The Return of O'Leary (Mai and Sunal)

Ireland. A place I remember as a little girl, I used to go there to visit my grandma all the way in the town of Limerick. (My granddad past away before I was born.)My grandma ...used to tell tales of the Celts and taught me words in Gaelic...I miss her smile.

It seems so far away now...This time my return is not to happier times. I will be attending my grandma's funeral. To claim what she has left in her will.

I am Sandra Rose, age 23 and I am the last O'Leary in my line.


Sandra stared at the large clock inside the airport. She was getting nervous, waiting for their late plane to arrive. Yes, their. She was going all the way to Ireland to settle things, but she couldn't do it alone, so she brought a friend. It was strange to her. Everyone seemed to leave her, leaving her in the dust, alone and cold. Most of it was unintentional. Her mother left her father, leaving her to be raised by a man who loved his business more then his own daughter. Her father remarried to a woman who was kind, but could not meet up to her standards of a loving mother. Then her father at the age of 40 was diagnosed with lung cancer. Two years later he past away, leaving her with her step mother and two dogs. When her mother left she was five. When her father died she was 15.

Now here she was with her best friend, facing the truth. She was the last of the O'Leary's in her line. Not the last one in existence, just in close family. It was facing the fact that she was alone. Sandra barely had a connection with her step mom, but she visited her on occasion to keep her company. The truth. She denied it. Seeing things weren't moving any faster, she stood up and stretched her legs and arms, working out the stiffness. Time was a ticking and the plane was still late.

She looked at her friend and grinned. "Want to grab something to eat or maybe grab some snacks for the trip all the way over to Ireland?" She shook her head, pulling out her wallet. "Come on. It seems we have extra time now."

'Too much time...' Sandra thought as she ran a hand through her red curling hair.

"Once we get there, we have time to go sight seeing sound like a plan?" She asked, spreading her pink painted lips into a smile.

James L. Hallbrook sat in a very uncofrtable seat in the terminal of an airport, waiting for a plane to arrive. He was only 22 years of age but look slightly older. His best friend Sandra had to go to Ireland to deal with some issues with her family. It seemed that everyone around her had deserted her, except for James that was. He was inexplicably drawn to her. They always seemed to enjoy each others company.

James let his head fall for a second, allowing his ear length, dark brown hair to fall forward into his face. He stood up and stretched, standing at 6' 3" he was taller than average. Sandra turned to him as he stood and asked him if he would like to grab some food, and if it was alright if they went sight seeing once they finally arrived in Ireland.

Smiling his thin smile, and pulling out his own wallet James decided he was a bit hungry.

"Yea, let's grab a bite to eat, and of course I want to go sight seeing. Im not going to Ireland just to sit around!" He said jokingly.

A small smile crossed her face. The smile was small, but meaningful. It was the genuine O'Leary smile as her grandma used to call it. Every O'Leary had such a smile. It was fact in all the photos the family members with small smile were all the same style. At the age of 8 it meant a lot to her and made her feel proud to be her father's daughter, and youngest O'leary. Something was never right because it seemed to skip a generation, because her father's smiles were always fake. She did not care now. Here she stood smiling at her friend, pushing back her true feelings so she would keep herself in high spirits.

"Where do you want to eat? They have a McDonald, Star....hmmm want to get sandwhichs?" She asked, smiling some.

James laughed at the way Sandra suddenly just decided things. Walking over to her, James picked Sandra up off her feet and held her in his arms while he walked towards the sandwich shop. He enjoyd goofing around, especially when he was bored of waiting for an airplane.

"I am a guy, I will eat whatever food is put in front of me. You decide what you want and we will eat there." James said, still carrying Sandra through the terminal.

Sandra was caught off guard when he picked her up. She was short, but she hated being picked up like some rag doll. Since it was her best friend it was alright. She let a little squeal of surprise and laughed a little. Her eyes blinked a bit as she looked around the airport and thought of what the most affordable place to eat.

"How about a sandwich shop?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.