It was cloudy and the rain was drizzling – my favourite kind of weather. My mother had a friend named Lizzy. She works at the adoption centre as a guardian. The rain began to fall harder then mom suggested we go to the adoption centre to Lizzy for shelter from the rain.

When we arrived at the adoption centre, we found sister Lizzy drinking a cup of coffee. She told us to sit down and make ourselves comfortable and offered us coffee which we accepted heartily. .As I was drinking my cup of coffee I saw beautiful pictures of adopted kids on the chart board on the far right side of the wall.

I then looked to my far left and saw a very beautiful girl looking and smiling at me. She had the most beautiful face with shiny eyes and a small nose. I looked at her and smiled back then I waved to her. She waved back but when I stood up to go to her, my mother said the rain had stopped and it was time for us to make our way home.

On our way home, mom was so focused on the journey and I was smiling the entire walk home. She looked at me and asked, “Why are you smiling, I mean there’s nothing funny here, is there?”

I kept smiling and left her with no response then I asked, “Mom, what did you notice whilst we were at the adoption centre?”

She looked at me and said, “Well, nothing.”

I became silent with the memory of that beautiful girl I saw at the centre. I said to her, “I saw a beautiful little girl at the centre, did you see her too?”

“No,” she said.

“How can a child at the adoption centre be made yours?” I asked.

She smiled and said, “Why would I want another child when I already have one?”

I looked away as my heart sank and said, “I was just asking.”

When we finally arrived at home, I was tired and decided to take a nap. I dreamed of the girl I saw at the adoption centre. In the dream, she was my little sister, my mom’s little girl. We were dancing and singing together. We were singing “We will play child, we will play child and we will play till the end of our lives.”

I was woken up by my mother who said that she needs my help with watering the flowers. I was angry when she woke me up because I was having such a nice dream. I helped her quickly hoping that I could go back to sleep and resume my dream when I finished helping her.

After we finished watering the flowers, I went back to bed but I couldn’t fall asleep again. Then nightfall came and I still couldn’t sleep. I went outside to look at the stars and hoped that they could hear my wish. My mother came outside looking for me. When she saw I was sitting and looking at the stars, she asked me what it was that was bothering me. She said that anyone could see that I wasn’t alright. I told her that I’d been thinking about the little girl at the adoption centre and that it was that that was bothering me. Mom comforted me and told me to go to bed and try to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up thinking about the little girl still. As I made my way to school I couldn’t bear thinking of her anymore. I turned around and ran back home, dropped my backpack on the floor in my room and ran to the adoption centre.

Sister, greeted me when I arrived at the centre.

“What’s wrong, why are you running?” She asked me when she saw that I was out of breath.

I lied and told her that I was running away from dogs that were chasing me. She went out to see if she could spot the dogs that had chased me, but there were none. When she came back, she found me talking with the little girl I saw when I was last there. She stood still and listened to us talking.

I spent the entire day talking and playing with her. The little girl told me that she was happy to see that I came back. Later that day we sat down to talk. By the end of our conversation, she was crying. Sis Lizzy saw that the little girl was crying and came closer. She told me to comfort her for a while and that I had to go home afterwards because it was getting late.

Sis Lizzy walked me home but when we arrive there, I saw that my mother was angry. She asked me where I had been the entire day any I didn’t go to school. I was tempted to lie to her at first but I told the truth. Sis Lizzy confirmed my story and asked to talk to my mother privately. I left the two women to speak but stood against the front room door listening to what they were talking about.

I respected that and went out to water the flowers. Sis Lizzy told my mother about the connection and bond the little girl at the adoption centre and I had. My mother listened attentively as Sis Lizzy asked my mother to adopt the little girl. Sister Lizzy listed all the benefits to us as a family to the life of the girl if my mother decided to adopt her. Eventually, my mother saw reason and agreed to start adoption proceedings.

We had to wait a couple of months for the adoption to be processed and approved then the day to fetch my little sister finally came. The weather was beautiful and there was birdsong in the air. When we arrived at the adoption centre, Sis Lizzy and the little girl who was to be my sister were waiting for us. She was happy and very hyperactive.

As my mother went to sign off on the last adoption documents, I approached Sis Lizzy and thanked her for having encouraged my mother to adopt the little girl. I wanted to say more but my mother called me from the office door she was standing in and said that it was done; the little girl who had crept into my heart so unexpectedly was now my little sister.

named her Pretty, for she was a very pretty little girl. I had always dreamed of being a big brother to someone and now my dream had come true. I thanked the Lord for having blessed us with Pretty. If it was not for the sake of seeking shelter on a rainy day, I would not be fortunate enough to have a little sister.

“Never let your heart be troubled without taking a stand.”

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