I spent the rest of the day reading her diary and cards. The first diary entry was dated October 14, 1990.

'Today is my 7th birthday. Mommy gave me this book to write about me in it. She says it's because I'm smart. She says that I will remember things better if I write them so I will.

Mommy is a dancer. She's gone at night, which makes me sad. I don't know my daddy; mommy doesn't either. I stay with grandma and Aunt Karen when mommy works. They're nice. My cousins Mary and Jake are there and we go to school together.

I like my school, the teachers are nice and I learn lots. They put me in special classes because they say I'm smart.

I get medals for winning gymnastics and ice-skating competitions. It's fun, and I get to wear pretty clothes.'

Most of her diary was like that. It talked about her day and about Mom, Grandma, Aunt Karen, and my cousins Mary and Jake.

I learned about what they were like before I was born. They weren't much different, but now I realized that they all protected me far more than they protected her.

I read about her competitions, her birthdays, and Christmas'.

Then I came to a 1992 entry, in June. The day she met my dad.

'Mom brought home a boyfriend today. He seemed nicer than most of the others. Plus he was nice to me. He treated me like a daughter, not just some kid.

His name is Eddie Willows. The name is nice and he makes mom happy, so I guess he's ok.'

'October 14, 1992.

I'm 9 today, and I'm in 4th grade now. I'm in the highest math class in the grade, and I always get A's.

Mom and Eddie celebrated my birthday. They gave me presents. Aunt Karen came with Mary and Jake from Oregon where they moved last year. She has a husband named Mark; he's my uncle now.

But back to my presents. Karen, Mark, Mary, and Jake got me a Nintendo and a bunch of games if I ever have time to play them. I already got to play Super Mario Brothers 3 and The Legend of Zelda; I love them both.

Grandma got me a new pair of skates and a new outfit. I'm gonna wear them the next time I practice. Sam Braun came over and he gave me a jewelry box, it's made out of wood, and it's pretty. Mom got me some beautiful dolls, most of which are porcelain.

Eddie got me a gold necklace with a star pendant. It's so pretty, I'm never gonna take it off.'

I reached to my neck. I had the same gold necklace. I didn't remember wen I had been given it, I must have been an infant. I looked back at the family portrait. We were wearing the same necklaces in it. I was relieved, at least I wasn't wearing her necklace.

I was about to continue reading, when my Grandmother called me down for dinner. So I hid the diary, letters, and picture under my pillow, and I went downstairs.

I ate silently, which worried my grandmother. She asked me what was on my mind.

"What's behind the locked door at the bottom of the stairs?" I asked her quite innocently.

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well, there's some old furniture, not much else."

"Oh," I replied. She had told the truth, just not all of it.

When we finished, I said goodnight, and went back to my room. I had more to read. I had to know what had happened to my older sister Lydia, the girl I had never known.

To be continued...

Thank you for your kind reviews, I loved them all. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I've been getting a lot of homework recently, and I probably won't be able to update except about once a week, but I'm hoping it will be more often than that.