Carla
Pulling into her drive, Carla disconnected her Bluetooth and grabbed her purse. She put her coat back on and got out of her car. When she closed the door, she leaned back on it and looked up into the night sky to stare at the stars. Sure enough, there was the full, shining moon providing her light. Carla felt energized by the moon, even though she had just worked a full shift. She chuckled to herself and wondered if she was a werewolf or something.
She stood upright and went to her house. It was a simple home. She had inherited it from her birth parents that had put her up for adoption as a baby. She was raised by a sweet elderly white couple that she would always call mom and dad. However, she realized they were not her real parents even from an early age. Her skin and hair looked different from theirs, and they were much older than her friend's moms and dads. She didn't mind though; she was curious as to why she was put up for adoption.
When she had asked her mom and dad who her birth parents were when she was 13, they lead her into the attic to show her the records from the adoption agency. In the file, under reason, it stated, "in compromising situation, must give child up for her own protection."
As Carla thought about her past, which she did often, she took her coat off and went into her bedroom to change into her comfy clothing. Her favorite pair of yoga pants in funky colors, and a loose black t-shirt were her go to items. She had several colors in both, and she was not ashamed. They were worth it, and who would know? It wasn't like she had any guys coming over anytime.
Her mind drifted back to the subject of her birth parents. She was shocked when she received a call that they had passed away two years ago. She was required to privately meet a lawyer to hear the will. The part of the will that she was allowed to see simply stated:
"To our dear daughter Carla, we leave our first home that your mother and I ever lived in as man and wife. The house is paid in full and we hope you will choose to live there and not sell, but it is your choice. If only it had been possible to raise you as our own, you would have been shown all the love in the world. To lose a child is unbearable, but to also know you were taken care of was a comfort. Your mother and I will love you forever, to the moon and back. 135 Hillview Ranch, Minot, North Dakota."
She found herself tearing up as she thought about that simple message that had completely changed her world. They had left her a necklace that had a strange symbol on it, and engraved on the back, it said "to the moon and back". She had an immense curiosity about that address she read at the bottom of the letter. Who lived there, and why did her parents write it in the letter? Did she have family? People that knew her birth parents that were waiting for her to come visit? She thought about it every day, but was too chicken shit to investigate, or make the trip over there. What if they wanted nothing to do with her?