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easier tha n not knowing.”
     
    Their d eaths remained a mystery with no real suspects or clues. No one had any ideas of how my family died, s o the t abloids did what they do best and created their own story.
     
    The headli n es pointed to me as a person of interest because I was a t eenage girl that wore black clothes, worn jeans , had piercing s , highlights and tattoos. Obviously … that meant I did it. What a joke! How could they get off doing things like this? I’d just lost everyone I cared about , why couldn’t they just leave me alone?
     
    The suggestion of moving away came up again and this time I di dn’t object . T here wasn’t much left for me in Greyton, other than a few friends I never really saw and a lot o f memories I needed to put some distance between.
     
    We proceeded to my house to collect some of my things for the move . I couldn’t bring myself to go in . It was too painful . The memories of that nig ht flashed fresh in my mind .
     
    Uncle Danier went inside and Auntie Stephanie sat in the rental car with me . She reached back and held my hand as she assured me over and over that everything was okay . No one else was going to get hurt and I was safe.
     
    My heart beat sporadically waiting for my uncle . I found it hard to breathe ; my body trembled from fear. I needed him to come out now. Jus t when I was about to start sc reaming my face off, he emerged with two suitcases .
     
    The sight of him almost made me cry. I was so relieved that he was safe and made it out of my house. He walked towards the car and put my bags in the trunk and g ot in the passenger seat . He turned to Auntie Stephanie , giving her a fake smile . I saw right through it. He was insinuating that he w ould never go back in the house again. Then , he turned around to me. “I didn’t grab much, j ust some of your clothes and a few other basics. You can check it out when we get home.”
     
    We silently made our way to the airport. I sat thinking about all the good memories I was leaving behind. Sadly, t hey were now out numbered by the bad memories residing in their place. I found myself almost relieved to be leaving. It would’ ve been too difficult to put m yself back together with all this uncertainty in Greyton. Uncle Danier was extremely quiet and I assumed it was because of what he’d witnessed inside of my house. I was glad no one spoke. I wanted to forget about all the bad — all of the unknown .
     
    We arrived at the airport, dropped off the rental car and t hen proceeded t o the airline counter and check ed in. The airline took our bags an d we made our way through security. As we boarded the plane , I felt more and more apprehensive about the fligh t. What about Ginata? I already missed her so much, could I leave her behind? Was this the right thing to do? I was leaving everything I’ d ever known. This was a huge change . I took a deep breath trying to get back in the right frame of mind. Change was good , I reminded myself as I sat d ow n in my seat. A fresh start was what I needed . I took another deep breath in and invited the change.
     
    ***************** *****
     
    “Well, this is it, ” Auntie Stephanie said , and I realized the small island where my aunt and uncle lived was now considered home.
     
    Uncle Danier took our suitcases out and h auled them up the front walkway. I was about to offer him some assistance, when h e stopped and I noticed him wipe his eyes. H e’d been crying. I t dawned on me that he ’d lost his sister, just as I’d lost my mom. I went up to him, but before I got a chance to say anything, he said, “Awe, kiddo. I’m glad you’re here . ” He hesitated, and the n added: “ I really wish it was under different circumstances , though .” He attempted a smile , but it didn’t hide his pain .
     
    Auntie Ste phanie gave me a warm smile , and to my surprise , her small gesture made me feel a tiny bit better. She wrapped her loving arm s around Uncle Danier and