Well thank you all so so so very much for all of the positive feedback, you all made me really happy! Thank you so much! So, here's the last chapter, I wanted to make it last at least five but i wrapped it up in four. Well, please enjoy!

The next morning, Gilbert was gone. He'd left a badly written note saying he'd headed on and that it had been a pleasure meeting them both, especially Mei, or as he put it, the little princess.

Mei was sad to see him go. She'd grown attached to him in the less than twenty-four hours.

They hit the road again only this time they were somber. Both new Vicksburg was close. Neither wanted it to be but with every mile they took, it was closer. Mei was quiet and sad and even though it would not be until the next day that they would reach it, she could already feel the city's shadow over her.

Alfred could too and he didn't like it. He tried to lighten the mood and tried to cheer her up. He wanted her happy for their last day together but he didn't really feel all that happy himself and her sorrow only deepened his own. They didn't talk about it. Neither one mentioned that it was their last day or that after tomorrow, they would never see one another again. Mei felt like she would cry each time she thought about it. She hated it.

It was noon when Alfred finally couldn't take it anymore. He stopped the car outside of a diner and got out. "C'mon Mei." He said. "We're getting milkshakes."

She looked up, pulled from her morose thoughts. "How come?" She asked, getting out.

He shrugged. "We need to cheer up. I won't have this last day be all depressing. " As soon as he said last day, Gilbert's words rang in his head. You can take her to that orphanage and let her live with those strangers or not. He shook his head to clear it.

She scuttled up behind him, nervous and sweet. He picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Blatantly refusing to think about the next day. It wasn't going to happen. He told himself.

They sipped their drinks and when that didn't satisfy, he ordered a plate of fries. Mei stared out the window, watching the empty high way outside and the clouds of dust that rolled over the field on the other side. That two lane black top went on forever, she thought. She wished that was really so.

Alfred drummed his fingers on the white table top. He wanted to lighten the mood. "You know, this is pretty good." He said. She nodded, still staring out the window. "I was in Texas one time and they had great shakes there."

She looked up. "Did you see any cowboys?"

He laughed. "One or two."

"Were they shooting each other?"

"Mighta been. I think they were fixing to at least." He was making it up. They had been just doing regular work.

"Wow! It was a shoot out. I wish I could have seen them. I've always wanted to see a real live cowboy."

Alfred laughed. He wanted to take her to Texas and show her. He wished he could. "Maybe some day you will." He said.

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I will and I'm gonna marry a cowboy!"

He choked, laughing hard. "Really?"

"Yeah!" She smiled wide. "And he's gonna have two horses and ones gonna be for me."

It really was cute. She was really cute. His heart would break when he had to leave her. It really would.

Back on the road they were in better spirits, still dreading the next day but in better spirits. They talked and were loud. Alfred told some more of his travel stories. Mei called them tramp stories. He told her all about the strange people he'd met and the crazy times he'd had. He taught her more of his songs and bits of poetry he remembered.

She loved it. She told him she'd learn to play the piano for him one day and it was a nice little dream where they could pretend that they really could sing and play the piano together.

It was late in the night that reality hit. It came with the stars. Mei and Alfred were lying together on the roof of the car, gazing up at the sky and thinking to themselves. Mei's dark eyes were wide and bright and when he looked at her, Alfred could see the stars reflected in their depth like tiny glowing pin pricks. It was in the reflection of the sky that he saw a movement and he looked up towards the heavens and saw a shooting star graze by.

Mei sat up and pointed. "Look!" She cried.

He did and watched the small star shoot across the sky. He wondered where it was going. Mei gazed wide eyed in wonder. "I've never seen a shooting star before." She whispered.

He smiled. He had but only a few times.

And then quiet suddenly, another shot across the sky and then another. Small and large and brightly burning. "It's a meteor shower!" Alfred said.

Mei let out an excited gasp. She sat up with her eyes shining and her mouth open. "Can you wish on meteors?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe, give it a try."

She closed her eyes and squished up her face and concentrated hard and Alfred found himself doing the same. He didn't squish up his face or close his eyes but he found himself wishing all the same. He wished that tomorrow would never come. He wished they wouldn't have to say goodbye.

