The story begins with a family of four. A step-family. Two African-American males, Fred and Naje Miller. Fred was the father of Naje. And two Japanese females, Nara and Leah Nakamura. Nara was the mother of Leah.
Fred was previously married to a woman named Jackie, who is the biological mother of Naje. But when Naje was only 10 months old, Jackie passed away from a terminal illness. Fred had been taking care of Naje by himself ever since. It wasn't until Naje was two years old when Fred found another woman in his life. The woman's name was Nara.
Nara, just like Fred, was a single parent. Nara and her ex-husband, Yoshi, were divorced when Leah was 11 months old. Almost a year. After Nara and Yoshi divorced, Nara and Leah moved to America. Nara had full custody, of course. Even though Nara and Yoshi weren't together anymore, they still stayed in contact because Yoshi still wanted to know how Leah was doing.
Where Fred and Nara met each other was the park. But if it wasn't for Naje and Leah, they probably would've never even hit if off with each other. But the way Leah and Naje met was pretty interesting. One day, Fred and Nara were spending quality time with their kid in the park. Once it was getting a little late, Nara and Fred went to get their kid and take them home. When Nara called for Leah, Leah tripped. She was running to her mom, but while she was running, she tripped. At the right place and right time, Naje was there to help her up off the ground. Fred and Nara saw the whole thing. Once they found out that that was the other's and found out that the other was a single parent, they started dating.
About after 6-7 months of dating, Fred and Nara got married. Making Leah and Nara's last name Miller and also making Leah and Naje step-siblings. Naje was a year and five months older than Leah. Naje was born in 1996 and Leah was born in 1997; 4 days before Christmas.
Fred and Leah: The relationship Fred and Leah had was just how a father-daughter relationship should be. Fred use to read Leah bedtime stories, played with Leah's dolls together, and played childish games such as patty cake from time to time. There were even times when Leah got scared at night, Fred would sleep with her in her bed for that night. But by far the best thing the two have done together is go to the father-daughter dance every year. They also share the same birth month.
Naje and Nara: Not forgetting his biological mother, Jackie, but Nara is the closest thing to a mom that Naje has ever had. Nara has let Naje cook with her, whenever Naje got a cut, Nara was always there to take care of it. Just like when Fred and Leah go to father-daughter dances, Nara and Naje go to the mother-son dance every year.
Naje and Leah: These two have been like peas in a pod since day one. They're inseparable. One is rarely ever seen without the other. Sure like most siblings, they do fight and argue. But they make up, get over it, and move on. They have a great sibling relationship. That sums it up right there. There was even a significant time when they were still baby age where Naje took the bite of a venomous snake to protect Leah from it. That's something Leah always remember. No matter how close they are, Leah knows that that's the closest she's ever lost her brother.
They've gotten accustomed to calling the other mom and dad, son and daughter, and sister and brother. In another words, they are proud to call one another family.