A NEW DAY

Ella Andrew

When Cassie stepped outside, she felt relief fall over her for the first time. This had been the first time in twenty-five years that she was able to be outside without restriction, without being surrounded by a wall encompassing her. She was finally free, able to do whatever she wanted.
          No one was there to pick her up when she walked out of prison, which was what she expected. Her family and friends had cut contact with her the day she landed herself there and didn’t expect that to change when she left. She didn’t have a warm house to go back to, or a nice car to drive, and didn’t have a penny to her name. All she had were the clothes that she was wearing and the hope that this time would be different.
          The first time was from the help of her addict of a mother who framed her for being in possession of drugs to fulfill her crippling addiction. And this most recent time was because she finally had enough of her mother’s antics, resulting in her death.
          Walking across the street, she saw a red truck that looked oddly familiar and the person behind the steering wheel even more so.
           ‘Hey! Cass,’ the guy from the truck shouted.
           Confused, she started walking in the opposite direction, hoping he’d mistaken her for someone else.
           ‘Hey, where’re you going so fast? I’m here to pick you up.’
           ‘Ummm, sorry? Pick me up?’
           ‘Yeah, I just thought that you could use somewhere to stay for the time being.’
           ‘Why would I want to stay with someone I barely know? That just doesn’t make sense to me.’
           ‘Cass, of course you know me. I’m your husband and I have someone with me who wants to meet you.’
           Cassie glanced over at the truck. Sitting in the back seat was a girl. She looked to be in her twenties and resembled Cassie in almost every way. From her crooked smile and her rosy cheeks to her small nose and her green eyes. She was the younger version of Cassie.
           ‘Is that my …’
           ‘Yes, that’s our daughter.’