Growing up, Leyla constantly moved around with her father. Each place she lived had its own positives and negatives and this is what happened at each-
- 2003-2007 New York City, Penthouse (0-4)
- Where Leyla was “born” and raised with her single father Zuzu. Zuzu’s “Father” was living with them helping due to Zuzu’s age. Leyla remembers very little as she was so young living here. From what Leyla remembers and is told was that they lived in a beautiful penthouse and hadn't a worry in the world. Besides the views from the window and the home itself, that's all she can remember. Around 3 is when she was told she was not allowed to learn Russian, she asked many times after this growing up but gave up on the fact.
- 2007-2010 New York City, Small Apartment (4-7)
- Without warning, Leyla and her dad moved out of their home before she started kindergarten. They now were in a small one bedroom apartment and barely had food on the table. Leyla struggled in school as she was constantly up late due to her father having people over or taking her places where she was left alone for a few hours. This is where she picked up drawing, it was the only thing available to pass the time. As she grew older in this apartment she could notice some days her dad was acting really funny and would sleep in and she would end up being late for school.
- 2010-2011 Dolton Illinois, run down apartment (7-8)
- Leyla and her dad moved to Illinois(south Chicago) into a small apartment. Not much happened in this year, Leyla doesn't even know why they were there. She didn't make any friends, people just judged her. Not many memories to make. The only thing she learned while living here is that her mother abandoned her with her father.
- 2011-2016 Boston, Massachusetts. One bedroom apartment (7-13)
- When the pair moved to Boston it felt closer to home, loud, sirens, and a not so safe environment. They were now in separate rooms, kind of. Their small apartment had a small office space attached to the bedroom that became Leyla’s room. The meetings that her father had become more and more frequent. Being old enough to start understanding what he was getting into, she learned to cook simple meals for herself, walk to school, and even help take care of her father. Her “understanding” was that he was “working” and getting “sick” a lot from it. But by 13 she truly understood that he was getting into trouble, and his sickness was due to his alcohol, drug, and nicotine addiction. One of the only things she helped him do was assist with growing his weed because that would keep him in one place. At 12 she was able to get a low paying job of cleaning at a mom and pop restaurant to help put food on the table. Her grandfather, Father, was back in the picture again though being less frequent. Sometimes her dad or Father would bring over women, and Leyla would have to leave their run down apartment again for a few hours. Leyla’s school work began improving at this point, and she even joined the Band and Choir at her school. With her and her father being on the low income side she was able to gradually earn her Oboe through the school’s funding. Her father rarely attended a concert though, but Leyla grew used to the pain. With her father’s “job” he did nearly get arrested but there was no evidence against him, but some of his colleagues went away. She never learned what it was for, but just seeing the cops take him away to interrogate him solidified her understanding.
- 2016-2021 Southside Chicago, Small Apartment (13-18)
- Back to Chicago they went, this time she is where she finished out middle school and high school. Their apartment was better than the previous, she actually had her own room. Though here, she still saw her father bring home women from time to time, but not often. She continued to be in both band and choir throughout her school career, if she wasn't too shy she would have wanted to make a career out of her singing. Outside of band and choir, her grades remained at the average level. Her home life slowly deteriorated, she got another job as a hostess for a small restaurant. Her father never stopped drinking and smoking, though drug use was a lot less frequent. At 15 she became rebellious after meeting some of the other kids whose parents went to those “meetings”. They all joined a small mafia called Bratva, and Leyla started drinking. She quickly became an alcoholic like her father, though she did have the upper hand on it: she can go a long period of time without drinking, but when she does drink she doesn't remember it. Within Bratva she was a runner and cover up person, being one who doesn't speak Russian and looked innocent she was a large help to the group. Outside of alcohol, she did not try any other foreign substance as she did not want to become like her father. Upon graduation, she remained living with her father but she knew how bad this was for her to continue living. She worked with her Bratva command that she was allowed to speak to and due to her good favor she was able to leave without being harmed. After leaving she, with great sorrow, moved out of living with her father and with her lost path she was able to move to a place called Los Santos, San Andreas. There it felt like home, sirens, gunfire, and constant movement.
- 2022-Present time
- Leyla has presided within the city limits of Los Santos for years. Up until sometime January 2024 she had not done much to make a name for herself but at this time she met someone who she quickly became friends with. Together they met up with someone named Rami and joined the Vagos. Or at least one of the many variations of the group that have gone through the South Side. Here she started to sell weed and run rolls for the group. After each slow or fun day she would return to her bush to sleep. There were many members of the group, but she struggled to know their names. And one guy did not seem to fit in, she even had a moment where she attempted to get a group picture and thought to herself; "Who the fuck is this guy? He is ruining my picture". Not many days after Leyla wanted to run roles but her best friend at the time was not around, and the two other people she knew were running rolls together already. Then someone she didn't recognize spoke on radio, "I am alone if you wanted to run rolls together". Reluctantly she agreed because she did not want to be alone, he introduced himself as Burt Murdoch otherwise known as Cowboy. The two quickly hit it off and Leyla realized she had feelings for him, and he asked her out to an event in which she said yes. It was a date! The pair did not end up going to the event but spent time alone together and grew closer. From that day on they were inseparable. Before they officially started dating Burt had invited her to stay at his apartment because she was sleeping in a bush. No matter how stubborn he was, Leyla won and got to sleep on the couch. Eventually the two had left the Vagos together and them and their small group of whom she thought were friends started to hang around a club called Devils Disciples. Leyla chose to stay out of the group and let Burt take the reigns as they did not allow people dating to join. She enjoyed watching him grow into the person he is today. No longer super shy and is now willing to stand his ground. Not long into their relationship the pair got engaged but they chose to wait until Burt got his patch to get married. While engaged Burt admitted he fell for Leyla when he first saw her, but it was not the same for her. Leyla didn't know who he was, couldn't point him out. He had to describe his old attire for it to click for her, Burt was the one she thought was ruining the group picture. He may have fell first, but she fell harder.
- Before their wedding Burt pushed Leyla to become a photographer, she obliged to his request and applied to a business. He knew how much she loved it, more than her joy of selling weed. Leyla quickly got accepted and started to grow customers, fix her camera, and make a true name for herself. On September 29th, 2024 the pair tied the knot with their friends and chosen family around them. From then to this day their small family has grown, they now have a home and two lovely cats Maple and Coal. Their lives continue to thrive no matter what life has thrown their way.