Annie gasped in delight at the large firework that spelled out her name. Sandy barked some more in excitement. Warbucks and Grace smiled. It had been a wonderful night, and party, the fireworks had been beautiful, and it had been a delight to have everyone there: the President, Mrs. Roosevelt, and even Miss Hannigan, who had changed for the better (yes, Miss Hannigan). The night before had been very harrowing. Because Annie had almost been killed. A man and woman had shown up with the other half of Annie's broken locket, claiming to be her real parents, the "Mudges." But they were imposters. Annie, Warbucks, Grace, and Punjab had all been suspicious of them from the start. It was not the dream reunion Annie had dreamed of having. She by now, had grown attached to Warbucks and Grace as her perfect parents. She had a bad feeling about those two, a slimy feeling. And so had Warbucks. Unfortunately, his hands had been tied, because since they had the other half of the locket, and a birth certificate, he had no way to disprove their story. He reluctantly allowed them to leave with Annie only because he had no way to stop them. But to Annie's horror, but not really surprise, Miss Hannigan turned out to be in on it also. Annie had barely been able to escape from them. However, when Rooster declared his intention to murder Annie, Miss Hannigan had tried to save Annie from Rooster, thus her redemption, showing there was good in her after all. She was now living temporarily in a room in the mansion until she got a new job. She was forgiven for her treatment of Annie and the other orphans, and it was decided she wouldn't be so bad if she had a job that didn't involve contact with little girls. So they were working something out. Annie was now getting tired, admittedly. After the last guest had left, and Annie had retired to her room, with the help of Grace, in her nightgown, laying beneath the covers, with Warbucks and Grace each holding her hands, she was soon fast asleep. Warbucks and Grace smiled lovingly at her from the doorway, before they also decided to turn in. That night, as Annie slept, she was dreaming. She found herself seeing a warm light. And from the light stepped two strangers, yet also familiar to her, somehow. A nice looking man and a beautiful woman. A warmth connected the three of them, and Annie knew in her heart who they were, because they both shared her facial features somewhat. "Mother? Father?" she asked. "That's right, Annie," they replied. But their mouths did not move. Annie heard their voices in her mind. In surprise and delight, Annie embraced them both. After a moment, they said, "We've been watching over you since we left the Earth to Heaven." At Annie's expression, they nodded and continued, "We never would have left you at that orphanage if we were any better off financially. It broke our hearts to do so." Annie simply nodded. She figured where this was going. They continued. "Shortly after we were forced to give you to the orphanage, we managed to secure a job at a farm. The pay was only like thirty cents a day, so we were forced to work long hours each day. One night, when we were about to have dinner, a fire broke out from the faulty oven. We were unable to get out, so we died. The next instant, we found ourselves in the sky above, looking down at the fire. We saw them remove our bodies, and our funerals later. Since then, we have continued to watch over you from Heaven. We were impressed with the compassion you showed to the dog that you decided to name Sandy. We nodded, proud of you and said to ourselves, 'She's a Bennett alright. She has the heart of one.' It disgusted us how Agatha Hannigan treated all of you girls. Yet we could tell she admired the leader in you. So we had an idea. We decided to find the perfect parents for you, to love you as we did, and would have, as we still do, actually." Annie nodded, sadness and compassion in her eyes at the story. "We wandered the city, unseen, until we found Oliver Warbucks, one of the richest men in the world, and Grace Farrell, his personal secretary. He had billions of dollars, but we could see he wasn't truly happy. So we used what's called, I suppose you could call it telepathy, the closest human term anyway. We gave Mr. Warbucks the idea to take in an orphan for at least a week, by whispering in his ear. He thought it was his own idea. And we also gave both Mr. Warbucks and Miss Farrell the idea simultaneously that they would make perfect parents together. You probably know the rest. Mr. Warbucks then announced his intention to Miss Farrell, and instructed her to go to the orphanage to select an orphan. We rode with Miss Farrell in the limo. Unseen, of course. When your precious smile peered out of the door in Miss Hannigan's office, we guided her toward you, to choose you." Annie smiled sadly, yet happily at the same time, hearing all this. They concluded with, "You're in good hands, Annie," they said. "You're going to be just fine, until we're all together again someday in the mansion in the sky. You, us, Warbucks, Grace, Punjab, Sandy, etc. Go well, our daughter." They embraced once more. As Annie looked on, with tears of elation in her eyes, her parents slowly turned walked away, into the light. After a moment, it slowly faded. Annie was at last at peace, knowing her parents were at peace, and happy, watching over her forever.