One of Us

By Breanna Ausby

“Life some days may seem as though nobody can hear you. You may feel as invisible as the wind gracing your skin every time it blows. Many things may not go as you have planned, and that will be fine. Understand that life will not get the best of you unless you allow yourself to get lost in the negativity of the world.”

Find yourself immersed in North Carolina, where living among the rest of the world is one person that just “gets it.” Follow Emma, Amy, Sydney, and their close friends and family through their journeys where faith takes over and God steps in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781387414178

Book preview

Chapter 1

Every day she is reminded that she created this.

Every day they walk by, barely acknowledging her sitting there.

Emma is the name she prefers to be addressed as. Although that is her actual name, many may choose to call her by her title if they knew what it was.

Emma stood at 5 ft 4 inches. Beautiful mahogany brown skin, brown almond-shaped eyes, and gold flecks swimming in them. Her pearly white smile sparkled every time she smiled. Emma usually wore her salt and pepper hair in an afro; however, recently, she has worn it in two-strand twists. With her kind demeanor, you would believe that everyone would speak or, at the very least, they would wave.

Mama, we’re ready to sing happy birthday to Mia. Emma’s daughter Emily said as she walked out the front door to meet her mother on the front porch. Emily was the perfect likeness to her mother; she had the height, skin, smile, and eye shape. The only differences were that her eyes were honey brown, and her hair was jet-black and in butt-length knotless box braids. The sky was a beautiful mixture of pinks, purples, and oranges as the sun began to set. With the cool Autumn breeze kissing her face, Emma smiled up at Emily and retreated into the house to celebrate the birthday of her 5-year-old granddaughter.

As Emma and Emily entered the house, they were met with smiles.

Hey, sweet pea, Emma said to her 5-year-old granddaughter Mia. Let’s get to the song to get you some cake. Much like her mother, Mia, too looked like her grandmother. Her jet-black hair hung in two-strand twists down her back. Her eyes, identical to her grandmother’s, met Emma’s, and they both smiled.  

As they sang happy birthday to Mia, Emma smiled and thought inwardly of Mia and how much she had grown over the last five years. Emma watched as her granddaughter and her mother swayed to the song giggling and clapping. She had witnessed this with her other children, and it made her happy to see it every time.

Watching Mia blow out the candles on her cake, Emma nodded to her husband, Jonathan, and excused herself to her office. Entering her office, she sat down on the black loveseat across from the clear acrylic desk in the middle of the room and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths, *In – 2 – 3 – 4* *Hold – 2 – 3 – 4* *Out – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8*. Releasing the last breath, she realized that she had been in the office a little longer than expected. She glanced around the room, taking in the décor, black furniture with yellow accents, and books lined the walls placed perfectly in the black bookcases. Then, wiping the tears from her face knowing that she would have to deal with her situation a little later when she would have a bigger window of time to explore remedies, she returned to her family in the kitchen.

Jonathan looked up with his honey-brown eyes as she returned to be with the family and gave her an assuring nod. Jonathan’s skin mimicked the color of milk chocolate. He stood at 5 ft 10 inches in height and was in the best shape as he frequented the gym. He kept his salt and pepper hair in a low cut with the temples faded, and he, too sported a dazzling smile.

Happy that Jonathan understood that she would need to take small breaks to breathe during the day she returned the nod and smiled at him. He never asked her for her reasoning for leaving out randomly to take her breaks; he just knew that it had been happening since before they met, and he had accepted them.

As the party for her granddaughter ended, Emma waved goodbye as her family left to go to their homes. As much as she loved spending time with her family, there were always things that she also needed to handle.

Sitting back in her rocking chair on the porch, she sighed and began to note all the good that had happened during the day. The porch was her favorite place to sit and think. She and Jonathan placed chairs in specific positions so that she would always be in direct sunlight. She enjoyed the feeling of the warmth from the sun on her skin. The porch complimented the two-story white brick house so well. The circular pillars were painted black and stood on either side of the porch. Much like the décor of her office, the accents on