It was another normal Saturday morning for five-year-old Lilian Henderson. She jumped out of bed, brushed her teeth, sprinted back to her room, marked the calender, (she started kindergarten on Monday, and Nathan would be born on the 27th!), picked out her clothes, (which was a pink T-shirt and blue jeans), and raced downstairs. She ate her breakfast which consisted of of pancakes, eggs and bacon, and a glass of chocolate milk. Did I mention that she practically fell on her knees to beg her mom to take her to Luci's house once she had packed her bag to go to her Aunt Lucille's house for the day?

Lily set her tea cup down on the coffe table. "Luci, you will not believe what I just found out."

Her cousin, four-year-old Luciana, looked at her with intrigue. She mimicked Lily's movements and brought her cup down. "What?"

"Our names are almost the same."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yu-huh. Lookit. L-Lily, L-Luci. L-Luci, L-Lily. Watch. Try it." She glanced at her cousin expectanty.

"L-Luci, L-Lily. L-Lily, L-Luci. Eep! They do!" She squealed.

"Don't forget me," their nine-year-old cousin teased, "L-Logan." He playfully stuck his tongue out at the two before taking a step in their directon. "You always do."

The five-year-old scrambled to her feet and tackled her cousin to the ground with a bear hug. "I could never forget you Logie. I love you a lot." She placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

He gave her a gentle hug before wiping the slobber off his cheek. In return, he placed a soft kiss on her hair. "I love you too kiddo."

"I'm not a kid anymore," she huffed, "I'm going to kindergaten almost."

"You're so lucky Lily! I wanna go to kindergarten too!" Luci exclaimed.

"You will! I know it!" She galloped back to her spot and motioned for Logan to play with them. "Logie, come play with us!" She pulled her puppy dog face, which was strikingly similar to her cousins'.

"Okay." He gave her his signature dimpled grin before taking a spot next to them on the floor.

"How many sugars Logie-Bear?" Luci asked sweetly.

"I'll take three Luci-Bear," he replied.

"Cream?" she chirped.

"Yes please."

"Crumpets?"

"Crumpets?" he asked confused.

"Yeah, they're kind of bread," Lily informed him.

"Oh. Okay, sure!" The three beamed at each otherand enjoyed their 'tea' in silence for a few minutes.

They heard the phone ringing a few minutes after they had finished their tea.

"You're it Lily-Cat!" Logan tagged his younger cousin. The three ran around, tagging each other and laughing the whole time.

"Lily," her aunt Lucille called out from the kitchen. "Get your stuff Sweetie. Your mom's gonna pick you up." She came in wiping her hands with her apron.

"Aww! Mommy, does Lily really have to leave?" Luci whined.

"Yes dear. She does," Lucille replied while tying the soon to be kindergartener's shoes. "Go get your backpack Lily. It's in Luci's room."

"Yes Antie," she sighed sadly. "Can I come back tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh Lilian! Of course you can! You know you're always welcome here!"

"Yay!" The girls cheered. Lily gingerly hugged her aunt. "Thank you!"

"Any time. Now go geet your stuff. Your mommy will be here any minute." She carefully shoved the girls upstairs.

Logan took advantage of the moment and darted out the door with a, "Mom, I'm going to Bri's house! 'Bye!"

The girls took their time going upstairs. "Gosh Lily. Sometimes I wished you lived here."

"I know. Me too." An idea popped into the little girl's head. "Hey! Maybe I can ask my mommy if I can live here when she comes. And you can ask your mommy!"

"Yeah!" They high-fived each other and dove into Luci's room. Lily snatched the backpack from her cousin's bed and zoomed downstairs.

"Mommy, Mommy!" The four-year-old squealed.

"Shh! Not yet. we haded to wait until they're both here."

"Okay!" They shared a grin.

An hour had passed by and and Teresa still had not come to pick Lily up. Luci had gone down for her and Logan still had not come back from Brielle's house. (Brielle was Logan's best friend. Their moms were best friends and when Teresa became her uncle Philip's sister-in-law, she had fit right in.)

