It was Mama, except it wasn’t. This woman looked twenty years younger, with none of the deep lines or yellowed skin that set Mama’s face into a permanent, weary scowl. This woman was beautiful, and she was smiling at me. Telling me to come in, come in, they had been waiting for me. Her voice sounded like music, and despite my earlier fear, I found myself following her inside.

My heart leapt at what I saw there. Papa, a younger, kinder-eyed Papa, was coming down the stairs and sweeping me up in a hug before I could react. My first impulse was to freeze, hoping that by being still and quiet, I wouldn’t do anything to make them upset. But then I heard him laughing as he danced around with me, and I realized he wasn’t holding me roughly at all. And there was Thomas, looking at me like he was really happy to see me, not just wearing a fake face until we were alone and he could give me that sly, awful grin. And the room he was coming from wasn’t dark and filled with junk and trash. It, and the entire house, was filled with good smells and light.

And love.

That was the thing that struck me the most. I could feel the love radiating from this other version of my family. It seemed to touch everything like some kind of warmth, and I could feel it seeping into my skin as they hugged me and led me into the living room. They sat me down and took turns talking, telling me how happy they were to see me, how glad they were that I had come. That’s when I heard the floor creak behind me. I turned around to find a girl that looked like me standing there.

I felt another moment of panic at the strangeness of it all, but then she was around the sofa and on me, hugging me tightly as she laughed. She whispered in my ear that this was the best day ever now, and that we would be just like sisters, forever and ever. I knew I was crying, but it was only because my heart was so full and happy.

It was hard when I had to leave and go back to my old house that afternoon. I didn’t want to go, but the new Papa said I had to for now. That I had to keep them and that house a secret until I could stay with them for good. I asked how long it would be, and he said not long at all. In the meantime, the new Mama said, I should come and stay every day as long as I wanted, just so long as I made it back to my old house before I’d be missed.