"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
— Khalil Gibran
Cleo's POV
Ten Years Later
Dreams do come true. There will always be ups and downs—but dreams do come true. Sometimes all a person needs to reach their goal is just a little push. I believe God sent me to be that push for Kiekie.
I still remember it like it was yesterday when Kiekie was announced as the first winner of the National Periodic Competition.
Her eyes shined brightly, like the sun reflecting on a diamond. Her smile was so wide that you could see every tooth her lips could reveal when they cracked open in joy.
Her eyes searched the crowd, tears shimmering in them.
She wasn't looking for her parents because they had already made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with her anymore.
She was looking for me.
And I was shouting at the top of my lungs when the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia handed her the award.
Even Chuck and his friends were celebrating her.
To this day, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that the boy who made Kiekie's life miserable only did it because he was jealous and craving attention he never got at home.
So he made Kiekie his victim and poured his wounds onto her.
She was smiling that day, but I could still see it in her eyes—she wished her family had been there.
But nobody came.
Not even JC.
And the worst feeling in the world is abandonment and loneliness.
It wasn't an easy journey for Kiekie.
Physical scars hurt, but emotional and mental scars leave wounds deeper than anyone can imagine.
And now… ten years later…
After graduating from St. Mary's Catholic High School, life took us in different directions.
Getting scholarships abroad from Liberia isn't always easy. But by God's grace, I was blessed with an opportunity to attend one of the best universities in the world—Oxford University, where I studied Investigative Journalism.
But this story isn't about me.
This story is about Kiekie.
I am proud to say my friend is now a successful chemist.
Her family loves her now.
And that was the only thing she ever wanted—their love and support.
She forgave them.
I know you've seen our little conversations throughout her story. She and Bettina are now very close.
She forgave Chuck too.
Some people may think it's strange… but yes, she eventually married him.
Today, Kiekie works as a Chief Chemist at DuPont.
She is also the founder and owner of AdellaCrystal, a company producing organic skin and hair products.
Over the years we also became friends with Sofia Parker, who is now happily married to Antonio Haywood.
Kiekie is married, but she doesn't have children yet. She wants to focus on expanding her company throughout Africa before starting a family.
And Chuck supports her dream.
Kiekie's POV
Some people come into our lives for a moment.
Some come to break us, shape us, push us, or leave us along the way.
But some people come to stay.
Cleo stayed.
From the very first day we met on the campus of St. Mary's, when she defended a girl who couldn't even speak English from bullies, she held my hand.
And she never let go.
I cannot thank Cleo enough for what she did for me.
I learned that you don't need the whole world to be your friend.
All you need is one person who will stand by you through thick and thin.
After high school, the U.S. Embassy in Liberia offered me a scholarship to study at Harvard University, where I majored in Chemistry and later completed my Master's in Molecular Chemistry.
Moving to America wasn't easy.
Everything was different.
The food.
The weather.
The seasons.
The technology.
The education system.
Even the time difference.
I had to learn how to adapt.
But no one ever said the road to success was smooth and sweet like ice cream.
The journey is hard.
But the destination makes it worth it.
When I moved to the United States, Cleo moved to the United Kingdom.
We were on different continents.
Different time zones.
But distance didn't break our friendship.
It made it stronger.
Because sometimes family isn't found in blood.
Sometimes family is a stranger who chooses to love you more than your own blood.
Cleo Brown taught me that.
During my time at Harvard, I had to study harder than I ever had before.
I grew closer to God.
I tried sports.
And I even went to therapy.
Now, therapy might sound easy when people talk about it.
But the journey is hard.
Because therapy forces you to return to the moments that hurt you the most.
To face the child inside you who was abandoned… rejected… bullied… and unloved.
There were nights I woke up screaming.
Days when I ran into the bathroom with trembling hands.
Moments when it felt like the walls were closing in around me.
But every session in that quiet room, with the soft smell of lavender candles and the gentle voice of my therapist, helped me breathe again.
Healing isn't roses.
Healing is messy.
But it is beautiful when you are willing to face your demons… and allow your angels to fight beside you.
One professor once told me:
"You can fall down, or you can get down. When things fall, they break. But when you get down, you can stand up again."
And I did.
Every time I stood back up, I became stronger.
I stopped blaming myself.
I stopped asking "Why me?"
And the day I forgave myself…
Everything changed.
It took years to mend my relationship with my parents.
At first, I didn't want to.
But when I became a born-again Christian, I started praying for them.
And slowly… we became a family again.
It wasn't easy.
But they came to my graduation after eight long years.
They were there.
We went to family therapy together and even joined programs at our parish.
My parents learned their lesson.
Bettina now hosts a talk show called "Bella Angels," where she discusses issues affecting children and families across Africa.
She says it is her way of helping others and living without guilt for what she did to me.
As for Chuck…
He spent seven years asking for my forgiveness.
Seven years.
It was on the day of my Master's graduation that I finally said yes to him.
People make mistakes.
But people can also change.
Chuck changed.
Today we are happily married.
Yes, he hurt me in the past—but the past is behind us.
Life has taught me that everything that happens—good or bad—happens for a reason.
Chuck now runs a motivational blog where he speaks to young people about bullying, mental abuse, and insecurity.
He even visits schools in Liberia and America to raise awareness about bullying.
He once told me something that stayed in my heart:
"If we ever have children, they will never experience the pain I caused you."
Today Chuck and I live in the United States.
But my heart is still in Liberia.
That is why I am working on expanding AdellaCrystal back home—to give young scientists the courage Cleo once gave me.
To show them that even a child from a small country that survived war… can still become a scientist the world respects.
Nothing is impossible.
All you need is faith, determination, and the courage to believe in yourself.
---
Today Cleo and I are at the beach.
She is in America for a week working on a project, so we decided to spend the day together like old times.
Cleo is still searching for her soulmate.
But while she waits, she's enjoying life and discovering who she is.
She wore a soft pink beach dress, a sun hat, and carried her waffle bag as we walked along the shore.
I wore my favorite ocean blue and white beach dress with a white hat.
The smell of salt filled the air.
Waves rolled gently onto the sand.
People laughed and shouted happily in the distance.
Cleo and I held hands as we walked along the beach.
"I don't know why people in my family love Bella so much," I joked.
She rolled her eyes.
"Don't be silly. Your name is Bella—Isabella. Seriously, Inna… has chemistry destroyed your brain cells?" she laughed, dragging me toward the water.
I laughed and splashed water at her.
"Thank you, Cleopatra Brown… for loving me and being my friend. Thank you for everything."
She smiled.
"Don't thank me," she said, splashing me again.
"Thank God."
We laughed like the little girls we once were.
And for the first time in a long time…
Life felt beautiful.
The End 🎉🎊