Sheba's Song

Sheba’s

Song

MAGALY HERIVEAUX

Sheba’s Song

Copyright © 2022 by Magaly Heriveaux. All rights reserved.

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The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of URLink Print and Media.

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Published in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022903281

ISBN 978-1-68486-111-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68486-112-5 (Digital)

22.02.22

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to every child, individual, or family who values the gift of togetherness, friendship, and love.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Special thanks to my family, friends, and colleagues, who have encouraged me along the way.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Chapter One: Family Roots

Chapter Two: Getting to Know You

Chapter Three: Wrath of the Dungeon Lady

Chapter Four: Life at Hickory Brook Creek

Chapter Five: New Discoveries

Chapter Six: Once-in-a-Lifetime

Chapter Seven: Paramount Valley Blues

Chapter Eight: The Remedy

Chapter Nine: Finding a Part of Me

Chapter Ten: Sheba’s Song

Epilogue

Resources for Immigration

Resources for Dyslexia

Books by this Author

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

At this time, I live in Brooklyn, New York, and I have accumulated over fifteen years of experience in Social Work.At this time, I hold two Master’s degrees, one in Educational and Developmental Psychology and the other in Social Work. Additionally, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I am licensed in New York State as a Social Worker (LMSW), have my membership with the National Association of Social Work (NASW), and have provided counseling to individuals of all walks of life, including families and children.

This book will show you the beauty friendships, and it will also show you how families can stay together, even when things aren’t easy. You will learn the value of relationships, how they stand the test of time, and the meaning of true love, no matter where you are from. Relationships that last during the good times and bad times are priceless; that’s what you will see when you read this book.

Families’ Bond

Some Families’ bond are as strong as can be.

It’s a comfort to have; it’s a treasure to see.

A mother’s caring look and a father’s protective arms.

A grandmother sits…knitting some yarn.

God blessed us with our families.

He wants to bless everybody.

Our bond has brought us where we are.

They have carried us here so far.

Our families’ ties can bring so much.

With some there is never any fuss.

God brings us all to a place of praise.

Every good gift is by his grace.

Our hearts will tie us all together

and carry us through rough weather.

Life is full of unpredictable things,

but families pull together no matter what life brings.

We need to know that God has a plan.

For every girl, woman, boy, and man.

He creates these bonds, so we can see,

there is nothing stronger than family.

-M. Heriveaux

With this poem in mind, we should all say today, and every single day, we will live, love, and celebrate families and friends!

CHAPTER ONE

Family Roots

Five, four, three, two, one…Happy New Year’s!! It’s New Year’s Day in New York. There is confetti everywhere and not one unhappy soul in sight. Hello, my name is Sheba. I am enjoying New Year’s Day with my adopted sister Zoey and our family.We are in Times Square, and it is exactly 12:01 am.We are now in the vibrant year of 2011! Life couldn’t be better. Everyone just finished watching the ball drop, and it was spectacular! It’s bitterly cold outside, but since we are with family, and surrounded by so much excitement, it makes it easier to forget about the numb sensation in my toes. There are so many people cheering and blowing their horns, we can barely hear each other. There are also a lot of people who are hugging and kissing each other. Since everyone is so hyped up, it is hard to tell if they even know each other or not. I guess all of the snow and slushy ice wasn’t going to get in their way of enjoying the festivities either.

The blinking lights that decorated the Christmas trees were amazing! All of the neon lights from the different restaurants were so bright, they actually overshadowed the moonlight! All around me, I heard other groups of people singing Auld Land Syne. They swayed back and forth, while their voices crackled. You may not recognize the title of this song, but I’m sure you recognize the tune and some of the lyrics.

Should old acquaintances be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintances be forgot,

And days of Auld Lang Syne?

Boy! Oh, boy! It’s really quite a scene, and I am loving every minute of it. Since the crowd started to get out of control, our family decided we should move from the area. They wanted to avoid us getting knocked around or separated. We quickly agreed, made our way to a little coffee shop, and got some hot cocoa. The scenery wasn’t very glamorous, but we didn’t care. We were so grateful to be someplace where we can sit, defrost ourselves, and have something warm to drink.

If we had stayed out here any longer, my face would have fallen off! said Zoey. Aunt Abigail reassured Zoey, no such thing would have happened.

About an hour later, Zoey and I were still enjoying the company of our aunts and uncles. We flew over from Philadelphia with Uncle Rupert and Aunt Millie. They are the ones who Zoey and I are living with. We talk so often to Aunt Abigail and Uncle Zack in New York, it didn’t even feel like we were visiting them for the holidays.

When we finally finished a few rounds of hot cocoa, we decided to get some cheesecake. While we were eating, Zoey and I took our opportunity to tell a few round of Knock, Knock jokes.