The petite brunette squirmed in anticipation. What if her mom had already let her live here and she was just coming by for a visit? She had to admit: she'd miss living with her parents. Nathan would be born soon and she wanted to see how he'd look. But she loved Luciana more and nothing could change that. She slid off the couch and skipped to the kitchen, lugging her backpack around. She tok a seat next to Lucille, who was casually sipping her lemonade.

"Do you know when my mommy is coming?" she asked innocently.

"She should be on her way soon. Why? Do you miss her?"

She shook her head, which caused her curls to bounce along with the movement. "No. I just wanna ask her something."

A tiny smile played on her aunt's lips. "Oh really? What is it you ask her?"

"If I could live here with you and Luci." She shrugged her shoulders casually.

"Oh really?" she repeated, trying to contain her laughter. "Why would you wanna do that?"

"Because that way Mommy won't keep coming for me. She could just visit."

"I see. But won't you miss your mommy?"

"Yeah, but I miss Luci more when I see her."

She remained silent, but her grin was contagious. The doorbell rang just then. "Well, there's your mom. I'll let her know know you'll be coming by tomorrow."

"Okay." She slipped her hand through Lucille's and began walking to the door, with the little girl chattering the whole way about bringing her toy horses tomorrow.

A somber policeman was at the door, looking like he had some bad news to deliver. "Is there a Lilian Henderson here?"

Unaware of his seriousness, she spoke up. "I'm right here!" she chirped.

He stared gravely at her before staring at Lucille with a sad look. "She's so young," he choked out. "A-Are you Lily's aunt?"

Worry began to take over her aunt. "Why, yes I am. Is there something wrong?"

He nodded bleakly. "Will you step outside so I may be able to tell you?"

"Sweetie, why don't you go play with Logan's Xbox for awhile? I need to speak with the nice man for a bit."

"Okay Auntie," she replied in a singsong voice. But in all honesty, she had no intention in doing so. The conversation was more interesting, especially because it was a policeman.

She waited for awhile before trotting to the door. She opened the mail sill to hear them better.

Lucille was shaking while the officer was trying to control her. "How did it happen?"

"They were coming onto the highway when a semi-truck came by and took them. Her father died on impact with broken bones and a fractured skull. Her mother was inslightly beter condition. An ambulence rushed her to the nearest hospital, but when she flatlined on the way over, paramedics were not able to revive her."

Her aunt began hyperventilating. "A-and the baby?! What about the baby?! Please tell me the baby's fine!" she shrieked.

Why are you yelling? Lily thought, growing afraid. Auntie, please! You're scaring me.

The officer removed his sunglasses. "I'm sorry Mrs. Henderson. Paramedics lost the heartbeat soon after." When she didn't say anything, he murmered his condolances and left without another word.

Lily saw Logan come up just in time to see his mother collapse. "Mommy!" he screamed.

The five-year-old let out a terrified scream. "Auntie!" She dashed out the door. "Auntie! Auntie! Auntie!" She raced to Lucille's side.

Lucille hugged Logan tightly. "I'm okay Baby. I'm okay." She pulled Lily in with her free hand. She glanced at the girl for a fleeting moment before the tears slid down uncontrollably. "You're gonna be fine Sweetheart. We're gonna be fine. You're gonna stay with us..." She began mumbling more to herself than to the kids.

A sleepy Luci stepped out, rubbing her eyes. They immediately teared up at the sight of her mother, with her cousin and brother trying to comfort her. "Mommy, please don't cry. I don't like seeing you sad."

"Auntie, what happened?" Lily knew whatever happened was about her because her Aunt Lucille said omething about her moving in. "Did somebody stoled our house?"

"Yeah Mom. What happened?" Logan asked.

Lucille stared at her now three children, before standing upand gathering them into another house. She took a wavering breath. "Let's go inside."

"Sweetie, your parents are...gone."

Logan, being older and therefore understanding more, buried his face in his hands. Luci mimicked his actions even though she thought they were playing a game.

Lily blinked innocently. "Gone? Like, they went to the store and they got lost?" She was confused. First, somebody steals their house and now they're lost? It didn't make sense; then why was her aunt crying? "When will they come back?"

"Never," Lucille breathed out.

She grew scared again. "Why not?"

"Lily, baby, your mommy and daddy are," she choked on the last word, "dead."

The pieces clicked then. "And Nathan?"

"Honey, h-he's gone too."

