We Do Exist

A New Home

"Mommy look, it's the girl from school I told you about! The one with different eyes!" The little girl pulled on her mother's dress; her eyes focused on the orphanage. The girl's mother followed her daughter's gaze. In the fence, a tiny girl about her daughter's age with silver curly hair and pale skin was hiding in the bushes. Six other children armed with water balloons appeared to be looking for the girl.

"Come now Jo, Daddy has dinner waiting for us." The mother ushered her child to start walking, but took another glance back at the girl hiding in the bushes, and her heart ached.

"Honey, I want another child." The mother spoke to her husband softly, so as not to wake their daughter that was asleep in her lap. Her husband looked up from his laptop and stared at his wife in shock.

"Ellen, you know the doctor said another child would be the death of you. Your heart wouldn't be able to handle that kind of stress." He ran his fingers through his short brown hair with a sigh, his green eyes full of concern.

"Then let's adopt. Joanna needs a sister. The little girl Jo is always going about is an orphan. The poor child was being bullied by the others." Ellen looked down at her daughter, smiling at the way her black hair was a mess in her ponytail and the way her lips pouted while she dreamed.

"Are you sure Ellen? Adoption is expensive and can be a long process if the girl's parents are still alive." Kensen took his wife's hand.

"I'm absolutely positive, Kensen. Joanna needs a sibling. The doctor said I can go back to work and my mother agreed to watch her. But I just don't want her growing up alone." Ellen pleaded. Kensen sighed and then nodded.

"Okay, okay. I'm off work tomorrow. Leave Jo with your mother and we will go down to the orphanage first thing in the morning." Kensen stood up and walked around the table. He gave Ellen a kiss and then took Jo from her and carried her to bed.

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"Good morning! Welcome to Johnston Orphanage. My name is Saphielle. How can I help you today?" The woman behind the desk smiled. She had long red hair that hung down in loose waves. Her features looked young but her eyes seemed to be much older.

"We are looking to adopt a little girl, maybe around nine years old." Ellen said, a smile on her lips and excitement in her eyes. She had always wanted a big family, but with her weak heart she couldn't give birth again.

"Ah, a nine-year-old girl. There is only one here, just let me go and get her." Saphielle disappeared down a hall to the right.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this Ellen?" Kensen asked. Ellen didn't get the chance to respond because the woman came back, followed by a small girl with long curly silver hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. Her pale skin was slightly pink, as though she were just outside playing. When she looked up at Ellen, her eyes made Ellen gasp. The child's left eye was stormy grey and her right eye was ocean blue. Ellen smiled at the child and leaned down so she was face to face with her.

"Hello, my name is Ellen and this is my husband, Kensen. We would love to become your new mommy and daddy. Would that be ok with you?" The child's eyes lit up, and for a moment Ellen thought they flickered to gold.

"You'll have a sister, our daughter Joanna," Kensen said. He and Saphielle went to the desk and begun the paperwork.

"I know Jo, she's my friend at school," the girl grinned, two of her bottom teeth missing.

"We saw you in the yard yesterday." Ellen chuckled and brushed a loose curl out of the child's face. "Jo talks about you all the time. And when I saw you had no family, I couldn't just leave you here. What is your name?"