Soul of the Phoenix

Chapter 6

Sakiya stared at the woman walking to sit beside her, not giving anything away about the bad vibe that she was feeling. "And Hello to you, Mrs. Cohen. I see things have been fairing well." Mara smiled, shaking Holly's hand before sitting back down in her seat next to Sakiya. "Let's get into it, shall we?" Mara asked. Both Holly and Sakiya nodded their heads. "So, Sakiya. I have something I would like to discuss with you, if that's alright," Mara continued. Holly furrowed her brows. "Has something changed since our last meeting, Ms. Buchatti?" Holly questioned her. Buchatti, we've heard that last name yesterday when Mr. Black was here visiting Sakiya said to herself. "Well, yes actually," Mara stated. "We have a new family that is interested in Sakiya, who has no other children. I figured since you and your husband were able to have two children of your own, maybe it would be time for Sakiya to move on and continue her life so she is able to have a family that can focus solely on her. She can't get the help she needs here anymore, Mrs. Cohen." Mara went on. Mara looked at Sakiya, putting her hand on her leg to comfort her before looking back at Holly. "But, what about our agreement?" Holly questioned, the tension in the air rising. "I know, Ms. Holly, but what I have come to conclude is that our agreement included Sakiya as the only child. We didn't suspect there would be more added, and now that your focus has to be split between them all, Sakiya cannot get the attention she needs. You do realize, Sakiya needs more than just a family. She's been through a lot, that can be mentally challenging, especially as a teenager who feels she has no one to talk to." Mara said as she looked at Sakiya with a sad smile on her face."What about this new family?" Sakiya chimed in. "And why are they interested in me?" Sakiya questioned. Mara was silent for a moment. "Sakiya, I know over the years, this has been hard for you. Being third best to a family is not good for a foster child, as those like you need extra attention, especially after th ordeals you've endured during your young life. I figured since we have a new family looking for a daughter, you would be the perfect match. Let's be honest here, we both know your experience with this family hasn't been the best." Mara bluntly stated. "And not only that, wouldn't you want to be somewhere that cares more about you than their own interests?" Mara said. Sakiya thought on it for a few minutes. "I think I would very much like that, Mara. Thank you for thinking of me and wanting to give me a better chance." Sakiya smiled at her, Mara nodding her head. Sakiya may have seemed to give in to her case-worker's words, but she knew this wasn't all there was. There was surely more to this, and she needed to know more to find out what this entailed. If she wanted more information, she had to act the part. Even if she didn't intend on meeting these people, she had to act as if she was. That was the only way right now.

"This is ridiculous! We have raised Sakiya since she was but a child. Why change that now?" Holly asked the worker. "Let's see. Maybe your ill treatment of her makes a difference, Ms. Holly. I'm sure no one would want to know about the abusive foster parent caring for the state's children." Mara spoke against her, smirking. Holly's face turned beet red. "I beg your pardon, Sakiya has had a great life here. Isn't that right, Sakiya?" Holly looked at her with hope in her eyes, Sakiya not budging or wanting to corroborate her words. "That's exactly what I thought. Now, let's discuss the plans moving forward." Mara said, giving Holly a side eye. She knew what was going on behind closed doors with Sakiya this whole time. However, she didn't want Sakiya to know that. She could lose her license or not be able to interact with foster children anymore. Sakiya couldn't let that happen, she had to find out more.

"I'd very much like that." Sakiya replied. "Who's the family?" Sakiya asked. She didn't know if any of these people were in cahoots with each other, but she wanted to keep her guard up just in case. She needed to watch their emotions, body language, and everything else in between. That would be more telling than their words. " I had a plan on my calendar to meet with them tomorrow morning, that is if you wanted to agree." Mara chuckled. "Now that you have, I can confirm it with them. Let's say, ten o'clock tomorrow morning?" Mara asked. Sakiya nodded. "Works for me." She said. "What about my children, what am I going to tell them?" Holly intervened. "I'm not sure, Mrs. Cohen. But its probably best to figure it out before tomorrow morning. I have to go. Please think over our conversation from earlier. I'll see you both tomorrow." Mara said before getting up from her seat and moving towards the door of Holly's office. What conversation could that be? Sakiya wondered. "Oh, and Mrs. Cohen?" Mara turned around, stopping in her tracks. "You might want to say a prayer to the goddess." Mara told her before turning around and continuing on her way. Goddess? This s**t gets weirder and weirder Sakiya chuckled within As the door closed behind her, Sakiya let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Sakiya, we need to talk. Like now." Holly told her. Sakiya grew worried as she thought Mara and Holly were good with each other, it seemed as if there was an underlying problem. "Not here, though. Somewhere that no one can listen in." She finished. "About what?" Sakiya asked. "I'll come to your room tonight. We'll not discuss it here."

Sakiya left the office, heading to her room. She had a lot on her mind, and didn't know what to think of all the tension and shady things happening lately. She was clearly in the dark, and she planned to look more into everything, although she didn't have many resources here. She decided she needed to call Maranda and let her know what had just happened. Sakiya didn't plan on leaving with those people that Mara had planned to introduce her to, not after the meeting with Mr. Black and what she had overheard. She had a feeling the instances were connected, and a bad feeling about it at that. She needed to figure out her escape, and sooner than she expected. She needed to leave tonight. She needed to put a plan in motion.

Once she arrived to her room, she closed her door and locked it. She moved her thin mattress over, grabbing her phone out of the compartment. She dialed Maranda's number and awaited her to pick up. It only rang twice before Maranda picked up. "Sakiya, how did your meeting go?" Maranda asked worriedly. She only knew Sakiya had a meeting because hers was canceled today, and she wasn't allowed to tag along like she normally had. She knew something was up, and looked to Sakiya for answers. "Maranda, they want to send me to a new home. I need your help, and tonight," She said in a panic. "I have to leave, or else I feel I may not be around much longer."