Excluding Cindy and Caleb, each of us were holding hands with someone else. Margie and Stanley. Scarlett and Skippy. Sarah and Shade. Nigel and Maxine. Damian and Karla. Gretel and Jack. Me and Jill. Mom and Dad. And Mr. Hawk and Laura. These were considered to be together forever. Riley and Sage. Tippy and Tappy. Willy and Zeke. Ash and Nora. And Thumbelina and Tamara. These were considered as only family and nothing more. Cindy was hiding behind us because she desired to surprise Caleb.

"Oooh...
Oooh..."

Ash, Margie, Nigel, Gretel, and I took turns saying a line of the song that we made up as the rest sang a tune.

"I know what it feels like to have anxiety," our writer sang happily. I have to admit that she was not a good singer, but I did not care. What she was singing about was what mattered. "The fear controls us like a puppet and makes our lives unbearable. I did not want to have too much anxiety and worry about panic attacks. So I turned away from the real world and only rely on fictional."

Margie was next. "My sister and I lost our mom and dad. It is devastating news. I know. But how should I go on? How should I move on...when my parents are gone? So be with the people who care for you and love you. They will lift you up and help you through this."

It was Nigel's turn. "I just found out that the dad whom I loved all my life is not really my dad. My real dad is in this room with me. My own mom told me. So am I mad? No! Yes, I am a bit disappointed. I am even sad that my other dad - Richard - is not my actual dad. But I love him, and I bet that he loves me back. Who says that a family has to be biological? The Lord and love are enough."

"My sister and I have cancer," I sang as best as I could. "I do not know why. We are only kids. And the first thing that comes to mind is that we have a good chance of dying."

"But there have been cancer survivors," Gretel sang. She was a pretty good singer. "Many...many! Do not think of the negatives. Think of the positives! The Lord has a plan for us and will be with us all the way through!"

Then we all sang the chorus to Caleb.

"Do not let others put you down! They have nothing else better to do! You are capable of so much more than you yourself can imagine! Keep going on! And on and on! Do not stop! Trust the Lord with all your heart!"

We stopped singing and gave sweet smiles to Caleb. He was speechless. He kept blinking.

"I-I..." he stuttered, finally saying something.

"Do not know what to say?" Cindy finished for him as she came out from behind us and walked up to him. "Hello, Caleb."

"Uh..." He blinked even more.

She giggled. "You are so funny! That is why I like you. You are also sweet and brighten my day every time that I see you." She placed her hands on his cheeks. "I heard that you were shot, so I had to come by and see my favorite boy." She kissed his cheek.

One of his eyes twitched, and it seemed as if he were going to faint.

A doctor soon visited our room to check on us and said that we would be released from the hospital as soon as possible, seeing that we were doing fine. We talked in groups while waiting for our release.

"So...our parents are...gone," Scarlett said to Margie.

Margie slowly nodded. "Dead. Which means that...we are orphans now."

They hugged each other tightly.

I saw Mrs. Sanders pulling Mr. Hawk to a corner of the room and overheard their conversation.

"Mitchell..." Mrs. Sanders said. "...you should adopt Margie and Scarlett. They desperately need a responsible adult to take them in. You are an adult and very responsible."

"But..." Mr. Hawk looked at Margie, and then back at her. "...she reminds me too much of...her. My daughter."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "She left you. You had nothing to do with her disappearance. This is your chance. You can have a daughter again. Two of them. Please...adopt them. For me."

He let out a sigh. "You are right. Fine. I will adopt them."

That was good news for Margie and Scarlett. But what about me and Gretel?

"Mom? Dad? Are Gretel and I going to...die...because of cancer?" I confessed. "I am scared."

Mom rubbed the top of my head. "Oh, honey. You do not need to be scared. You two will be going through the same things that I had to do when I had cancer."

"Besides, we caught it in time," Dad said. "So you two will have a better chance of surviving and beating this. And you know what else? Your baby sister, Thumbelina, had cancer."

Gretel and I gasped in disbelief.

"She did?" I said.

Mom held Thumbelina close. "She absolutely did. And she beat it. That is one of the many reasons why we adopted this special girl."

Dad gently patted my back. "You two having cancer is also the reason why we moved from Forlot and stayed at a not-so-good apartment. We needed to find the right treatment and save enough money for it."

Mom kissed Thumbelina's nose, and Thumbelina giggled. "We will look for treatments here in Forlot. After all, this is our one and only true home."

"Are we going to lose our hair?" my sister asked.

Dad stroked her cheek. "There is no doubt in my mind, sweetie."

Gretel took out her cross necklace to show to Mom and Dad.

The cross broke free from her grasp and flew away.