The room started spinning then. Colors started mashing together, and the furniture was coming alive. "Lily!" She heard everyone calling her, but they sounded faraway. She threw up the contents in her stomach. "LILY!" They shouted again. Everything went black.

My fault, my fault, my fault, was all she thought. If I hadn't told Mommy to take me to Luci's house, then she'd still be here. If I hadn't opened my mouth, I would've been able to be a big sister. I'll never talk again. That way nobody will be hurt again.

Alittle whimper escaped her lips. That's when she became conscious of a beeping noise. She forced herself to open her eyes. She expected to see her mommy and daddy standing over her and telling her everything would be all right. Instead, she saw her uncle, aunt, and cousins hovering over her, worried looks covering their faces. "Lily! Are you okay?!" they asked. She nodded.

"That's good!" Logan piped up with a nervous chuckle. "We thought we were gonna lose you too." He unconsciously grabbed Luci's waist and hugged her tightly. It was partly because he didn't know what else to say or do, but mostly because he was secretly glad that it wasn't Luciana.

I'll never be able to do that with Nathan, she thought sadly. A lone tear trickled down her cheek, followed by two more.

"What's the matter Baby?" her uncle Philip asked, speaking for the first time. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. Physically, she was fine; it was the pain on the inside that hurt her. Her parents would never get to see her grow up. They wouldn't be there for her parent-teacher conferences, or her first date. She'd never get to see Nathan grow up, or he'd be allergic to nuts or-

"Hey, there's our brave little trooper," the doctor interjected, walikng up to her bed. She was a young doctor, maybe no more than 35. "How are you feeling?" She asked kindly.

Lily shrugged sadly. All she wanted was her mommy and daddy. The thought of never seeing them againmade her cry, which worried the Hendersons. The doctor, however, remained calm.

"I'd like to speak with Lilian if you don't mind." She spoke kindly and authoritatively. Her family members nodded seriously, and slowly trudged out the door. The doctor turned her attention to the frightened little girl. "Hi Sweetie. Do you know who I am?"

Lily reluctantly shook her head.

"Well, I'm Dr. Madison, Luciana and Logan's doctor," she smiled softly. "Do you know why you're here?" Another head shake. "Honey, you're here because you fainted."

She nodded, finally understanding. Is there something wrong with me? She wanted to ask.

Dr. Madison concentrated on the clipoard in front of her, eyeing Lily every other while. "Well," she finally stated, "there appears to be nothing wrong with you."

A silent sigh of relief escaped the little girl's lips. It was short-lived. Nearby, a newborn baby's cry echoeed into her room. Her lips beegan to quiver, and she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh my!" Dr. Madison cried out. She grabbed the Kleenex box by Lily's bed, grabbed a few tissues, and went to wipe the five-year-old's eyes and nose. "It's okay Sweetie. You're in good hands, you know that?" She gently placed Lily's head on her shoulder. "You have an incredible family you'll be going to. They're gonna take good care of you, and you're gonna be happy with them." She looked into Lily's eyes when she noticed the little girl hadn't spoken. "Sweetie, aren't you gonnna say something? Anything at all?"

Forty-five minutes later, Philip, Lucille, Logan, and Luciana were allowed back into her room. Lily had drifted off into an uneasy sleep and Dr. Madison had some news to deliver.

"Well, she refuses to speak," she reported sternly, " I tried and I tried, but she would not open her mouth. I will get things from parents insisting that their children will not speak, but they cracked every time I brought ou a lollipop or something. And I've dealt with many five-year-olds, so it's safe to say that that is not normal behavior."

"What'd she do?" Logan asked in spite of himself.

"When I offered her the lollipop, she simply stared at me like I'd lost my mind. So, I brought them out in case she didn't believe me. When I did, she cringed away like it was brussels sprouts or something," she explained cautiously. "Now, I'd normally recommend counseling because of the recent tragedy in her life, but I won't because: a) she's too young, and b) she won't speak, and by the looks of it, it looks like she has made her choice. I do, however recommend enrolling her and you into some sign language classes.

"Before you question my sanity on this, since I admit that that I do indeed sound crazy, but hear me little girl has lost her parents and unborn brother some few hours ago, correct? It's must be rather hard if she didn't speak...wait, did she happen to speak before I walked in?"

