Finding a Home
I sat on my cold lumpy bed looking at the water stained ceiling. Drip Drip Drip the rain came in from the orphanage ceiling. Day after day couples come in and adopt but never me. I refuse for me and my brother, Zane, to be separated. We've come too far. I have a feeling today is the day we are going to find our new home. The house mother, Bethany, has been down in the meeting room and we haven't been in trouble for the past five day so were at the top of the list .And the lady said she was looking for TWO kids that puts at the very top of the list. I hope she doesn't decide not to adopt when she hears her choices.
Since Zane was Five months we've been here and were are leaving together like we came together. When our parents die in a car wreck, there weren't any relatives to take care of us or a will to tell us where to go. After ten foster homes we're still here, the hardest part so far was explaining to Zane why we live like this and not like all of our friends with both parents.
Twin oaks orphanage is in Seattle, Washington. It is a three story building with millions of violations of state laws, but everyone gives them a break cause there helping us kids. Outside there is a swing set and slide and an open lawn for the younger kids to play. Most of the time the young ones are told to play outside or in there room. Once you are 13 you get the privilege to have a library card and every Tuesday you can walk there and check out two books. I usually get on for me and one for Zane. Then I spend the rest of the week reading in all my spare time, unless I'm told to watch the little ones which I do a lot. Sometimes Bethany gives me a little money that I can spend when we walk to the library. I buy a candy bar or some other type of snack.
On this day instead of being told to go to free time, Bethany told us to come into the meeting room. Inside sat a plump little lady with caring eyes and brown hair. "Hello" She greeted us as we walked in.
"This is Miss Grace; she is interested in two kids. Preferably a girl and a boy, I thought you two you would be the best match. She lives on the country side with a large yard and trees all around. She lives alone except for three cats, Fluffy, Balky and C.C."OH great a crazy cat lady. I thought to myself. "How does this sound"
"It sounds like an awesome house and I would love to live there." I replied
"I would love to have you there and see how it works if you like."Grace said.
"We'd love to Miss Grace! "I stated with excitement this could be our chance
"Ok than all the papers have been signed, oh call me Grace."
"Go and pack your bags please and will you pack Zane's too?" Bethany said
"Yes ma'am" I said and then ran up to my room and started to pack.
I then ran into the boys' room, girls were only aloud in when given permission. I packed most of his clothes and left the ones that were too small by now. Maybe Grace would buy us some new clothes if we stay forever.
Once down stairs Miss Grace escorted us to her old red pickup truck. She drove and Zane sat in the middle and me on the passenger side. We drove through town silently when we reached the end of the main road she turned onto a narrow dirt road.
A New Home
After about thirty minutes we pulled up to a small log cabin. There was a small porch with a wooden chair. Above the door a sign read the Smith's.
We got out of the truck I grabbed our bags and followed grace inside. When you walk in you firsts see a large open room that's houses the living room, kitchen , a room that looks like a library and a ladder that goes up to a loft. Grace turned left down a narrow hall the first door on the right was a bathroom, and the door on the left was graces room. She turned around and said "Would you like to see your room"
"Yes please" I replied
"Follow me"
She walked us to the bottom of the ladder. "The left side is Amber's and the right side is Zane's there is a curtain u can slide a across so you can have some privacy. I hope you like it"
"Wow I get my own half of the room" shouted Zane
"Yep" Grace replied
"Can we go up" asked Zane
"Yes you may"
Once we climbed the ladder I could see why I had the left said and Zane had the right side. The left is covered in everything pink and the right is blue. On both twin beds are a worn quilt and two pillows. Both sides had a desk and a dresser. I went and opened a drawer and there were all new clothes with tags still on them and in my size it like Grace know she was going to get me. Zane was already jumping on the bed.