The shower passed and everything was still and calm. Only the sound of chirping cricket bugs could be heard. The land was flat and dark and Alfred lay back, eyes drooping. He looked up at Mei, she was sitting up, still watching the sky as though the meteors were still falling.

He blinked, trying to keep his eyes open but couldn't and drifted off.

He dreampt that he was home and the dust storm had never destroyed his field and in his dream, Mei was there, sitting at his kitchen table. She smiled and greeted him. She said good morning and waved. He wished that it could be like that. He wished he still had his nice little farm house and that Mei really was his daughter. Oh how he wished it could be so.

When daylight broke they headed on, Vicksburg was near and even though they stopped again for breakfast, it didn't seem to make any difference. The city loomed over them.

Mei almost broke down crying when they passed a sign reading city limits but the closer to the orphanage they grew the quieter she became. Alfred too found himself unable to talk. He was sure that if he said even a single word he would lose his resolve to say goodbye. He kept reminding himself that she wasn't his little girl. She wasn't his to keep and he couldn't take care of her. Yet for every reson he gave himself his mind chimed in with a counter. His mind said that he could get work. His mind palyed back what Gilbert had said.

"Doesn't matter. If yer meant to be family, then it doesn't matter how long you've known each other."

He almost hated those words because they filled his mind and possessed him like no other sentence had ever. Yet at the same time, he loved them. A proper family, Gilbert had said. He liked the sound of that. He was lonely, meeting friends on the road that he never saw for more than a few days at a time, it wasn't the same as just these few days had been.

They pulled up in front of the orphanage and Alfred almost couldn't bare it. It looked so bleak and cold. He looked down at Mei who had not looked at the building. "Honey?" He asked.

She looked up and her eyes were full of tears. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his stomach. "I don't wanna go." She sobbed.

He petted his her head. "I know." It broke his heart.

"Alfred, I don't want you to go!" She cried. "Please don't leave me here!"

It pained him. "I wish I didn't have to but it's the right place for you." He said. "Honey, it's the right place for you. I promised the preacher."

She shook her head. "I'll run away!" She threatened and he really believed she would/. "I'll run all the way home and then I'll find you!"

He gave her a strong, solid hug and broke away. With out making eye contact he got out and began unloading her things and then she got out and began helping him. She sniffled a little but held in her tears.

And then he knelt and kissed her forehead. "Be a good girl and stay out of trouble. Do whatever you're told and try and be happy." He gave her a quick hug and got back in the car. He couldn't look at her. He just couldn't and he knew it was selfish but he'd die if he saw her tear streaked face one more time. He just couldn't do it. He slammed on the accelerator and refused to look in the rear view mirror.

It was several minutes before he realized that he was crying himself. He quickly wiped his face with his shirtsleeve and sniffed. He ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. He pulled over to the side of the road and then gave up. He put his head in his hands and sat miserably.

He couldn't believe what he had done. He wished he'd never agreed to help that preacher. He wished he'd never gotten involved. He hated it.

And then he heard the slap of hard shoes on pavement and the panting of little lungs and he looked behind him and there was Mei, face red and sweaty. She was lugging one of her suitcases and struggling after him. He stared to her aghast before flinging himself out of the car and towards her.

He scooped her up and hugged her. She'd done it. She'd made him see her face and now he couldn't leave her. He kissed her head and smiled to himself before setting her in the car seat next to him.

"Please don't take me back!" She whispered. "I want to stay with you!"

He nodded. "Don't worry. I won't take you back." And he wouldn't. He started up the car and turned back onto the highway. "I promise I won't leave you ever again."

She sniffed and nodded and she knew he was telling the truth.

He steered them back onto the flat river of concrete that would carry them across the country. "How about I show you those cowboys?" He asked.

She nodded, face dry and eyes smiling because she knew that he would not leave her and that they would go to Texas and then other places after that. She knew that they were a family.

A thought occurred to her as they headed off again. "Are you gonna take the car back?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I'll consider it payment. I did take you all the way to Vicksburg."

She giggled.

He started up a song and the cruised the pavement off into the distance.

Thank you very much for reading!