Always and Never | Self Para | June 27, 2018
It wasnât often that Kendall could sneak away on her own, especially to New York City. But she found the paperwork in her dadâs office, and finally had some semblance of an answer. Fire Department of New York City number 37, with the safe haven sign tucked neatly into the facade. Thatâs where her mother abandoned her seventeen years ago, and where she could hopefully find an answer. But as Kendall stood in front of the glass doors, she was taken over by fear.
This was it. No one knew that Kendall had been trying to find her biological mother, not even Amethyst, and it just suddenly became too much for Ken to handle. Numbly, she walked to the bench in front of the station and sat. She sat there for a good hour until one of the firefighters came to see what she was doing there.
âMaâam, are you okay?â She asked, looking over at Kendall with concern.Â
âI, uh...I need to go inside.â Ken looked up from her fingers. She hated the ball of fire that was in her gut.
âDo you want me to walk you in?â The firefighter asked with concern. She reached a hand out to touch Kenâs shoulder, giving the young girl a reassuring smile.
âThat would...that would be nice. Please.â Kendall stood up and followed the woman into the station.Â
The rest of the day was almost painfully slow. She had to dig through piles of paperwork to even find her own. Ken eventually found the right last name, but when she pulled the file...it wasnât her birthday. And not her name. Holland Malone. She had a sister. Well, another sister. This wasnât something she even expected to find. She just wanted to find her mother, but instead she found Holland.
The room around Kendall started spinning, and there was a burning in her stomach that made it impossible to breathe. She clung to her sisterâs birth certificate, her entire mind consumed. Burning tears forced their way past Kenâs stony exterior and she knew she had to find Holland.
Kendall was fully aware of how lucky she was with Ian and her family. She didnât know if Holland found that same kind of love...the same support...
Kendall needed to be there for her. She forefully wipes away the tears on her face before pushing herself to her feet. Their mother could wait, the only person the girl cared about finding was her sister. She carefully folded the birth certificate and put it in her pocket before leaving the file room. She didnât even care that she didnât get her own, her dad had a copy somewhere that Ken had never been able to find.
âThank you for letting me look.â Ken said to the woman who let her in before ducking out of the station. She had a lot of work to do.
It had been thirty-eight hours since Kendall began the search for Holland Malone. Without knowing whether or not the magic gene was passed onto her sister, she found it impossible to narrow down her search. On Facebook, there were about a dozen blonde Holland Maloneâs who looked to be in their 20âs. Twitter and Instagram were of no help either. There wasnât much else Kendall could do without asking her father for help, and she was determined to do this on her own.
Maybe if she went back to the firestation she could find more clues. Ken waited until her dad had been gone for work for an hour before apparating to the city, landing a few blocks up the street from the building. She knew it was a long shot that they would know anything about her sister, but she could at least try. This time Kendall marched into the fire station and found the nearest firefighter.
âUh, hi. I was here yesterday and I just want to know if you know anyone named Holland Malone. She would be 23, maybe sheâs blonde?â Ken asked, her voice trembling slightly.
âWhy do you want to know?â He asked, his brows lowering in suspicion.
âI, uh...I think sheâs my sister. We have the same name and same mom.â She offered, regret instantly engulfing her. He didnât know Holland, and now she looked suspicious.
âYour sister? Well damn, I think I might know who youâre talking about it.â The man looked Kendall up and down. âSeeing you here, you kinda look like her. You can find her in California, she works at some hospital with a weird name. Clydeâs or Cordeliaâs or something like that.â
âCalifornia?â Kendallâs heart sank. New York City she could manage, but apparating to the complete opposite side of the country was damn near impossible for someone whoâd been doing it for such a short time. âThank you, sir. I know where that is.â Ken smiled meekly at the man before turning and leaving.
Her sister was a healer. The pieces of this messed up, complicated, and ugly puzzle were finally coming together to create something good. Now all she needed to do was get to California and find Holland. Then she would be fine.