Everybody shook their heads. Come to think of it, Lily didn't offer a single word when she woke up. However, she did wear a forlorn and fearful expression.

"Can't we just get her a therapist or something?" Philip asked. "She can't live the rest of her life not speaking. It's an essential part of life."

"Mr. Henderson, you must be aware that children are born deaf everyday. They rely on using their hands to communicate for the rest of their lives."

"I know that," he replied calmly, "but my niece isn't deaf. Surely, this must be a stage in her life, and she'll be speaking again by this time tomorrow."

"She may, but then again again, she may not. But for now, this seems to be her decision. Would you be willing to against her wishes?" He remained silent, so she continued. "The best thing for her right now is getting her enrolled. I'm aware that she can't read, so it's a necessity for her to learn as soon as possible. You may buy her a whiteboard when she no longer requires her hands, but for now this is the only way. I also recommend you go easy on her for awhile.

"I need you to be extra patient with her, since she may feel useless and not wanting to bother you. And expect a lot of crying and not wanting to eat. So let her be, make her eat, and she'll come around. Any questions?"

Luci glanced at her sleeping cousin before slowly raising her hand. "Will she ever be the same?" she asked vulnerably.

It broke Dr. Madison's heart to see a young girl like Luciana to be fearful of her cousin, but she had to remain professional. "For the most part, yes. She will go to school, learn, and do all the normal little girl stuff. It will be harder for her since she lost her family in one day," she took a deep breath. "But I do have faith in her. She's remarkably strong someone her age. Anymore more?" When no one responded, she forced an uneasy smile. "Okay, once she wakes up yuo are free to go."

Lily knew it was all a dream. Teresa was kneeling over her bed telling her to wake up. "C'mon Sweetie. It's time to wake up."

"Mommy, five more minutes." Even though she didn't know what it meant, she'd heard Logan telling her aunt Lucille that multiple times.

"Come on Sweetie. Get up. You gotta go with Luci and Logan. You wanna go with them, don't you?"

"Will you pick me up later?"

"I'll always be with you. Just wake up." Her father, Darrell, came into her room, with Nathan in his arms.

She gasped when she saw her little brother, and knew she'd never seen anyone so beautiful in her life. except, he wasn't a newborn; he looked almost a year old. He had his mother's slight curls, her daddy's dimples -which Logan called the Henderson charm- and her own amber-brown eyes.

"Come on Lily-Cat," her father interrupted her momentary gawking. "Get up Princess."

"A little bit longer Daddy. Please?" she squeaked. She was afraid once again. She was dreaming, but this time, she didn't want to wake up.

"Come on Sweetie. You've gotta get up," he pleaded. Nathan gurgled in agreement.

"Please Lily? You can do it. You're a big girl," Teresa coaxed.

"I'm scared Mommy. I'll ever see you again." She sniffled.

"Honey, we'll always be in your heart."

"But I'll miss you." A tear fell from her cheek.

"We'll miss you too, but we'll always be here with you." They bent down to kiss her goodbye, weeping very softly. Then Nathan gave her a slobbery kiss before waving.

"'Bye Mommy, 'bye Daddy, 'bye Nathan. I love you," she whispered.

"We love you too," they whispered. Nathan waved again. "They disappeared out the door. "We love you," their voices echoed.

Someone was shaking her awake. "Lily? Lily? Lily, time to wake up. Please wake up." She recognized it as Luci's voice. She cracked open an eye, and sure enough, it was. "Mommy, Daddy, she's waking up!"

About twenty minutes later, the Hendersons were checking their newest family member out of the hospital. In that room, Lily uttered her last words" "I love you Mommy, Daddy, and Nathan."

Hey guys. I hoped you enjoyed this sneak peek. I admit that it was sad, & I almost cried writing it. I know it wasn't my usual fun, upbeat or anything similar to that, but I wanted to try something serious & different. I wasn't supposed to upload this yet, but I was applying for scholarships & such, & I felt that you guys deserved somrthing. So, surprise! Oh, & just to let you know, I gave away a clue for my other idea. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, & I hope you didn't cry. Or, a lot, at least. Until my next upload. Have a Palm Woods Day, or in this case, night. x) XX -Byanka