"Lunch will be ready in ten minutes" grace hollered up
"Ok we will wash up" I yelled down "Zane get off the bed "
Once we got washed up we went into the dining room there was a feast fit for a king, laid out on the table. The smells were wonderful fresh apple pie, biscuits and butter, corn on the cob, and much more.
"Sorry I didn't know what you would like so I made a variety before I came to pick you two up." Grace stated.
"It all looks so good thank you, but will we have this much food every day?" I asked
"No probably not, when I get excited I like to cook and I was excited about getting you and your brother so I cooked all day." Answered Grace
"Ummm this is good" blurted out with mashed potatoes coving his face.
"Use your manners, Zane." I said in a motherly tone I had developed over the years trying to keep Zane out of trouble.
"It's ok my kids were just like that when they were that age." Grace said.
"You had kids?" I asked
Miss Grace
"Yes, I had three kids. A set of twins, a boy and a girl, then on another boy. The boys are no longer with us." As she said this she bowed her head as if she was going to pray then lifted her head and kept talking." My baby girl is married with two kids but we don't talk much our family fell apart after the incident."
"I'm sorry "I said"do you have a husband"
"Yes I did he also is not with us anymore I lost him in the incident also." A tear started to swell in her eye and roll down her check. She slowly got up and went to the bathroom. I told Zane to go to bed around nine. I sat up in the living room till midnight when she finally came out her eyes were puffy she told me to go to bed she didn't feel like talking. I did as I was told but one think crossed my mind she never once raised her voice at us even when she told us to go to bed.
The Dairies
As I laid there in my new bed I began to wonder what books where in the library could there be dairies to tell me why she got so sad, what happened, or why , anything. After of evaluating this I felt bad that I was trying to find out something that maybe grace didn't want me to know, but what did she did just she couldn't hold in the emotion to tell us. I decided tomorrow night after she went to bed I would search the library for a dairy, picture anything to give me a clue.
The hard part was over the next week we went tons of places like the zoo, a museum, and sometimes we'd just hike the woods, and every night Zane would get scared and go to sleep in Graces room. But on our tenth day, the longest we'd been with a parent besides our real parents, Grace took Zane to the store with her. I made my move once they were out the door and down the road I began looking through the books. I found tons of fiction books about horses, fairs, and a boy named Huckleberry Finn, but no dairy.
When my time frame began to fade I found something the first page read:
Dear dairy June 15, 1998
Today was the year anerversary of the fire. Macy and I went to the
Cemetery and placed flowers. The day was very said, Macy barely talked
And I didn't know what to say so we had a silent day. We kept our space
I think she still feels it's her fault there gone, but it's not its all of ours.
We all could have prevented it, but god wanted it to happened for a
reason.
Grace
Wow, all her family died in a fire .I thought to myself. Macy must be her daughter, why does she feel like it's her fault that they're gone. I hear the car pulling up the drive I put the dairy away and ran and sat on the couch read the book about Huckleberry Finn.
"Amber" grace questionably yelled up.
"Yes" I answered
"What have you been up to?" she asked.
"Just reading a book I found on the shelf over there" I said pointing towards the shelf
"Oh which one"
"Huckleberry Finn"
"That's one of my favorites"
"I like it so far too"
"I'm glad you found something to do while we were gone, since we don't have a T.V. here I never did."
"Can we go swim in the creek now?"
"Yes go put your trunks and Amber you can come too, there's a suit in the dresser bottom drawer. Once u mentions something to him he doesn't forget." She says referring to Zane
"Fun" I said
The Creek
We followed Grace to the creek in the woods. There was a beaver dam that made a little pond perfect for swimming just deep enough to touch on the sides and deeper in the middle. We swam for an hour then we saw a snake.
The snake was about two feet from me I screamed and ran out of the water and grabbed Zane on my way out. Out of all the commotion the snake had already slithered out of the water and on the other side of the creek.
We decided to follow the creek towards the north side of grace's land. We saw a deer and it baby, snakes, and we also saw the beaver the built the dam to create the pond.