Family

Chapter 18

"What were you doing out of the cellar," Kate ask us when we got to the bottom of the stairs.

"We needed the truth," Mack told her.

"What truth? What did you do?"

"Kate, we need to tell ya something," I told her. I took a step closer to her and sat on the ground in front. "We went in the attic."

From there, me and Mack told her e'erything. The papers. The lost child. 'Missing.' She jus' sit there and listen to us. Didn't say nothing 'til we finished.

"So you believe me. Okay, now what are you going to do?"

"We don't know," I told her. "We just wanted the truth and we got it. My parents names are Jonah and Elizabeth Walker. I am their daughter Annabella Walker. I have an older brother, Maxwell."

"My parents names are Harvey and Tammy Jones. I am their only son Mack Jones."

"Claire, her parents are Tyler and Emma Manson, she was their first born," I tell her. "Megan was a fifth child of Danny and Taylor Huntsbergs. And Sam, poor Sam, his parents were Albert and Tracy Bonnite. He had an older sister, by two years, named Henrietta. His mother killed herself after they never found Sam. His father and sister live in the same home, as his father hopes someday, Sam will return. Henrietta is ten."

"Oh, Sam. Are you going to tell them," she ask.

"No," Mack tell her.

"Why not?"

"'Cause, Kate, they happy and young. They ain't got a need to know," I explain. "It will just hurt 'em."

She jus' nod her head, and look at the floor. It take a few minutes but she finally say something, "Did you read anything about me?"

"Yes," Mack tell her. "Your parents, William and Analice Rockwell are searching high and low for you. They say they ain't ne'er gonna stop looking for their youngest child."

"What about my siblings?"

I tell her how they don't have any information on 'em, but from the pictures there are her sister, Lindsey looks like she been crying, and her brother Thomas has a straight face.

"Yeah, he has that face when he is angry with the world, at least that's what my mom used to say," she look sad when she say this. She look like she misses them. I wish I could miss someone that much. It'll make me feel loved by someone.

"Kate, what was it like at home," Mack ask.

"Why do you want to know? Isn't this your home?"

"Yeah, but I wanna know what it was like for ya to, ya know, not be here."

"Oh Mack, it is so different than here."

"How different? 'Cept for school, you have a ma and a pa and siblings. What do you got at home that we ain't got here?" Mack really wanna know what it like away from here. I wish he didn't. I afraid he won't wanna be here no more, but he ain't got nowhere else to go.

"Well, we get to play a lot more. If we're not at school or doing our homework, the kids in the neighborhood are playing outside. But we only go outside when the weather is nice. And when it is really nice and our parents let us, a bunch of us like to go to the park and play games there! I love the park. It is so beautiful. It can be very quiet sometimes. At home there is normally always some kind of noise. Either a train or a car is going by. Or someone is playing loud music. But at the park it is almost as quiet as it is here. The only noise comes from the trees when the birds sing with each other."

"You ain't got chores," I asked her.

"Of course I have chores. Lindsey, Thomas and I each have a chore we have to do everyday. I help Lindsey with the dishes. She washes them and then I dry and put them away."

I asked, "That's it? You don't have to clean the barn? Or wash the horses? Feed 'em?"

"No, we don't have any horses. Most people don't have horses in their backyards at home."

"Wow, it really is different! It sound like a wonderful place to be," Mack said.

"I think that was enough for tonight. Let go to bed now," I told 'em.

Kate fell asleep quickly, but I watch as Mack lay on his back and just stare at the ceiling. He thinking 'bout something. Maybe he thinking 'bout what it be like if he was not here. If he ne'er been taken here. It make me worry 'bout him. I don't want him to be sad. I wish we ne'er learned about this, but I guess it good we know now.

I go to bed thinking 'bout all this. I mean, Pa is still Pa and Ma is definitely still Ma. I don't want another set of 'em. I want to stay here. They my family. No one can be 'em. This is where I am from. This is who I am. Why would I want anything different? I learn from 'em here. Ma teach me to be a good woman. She know who I am and who I have been since I was a baby. No one know me better than Ma.

And Mack. I can't leave Mack. I don't wanna lose him e'er. I jus' wanna stay here and be with 'em no matter who my real Ma is. This is my family and I ain't leaving. Kate can go if she wanna, but I staying with Ma and Pa. They'd have to rip me outta this house. They'd have to pull me off my bed. They'd had to trick me away from Chance. I am staying no matter what anyone say. This is my house. This is the only house, or place, I know. I don't wanna leave. Not just yet, at least.