The Blossoming Bud

It was a bright and beautiful Saturday morning. The rays from the sun pierced through the leaves of shady trees, giving a sense of tranquillity. 10-year-old Bella Edwards was sitting near her study desk, writing her first diary. She wrote, "Dear diary, This is my first entry. Today is the 4th of February 2012. I would like to introduce myself first. My name is Bella Grey, the only child of Elena Edwards and Jonathan Grey. I was born on Wednesday night, the 14th of November 2001, in the busiest hospital in my country, the Maldives. My mother and father were happy when I was born. They both love me very much. I grew up in the city, where it is over populated, everyone just went on with their daily lives. As I grew up, I felt lonely because I did not have another sibling to play with. It was just me. When I was in kindergarten, I used to sit alone because the personalities of my classmates were very different from mine, and they would bully me because of that. I told my parents that I wanted a sibling to play with. But they said no. They bought me many toys and books. I preferred books over toys, so I would sit in my room all day. reading books. One day, I heard my parents arguing about something. Their voices were muffled, but I knew that they were fighting over something very serious. Days went on with them arguing about the little matters at home. I had to cover my ears and close my eyes. My father started hitting her in front of me. I could not stop him. Things escalated so much in two years. In September 2009, my parents got divorced. I was in the second grade at that time, and it had a negative impact on me. After the divorce, my mother and I moved to the apartment of my maternal aunt, Ivanna Edwards. She was my mother's little sister. She was very hospitable to us in the first few weeks that we stayed at her apartment. My mother even got a job as an elementary school teacher and started paying my school and tuition fees, household expenses, and stuff. She even took a part-time job as a home tutor for disabled children. A few months after my mother started her job, Auntie Ivanna would make my mother do all the household chores, even when Auntie Ivanna stayed at home, unemployed. I got so furious because of that, and I would help my mother around the house. My mother finishes her day and comes back exhausted. But she is so strong. She is my hero. After a year of living with Auntie Ivanna, she started showing her true colours in full. Whenever my mother goes to work, Auntie Ivanna would mock me for about everything. The way I walk, the way I talk, she would even mock me for the fact that I wear glasses. Auntie Ivanna has a daughter named Inna, who is the same age as me. She was a bad girl. She is always pulling my hair and making me trip onto the dining room floor. She even pours water colour on my homework and destroys it. I told my mother about the way they treated me. I have only one friend in school. Her name is Maya Joseph. We met in first grade and have been best friends ever since. We tell each other everything. She is very kind and supportive. She defends me from bullies. Now we are in fifth grade, and we are still in the same class. I have a favourite teacher too. Her name is Nadia Abraham. She is very kind and very pretty. She is my class teacher and she teaches English, Math, Science, Creative Arts and Home Science. Then there are my grandparents. My maternal grandparents are Angelina Smith and Leonardo Edwards. I do not know my grandparents from the paternal side. They both died a long time ago. So I will tell you about my maternal grandparents. I loved my grandpa very much. He always jokes around with me. He is the chief of my island, which is far away from the capital city. He was very busy, but he always made time for his family. I was very sad when he died on the night of August 17th, 2010. He died from a liver disease. Then there is my grandma, I do not like her very much. She is judgemental and very mean. She does not love me or my mother. She loves Auntie Ivanna more than anyone else. Grandpa got angry because of that, too. Grandma lives on the island, and I do not meet her very much. I only visit her on the annual holidays. I also have one more uncle on my mother's side. He is my favourite. His name is Eric Edwards. He is my mother's little brother, the middle child in the family. He was also neglected by grandma, and it made the bond between my mother and uncle Eric really strong. I am so grateful to have him in my life. Anyways, back to Auntie Ivanna. When I told my mother that Auntie Ivanna was mean to me, my mother decided to take a small vacation to the island. We stayed with Grandma and Uncle Eric for two weeks and came back to the city. It was december 2011. The trip gave us a little bit of peace. When we came back to the city, my father came to receive us. Mother told him of our living situation at Auntie Ivanna's. Father told us to stay at his little sister's apartment until he can find somewhere private for us to live in. Her name is Jessica Grey. She is a friendly person. She also has a son who is 4 years older than me. His name is Ryan. He is very polite and welcoming. We have been living together for a month and a half now. Everything is going smoothly. My father even calls us daily to check on us. He never did before. He has changed. I am thankful for these days. It feels good to breathe in peace after a long time of torture and mockery by my own family. These are some of the highlights of my past. I will officially start writing tomorrow. I may not be able to write every day, but I will try my best. I am going to go and start my day now." Bella put her diary aside and checked the time. It was time for breakfast. She went downstairs to see what they had for breakfast. She saw Ryan at the table, already waiting for breakfast. Elena and Jessica were preparing breakfast. They were making toasted omelette sandwiches and black tea. The aroma was so refreshing. Bella was so hungry. She had breakfast and headed upstairs. She saw her mother's phone ringing on the bed. It was an unknown caller. Bella rushed down and handed the phone to her mother. She headed back upstairs to take a shower to start her day properly. That was the only way for her to focus on homework. She took a long and energising bath. She saw her mother waiting for her on the bed. She looked shocked. Elena had bad news for her daughter, and she did not know how to break it to her. "Honey, get dressed and come downstairs. Your father has been admitted to the hospital. We are going there now. Hurry up, okay?" Bella was shocked. She asked Elena, "What happened to dad? How bad is it? Is he gonna be okay??" Elena did not know how to respond. Her eyes were welling up with tears. The only man who was in her life had died. Even after all the abuse that she suffered by his hands, he was still the love of her life, the father of the apple of her eye. She tried to stay strong for the sake of her daughter. "I'm afraid that tomorrow will be the last day you'll see your dad. He..he died... from a heart attack.. Please get dressed and come down. We are waiting for you, darling." Elena headed downstairs, giving Bella space to get ready. Bella was shocked by the news, yet she did not cry. She could not comprehend the reality of death. Elena tried her best not to break into tears, as heartaching as it is. She did not think of another man after her divorce. Even if Jonathan abused her, he loved Bella with all his heart. That was reason enough for Elena to continue caring for the man. Bella, Elena, Ryan, and Jessica went to the hospital ward where Jonathan's body was kept in. Jonathan lived alone after the divorce. His body was discovered by the landlady when she went to collect rent from him. When the landlady approached his apartment, she found that his door was unlocked. She knocked and got no response, so she slightly opened the door and discovered Jonathan's dead body on the floor, beside the bed. Then she brought him to the hospital and let the hospital call his family to inform them about his death. Jonathan was a very heavy smoker, so the family was not that surprised when they found out that he died from a heart attack. The family returned home after the hospital staff took Jonathan's body into the morgue until his funeral could be arranged by the family. He was buried on the 5th of February at 1:30 pm. A lot of people attended to offer condolences to the grieving family. Bella skipped school on that day to mourn for her father's death. The family had a couple of sleepless night after they buried Jonathan. Everyone was numb from the pain. Elena would spend hours crying in the bathroom. She would wash her face and come out so that no one found out. The image of Jonathan's shrouded body flashed in the mind of Elena, keeping her awake during the night. She could not stop thinking about Bella's future. Parenting became hard when Jonathan left them. Elena silently cried herself to sleep for the past few days. Bella did the same, but she did not let her mother find out about it. Months went by when the family tried to move on with their lives. They supported and comforted each other for three whole months. Then everything started to change, again.