Alright, alright! Me first! Knock, Knock? Who’s there? everyone answered.

Can!

Can who? everyone asked.

Can you mind your own business?

I had to chuckle at my own punchline. The joke was pretty funny to me. Everyone else started to giggle too. After the brief chuckle, Uncle Zack expressed kindly, Sheba, I thought your joke was kind of funny. I just hope next time you tell a joke that doesn’t come across too sassy. Someone else might get offended by this type of humor. Please keep that in mind whenever you tell another joke. Make sure you know your audience.

But, I already know all of you.

Uncle Zack laughed and said,Oh, you know that’s not what I mean. I was in such a cheerful mood it didn’t matter.

Okay, Uncle Zack.Anything to make you happy.

After he finished speaking, Zoey chimed in,Alright, my turn! Go ahead Zoey.We’re listening, said Uncle Zack.

Knock, knock.

Everyone shouted,Who’s there? Juanita, replied Zoey.

Juanita who?

We need another order of fries! Get it? Juanita order of fries! Zoey jeered. Everyone laughed, chuckled, and spend the next forty minutes telling more jokes. Poor Zoey never did get those fries. Oh, well. It was a very clever way to try to get some more.

It was getting pretty late.We had to start finding our way back.As much as we enjoyed our time, we had to get some rest. Zoey and I had a flight to catch the next day with Uncle Rupert and Aunt Mille. We really didn’t know where all the time went. Just as quickly as we arrived in New York, it was already time to leave. It was way too short. We could have easily enjoyed a few more months with each other. We wouldn’t have even noticed the time slipped by.

We finally got some rest, got ready, and woke up the next day…feeling refreshed. We were filled with excitement from seeing Aunt Abigail, Uncle Zack, plus the New Year’s festivities.

We all sat at the breakfast table and had a feast that could stay in our bellies for days! There were cinnamon and raisin flapjacks, warm blueberries, raspberry preserves, and spinach omelets with rye bread.To make things even better, we also had homemade strawberry smoothies, seasoned potatoes, turkey sausages, and buttered corn muffins, that were still cooling down.With so much food, who could even think of drinking the hot chocolate with marshmallows, the freshly squeezed orange juice, or the apple-cinnamon tea with honey? I do not know for anyone else, but I couldn’t even look at it! We laughed some more, until our hearts were content.We learned more about each other and our fascinating family roots.

An hour later, we all pitched in to help Aunt Abigail clean the kitchen. After having such a grand breakfast, she packed some take out trays for all of us. We had more than enough food to bring with us to the airport. Since we were not allowed to bring food on the plane to Philadelphia, we had to make sure to eat as much as possible.

Well, it was about that time.We had to say our final goodbyes to our precious Aunt Abigail and Uncle Zack.We hugged and kissed each other goodbye. Uncle Zack stood in front of the door and kept an eye out for the cab.The driver finally came, and Uncle Zack helped load our luggage in the trunk.When he was done, both Aunt Abigail and Uncle Zack waved to us, as we drove away.

One week had passed, since we saw Uncle Zack and Aunt Abigail. I really missed them, but we were definitely happy living with Aunt Millie and Uncle Rupert.

Life couldn’t be any better, because Aunt Millie was very warm and loving towards Zoey and me. She enjoyed teaching us different recipes, gardening, and sewing. She always encouraged us to try different types of activities at school and wanted us to have many friends. She was a very loving aunt.

Uncle Rupert was pretty supportive of us too, but he showed it in a different way. He placed heavy emphasis on our schoolwork. Uncle Rupert always made sure we completed our homework, studied for our tests, and understood what we were doing. Just to make sure, he would create very interesting games to help us remember what we studied. This is how life was like for us in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, things were not always this way.You see, Zoey and I were at Hickory Brook Creek last year.That was our foster care agency.We had a pretty rocky start when we were younger. During those early years, things were far from good.As a matter of fact, things were pretty bad.We really hated it and were sad all of the time. One day Zoey and I both finally got tired of it, so we decided to change things. Before you knew it, we were with Uncle Rupert and Aunt Millie.

Right now, we are still getting to know some of our family members. I would have never thought our family was sooo big! Imagine having so many relatives and not knowing anything about them.

While I sat in the living room, I started looking at some old photo albums.The pictures were black and white and kept falling out of it. Uncle Rupert came by the living room to check on me. He saw I was looking at the family albums and decided to join me. He smiled a little and told me more about mom and dad.

Sheba, both of your parents had you when they were young.They had just started college and were recently married.They didn’t realize how challenging it would be to take care of themselves, finish school, and care of you at the same time. Since they couldn’t keep up with everything, they decided it was time to give you away to a foster care agency, he said.

I felt my eyes start to swell and