent to me from God.

At the age of 15, I was already a force to reckon with.

I stood up for myself and never allowed anybody to bring me down, that led to a lot of fights and punishments.

The terrible news of the death of Doctor Sarah shook me to my bones one sunny afternoon.

“She died of breast cancer”

“She loved you almost as if you were her own”

I could barely read the content of the letter sent to me by her grandchild, Violet Williams.

Doctor Sarah was gone! My angel was gone!

I wept, read the letter all over again, and kept weeping till I succumbed to the darkness accompanied by sleep.

I was all alone in this world again.

I had to fend for myself since nobody liked me or wanted to be friends with me at the orphanage. 

I ran errands and did odd jobs for the orphanage staff till I saved enough money to run away from the hellhole that was supposed to be called my home…

I had nowhere to go and nobody to run to but I knew I could not continue living like a rat in an orphanage home.

How would a young girl like me fend for herself on the dangerous streets of New York?