Switches

CHERRY COLLINS

I opened my eyes, the reflection of the sun rays, shunned directly into my face. I sat up and rubbed my eyes softly, I took my phone and switched it on to check what time it was, 8:21 am, I sighed! Another frustrating day.

Yeah! It is.

It's been over ten years now, that I've been searching for my best friend, I've literally turned to something else since his departure.

It all started when I was 12, my parents were cooks and owned a massive restaurant empire, everything was going well for me I was the kid every one wished to be.

But this all changed when a raging fire outbreak gutted down the building at night, killing my parents who were working late that day, and two staffs. Since then my rosy life, changed for the worse.

I was left alone, being the only child of my parents, with no known relatives, or if there was I knew nothing about them.

I roamed around the streets eating from trash bags, suffering, being that I was unable to pay the expensive rent on the house my late parents and i lived in, I was thrown out without any mercy.

I got a job at the age of 13, picking trash from every house on the street. Not until I got a mansion where I found Jayson, die to the fact that i went to his house regularly to pick up trash, we became close friends, we were so close that we did things together, to the extent he normally sneaked out of his house under the guise of working out just to spend time with me.

We picked up trash early morning in people's houses. The day he got caught, believe me when I said it was funny, but he never stopped loving me.

The love of our friendship grew stronger, he begged his parents to out me in school. We both attended the same high school and we were both in the same grade.

Not until....... College!

Where we had to split, his parents had done more than enough for me, I was 18 at the time and was fully capable of taking myself so I decided to look for a tuition for myself, he promised he would never leave me, that we would do everything together.

Boom!!! That was it, he left. Yeah! He left me alone, I couldn't contact him, his parents travelled and I lost all bonds connecting us. My life wasn't the same again, it felt as if a part of me had been ripped off.

Things became difficult, I couldn't think straight because I felt my life depended on his existence. I felt I had lost something so precious.

Being at that time when I had little money or I was rather broke, I came in contact with a friend who was poor and lost just like me, together we decided to work as waitresses in a restaurant to raise money.

And believe me it wasn't easy, I became frustrated with life, I lost all hopes of continuing my education at the time, I never wanted to be a waitress, I hated restaurants then because if the bad memories they brought, but there was nothing I could about it, I decided to work harder to achieve my goals, and now…

I'm Cherry Collins, 23, the youngest, famous fashion designer, owner of the third best boutique in the country, an investor and also a budding entrepreneur.

I deal with companies and fashion stores, being that back then I was so obsessed about my best friend's disappearance, I searched for him everywhere but unfortunately it seemed he had left the shores of this country to only God knows where, leaving me to find my own roots and success which I have always wanted to share together with him.

Now,

I have become a cold woman, and believe me when I say I am really cold. I don't smile, I am no longer the Cherry of 10 years ago.

I only smile and show my true colors to just one person, someone who is not just a friend but also a sister to me. She was the person who was with me 10 years ago, when I had no money and we decided on waitressing to make a living.

Now, she's with me in our mansion, yeah, ours, she is also as successful as I am, she is an estate broker and deals with companies too.

She has been on my side for so long, she knows all about my past, she also knows about Jayson's disappearance and has also motivated me with words of "move on", this one she's a motivational speaker that's for sure, a good one, she's weird in her own funny way.

She's the only one who calms my nerves.

She's Jeanne Williamson.

Well that's all for now.

This is my story that is about to be continued!