Lovely Dawns And Sunsets

A woman came almost literally bouncing into the airport. Her short, streaked hair flying back from her pace. She smiled to a family, overhearing; ‘Dean, come on. Your sister will be waiting!’ from a mother. The woman looked down at her papers nervously, reading the name of the girl that would be staying with her family. She always wanted a daughter, and this one was just how she would picture her own. She pulled out a picture of a blonde girl to refresh her memory of how the girl looked. The woman flipped the picture over to read, ‘Raeann Burt, Noiz Concert, ‘05' in small blue letters scrawled on the back.

The woman looked around sheepishly to see very few teenagers near Raeann’s gate. She smiled at her fortune to not have a hard time finding the girl. However, at first glance she couldn’t be sure where this Raeann was. Thoughts rushed to her head about the girl missing her flight, or being abducted. The woman’s worries intensified until she saw a black bag with the Canadian flag drawn on it in silver sharpie. This Raeann was supposed to be from Canada. So, the woman approached the girl belonging to the bag. She couldn’t get a good look at the girl since she had her head down, and a hood up, but she was certain she saw Raeann’s blonde hair. “Uh, hi.” She said holding her hand out to the girl.

Dawn picked her head up when she heard someone say hello. There stood a woman with brown hair and red streaks, holding out her hand. She nodded, shaking the woman’s hand hoping this was Bethany. “Hey.” She said pushing her hood off her head to show her red and blonde hair.

The woman smiled seeming uneasy for a moment. “I know this will sound weird but, um, would you mind telling me your name?” she asked timidly.

Dawn smiled. This must be the woman she was waiting for. “Dawn” she stated forgetting the papers wouldn’t just say ‘Dawn’ on them.

The smile faltered on the woman’s lips. “Beth. Sorry for acting weird. It’s just that I’m supposed to be picking up a girl from Canada. She’s staying with me here in New Jersey for a while.” Beth took her seat beside Dawn.

Dawn was disappointed this woman wasn’t the one looking for her but decided to strike up a conversation in the mean time. “Huh, you don’t say. That’s the same case for me. She may have been near me on the plane. Do you have a picture?” Beth rooted around the papers she was holding until she found the picture of Raeann.

“Funny thing, her hair color would be the exact same as yours without that red. What is your natural color?” Beth said handing over the photograph.

“Hard to believe, but the blonde is. Ha, yeah, I know my eyebrows are darker and all. Weird, eh?” Dawn let out a chuckle before looking at the picture. She was immobilized when she saw the all familiar face looking up at her.

“Her name is Rae . . . oh shoot. Not Raelynn, oh, it’s . . .”

She was cut off by Dawn’s voice. “Raeann Burt.” Beth nodded her head and asked how Dawn knew her, all the while musing to herself how she looked a lot like Dawn.

Dawn stood up, picking up her bag as she did. She paced back and forth under Beth’s watchful eye. A smile grew on Dawn’s face more and more each second. Finally, she turned towards Beth with and outstretched hand.

“Nice to meet you, Bethany Frasier. I’m Raeann Dawn Burt, and it will be a pleasure staying with your family this next year.”