The ten year old plopped down lazily on her best friend's bed. "It's called fate, Jenna. When the right family comes, they'll just know. And so will I."
"I don't believe in fate, Tina. If it was real, I would have my parents. Or at least a relative who could tell me stories about them, and show me some pictures. I don't even remember what they looked like!" Jenna replied, as she pulled the comforter over her head, before wiping away a tear.
"We all have a reason for everything that happens. That's what my mom said, all the time. I believe her, Jenna."
"How can you still believe in that stuff? After your dad disappeared when you were three, then you watched your mother, your only living relative, die of cancer?" Jenna asked bitterly.
Tina pulled back the comforter, meeting her friend's tear-filled eyes. "I have to... I feel like it's one of the best things she left me. It's hard to explain."
"Well I don't have to believe it," Jenna replied, pulling the comforter back over her head.
"I'm going to go finish reading Alice in Wonderland," replied Tina. As she turned, she sighed.
A week later, the girls were sitting in the common room. Tina was coloring, and Jenna, sitting beside her, had a scene of a park half painted.
"Who are they?" whispered Tina, eyes locked on two strangers.
They had noticed, and looked at each other, before they surveyed the rest of the room.
Jenna looked at the middle aged couple, then shrugged and went back to her painting. "They're probably here to see if there's a kid they're interested in."
Tina's eyes never left them, as they worked their way around the room.
They stopped several times before they made it to the two friends, but always moved on quickly. "Aren't you interested in meeting them?" she whispered, when they were several yards away.
Jenna whispered back, not bothering to look up. "I've seen plenty of them, they never choose me."
"You should still see if you like them," encouraged Tina, without taking her eyes off of the two adults.
Then the couple was standing in front of the pair.
"Hello, my name is Alice," the woman said, extending her hand to Tina.
Tina's jaw dropped in awe. "Wow, like Alice in Wonderland?"
The woman brushed back her golden locks, and beamed. "That was my favorite story when I was your age."
"I just finished reading it for the first time, and I love it!" Tina exclaimed.
After several more minutes of chatting and asking questions, the couple excused themselves.
"I really thought they were the ones," Tina said, laying her head down on the table.
Jenna looked up from her painting. "Don't give up yet, that's what they always do, whether they choose someone or not."
Tina didn't respond, or move.
About ten minutes later, the couple returned, with Miss Vela.
Miss Vela led the couple back over to the table. "Tina, Mr. and Mrs. Crandall would like to take you home for a few weeks. They want to get to know you better. What would you think of that?"
Tina leaped to her feet, and began bouncing. "I would love it!"
Once goodbyes were said, and they were gone, it was Jenna's turn to lie with her head on the table. Until she heard the room stir.
She looked up, for the briefest second. "Another one? On the same day? I don't remember that ever happening."
"Hello, young lady. Are you Jenna?" asked the woman.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I'm Debbie Palmer, and this is my husband Mike. How would you like to come with us?" Debbie asked, without asking any of the usual questions. They hadn't even stopped to talk to any of the other children!
"Uh, sure."
"We'll be right back, we need to talk to Miss Vela first," Mike said, his eyes twinkling.
Jenna spent the next two days getting to know her new foster parents. While she liked them a lot, she still remained somewhat aloof.
"We're having company for dinner, Jenna. What would you suggest for a dessert?" asked Debbie.
Jenna hesitated, almost as if there might be a right and wrong answer. "My favorite is chocolate cake," she finally replied.
Debbie smiled warmly. "Chocolate cake it is, then."
When the guests arrived, Jenna couldn't contain herself. She squealed, then shouted "Tina!".
"How is this possible?" She asked, as she spun her friend around in circles.
"I'll tell you when the room stops spinning," laughed Tina.
Soon the girls were seated on Jenna's bed.
"I thought I might never see you again, when we were both chosen. And the Palmers here came in just a short while after you left!"
"I know, I talked to them before you met them. Mrs. Palmer asked me why I looked sad, and I told her all about you."
"But how are you here? Did you ask Miss Vela about me, then get permission to come visit?"
"Miss Palmer and Alice were best friends since they were even younger than us two. They've both wanted to adopt for a long time, but had trouble getting a baby. They finally decided to foster older children, and wanted to do it together."
"That's incredible!" whispered Jenna.
"Now do you believe in fate?"
"No, Tina. I'm really glad things worked out this way, but a lot of my friends were chosen in the past, leaving me behind. I'm just really lucky - and grateful that you told the Palmers about me."
Tina hugged her friend. "It's fate, for sure," she whispered.
After the chocolate cake had been devoured, Mrs. Palmer took out a photo album. "Let's get to know something about the family tree, shall we?"
Both girls nodded, but didn't show much enthusiasm.
After a good many pages of baby pictures, black and white high school yearbook photos, and summer vacation snapshots, Mrs. Palmer came upon a wedding picture.
"This is Chris Smith, and my cousin Lisa on the day they were married. She's my only cousin and we were pen pals as kids. We always snuck off together at every reunion, it drove our parents crazy! But I don't know where she is now," the woman said sadly.
Suddenly Jenna was in Debbie Palmer's lap, looking closely at the photograph. "I thought I didn't have any other relatives..." she whispered.
Debbie was both thrilled and surprised by the girl's sudden familiarity. "I don't understand, do you know my cousin?" she asked quietly.
"Those are my parents' names. But I was told that neither of them had any surviving relatives," she replied, confused.
"Are you saying that Lisa is your mother?" gasped Debbie.
"I'm not sure. I don't remember my parents, and don't have any pictures. But the home always told me that I didn't have any relatives."
"Chris didn't have any, he grew up in a children's home, like you were in. We lost contact with Lisa when the two of them went to England, for Chris's work. I tried to find them a few years later, and couldn't. Maybe they came back, but she didn't have time to look me up, before..."
"I was just a baby when it happened. And I was born here, so I think that could be why. Do you have any more pictures of her?" asked Jenna, hope surging through her.
"Oh, yes! And stories too! Let me get the other albums," Debbie said happily.
Jenna slid off of the woman's lap, and Tina jumped up and gave her friend a hug.
"You don't have to believe in fate, fate believes in you!" she exclaimed, a huge smile lighting up her face.
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery