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It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and Alma was sitting in her rocking chair knitting. In her lap sat her youngest charge, the three-year old Claire. Claire was currently absorbed in her favorite book. She was flipping through the pages looking at the colorful pictures. Alma had only recently started to teach her how to read but it was still very difficult for her-she was still very young after all.

One year ago Alma had established her home for peculiar children on the small island of Clairnholm, Wales but until now she had not found the perfect day for her loop. Her children and herself were still enjoying the luxury of living a more or less normal life and aging one day at a time. Currently there were only five charges living with her: Emma, Millard, Hugh, Olive and Claire. All of her children needed special care because of the things they experienced in the past, well, all except for Claire. Alma had taken Claire in a couple of days after her birth. She had found the girl on the steps of a church. Thank bird that she had found the girl before anyone else. She didn't even want to think about what they might have done to her peculiar little girl. Claire had lived under her wing since then living a relatively carefree life.

Alma suddenly felt the urge to pull the girl closer to herself and place a kiss on the blonde locks hiding Claire's backmouth and Claire looked at her curiously.

"Miss Peregrine" Claire said with a childish voice. She had still trouble pronouncing her name.

"Mmh, what's wrong?" Alma answered letting her fingers run through Claire's hair careful not to touch her backmouth. Claire pointed at a picture in her favorite book with her index finger. Alma looked more closely at the picture. There was a little girl sitting on a woman's legs just like Claire was sitting on her own legs right now.

"What's with the picture?" Alma asked.

"Why do you and I not have the same hair color?" Claire looked at Alma with big curious eyes. Alma raised an eyebrow in surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Dear, why should you and I have the same hair color?"

"Well, Adelheid in the book has got the same hair color as her mother and Anna from the village got also the same hair color as her mother. Why do you not have blond hair? Did father have blond hair?" Claire asked tapping on the girl's head in the picture as to emphasize what she had just said. She did not notice the shock on Alma's face. Of course. Alma should have known it. How could she be so stupid!

Alma had raised Claire for three years. In contrast to the other children she did not remember her biological family. Alma was her family. How should she know that she was not Alma's biological child? She had never talked to Claire about it and neither had the other children. Did she really think that if she taught her children to call her Miss Peregrine would place enough distance between her children and herself? This sure worked with the older one who had a comparison with their biological families but not with Claire who did not know it any other way. Stupid.

"Miss P?" The nickname Claire had introduced for her. "What's wrong? Did I make you sad?"

Alma quickly snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at the girl. "No, honey, of course not." Alma sighed. "Claire, we need to talk about something really important."

Claire frowned and immediately Alma wanted to take the worry away from her girl. She couldn't bear the thought that her children had to worry about anything.

"Did I do something wrong? I swear, it wasn't me!" Claire said defensively. Alma chuckled.

"No, you did nothing wrong. Claire, where do you think you are from?"

Claire tilted her head to one side and her tongue stuck a little out as she was thinking hard about her answer.

"From here"

"Claire, do you know that Millard, Emma, Hugh and Olive are not my biological children? Do you know what that means?" Alma asked and the girl in her lap shook her head slowly.

"That means that they were born by another woman."

"They were not in your tummy?" Claire asked unbelievingly. Alma shook her head.

"Their mommy and daddy had difficulties understanding their peculiarity and that's why they gave them to me to look after them."

Alma knew fully well that she was playing down what her children had to go through before she had found them but the news about herself were going to be difficult enough to understand for Claire anyway. She didn't need to know the whole truth yet.

Claire was silent for a couple of minutes. "What about me? Are you not my mummy? Is that why you have a different hair color than me?"

Alma smiled and hugged the girl. "You were not in tummy either."

Claire sobbed loudly. Alma placed a kiss on Claire's head. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not your mother. I love you like you were my daughter."

The blonde girl was still sobbing and looked at her headmistress with big tearful eyes. Her lower lip trembled and her nose was running uncontrollably. Claire sniffed and used her sleeve to blow her nose. In any other situation Alma would have scolded her but now was not the right moment for that.

"You love me?"

"Very much."

"How much?" Claire asked and Alma smiled. This was a game the two were playing from time to time. Alma placed the tips of her left hand's thumb and index finger together. "That much"

"That is not very much" Claire smiled slightly.

"It is, because I love you all the way around" To emphasize her words she stretched her right arm as far as it would go and described a circle all around from her left hand's thumb to her left hand's index finger.

"That's a lot" Claire admitted quietly.

"Yes, it is." Alma agreed.

Claire leaned back and placed her head on Alma's chest. "Would you love me more if you were my real mummy?"

"Claire, I am your real mummy even if you were not in my tummy. Shall I tell you a secret?" Alma asked and the little girl's eyes suddenly shone with excitement. She loved secrets.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Alma leaned down until her mouth was right next to Claire's ear. "You know what they say? They say that blood is thicker than water but I think that's not true. True family means loving and accepting each other no matter where the family members come from. It is not important that you were not in my tummy because I love you anyway."

"Pinky promise?" Claire asked. Alma interlaced her pinkie with Claire's. "Pinkie promise"

Claire nodded and seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Why did my parents not like me?" Obviously Claire was not done with the topic yet.

"Honey, they never gave you a chance. I took you in when you were only a couple of days old. Your parents were probably normals that did not understand how special you are. They did not deserve you, okay? I don't want you to think that it was your fault or that you did something wrong because you didn't. You should not think about it so much, okay? One day you will understand better, I promise." Alma explained blinking heavily to get rid of the tears in the corners of her eyes. This conversation was taking a toll on her as well. Seeing her little girl so confused and insecure was not easy.

"Why are you crying?" Claire asked. "Did I make you sad?"

Alma laughed and brushed some tears away. It was Claire's greatest fear to make her sad. "No, I am not sad. I am happy to have you. You and of course the others as well because you all are my family too."

"What about your mummy and daddy?" Claire asked. "Did they not understand either?"

"I grew up in a ymbryne's loop as well. I have two brothers but that is a story for when you are older."

Claire nodded and did not ask any more questions. She sensed that her ymbryne didn't want to talk about it right now.

"You know I'm glad you took me in. I like it here. I love you"

"I love you too, my dear. I really do."