November 25th 2007: Cold. Deserted. The orphanage stood silent against the dead landscape. Snow crunching under my feet, I step through the gate and make my way down the sidewalk, a pathway leading of the rest of my life. The seemingly untouched playground sends a haunting chill up my spine. Drawing my coat closer nestling into its warmth, I approach the painted golden door. A hand reaches out knocking evenly on the wood entrance. “This is a good thing *Ryleigh, this is a new beginning.” I assure myself, whipping my sweaty palms on my faded jeans. At last, an elderly Babushka opens the door. She welcomes me in a foreign language and beckons for me to follow her. Taking one last breath, I reluctantly enter the brick building; the door closes definitively behind me.
Children at play draw my attention upward to the tile staircase, their laughter rings in my ears as I gradually follow the old lady down a dim corridor into an open space. She motions for me to sit at the table in the crook of the room and then disappears through the door. Frightened for the first time this morning, I cross the room to take a seat at the wood table. I hear the cooks in the kitchen preparing strange foods, speaking rapidly in a foreign tongue. The smell of exotic cooking sends my stomach into a fit; though my appetite has been ruined by the events of the day.

Again, I nervously whip the sweat from my hands on my jeans. My anxiety begins to bend my will as I hear someone approaching. “Here they come, here comes my new life, here comes my new…” My thoughts are cut off by the shrill of excitement that echoes from the precious mouth of a young girl. My thoughts and sight become blurry. She runs towards me, braids flying in the air, her arms opening wide screaming the one word that will forever change who I am…”Sister!”

I gather her in a hug, this child I have never meet before, but I’ve known her all along. “Her name is *Alanna she is an 8 year old with brown hair, brown eyes and dark skin. She likes to play sports and is a talkative little girl.” The description they gave us said it all, but meeting her today I feel I know her more than they do. She is my new smiling sibling. Although she may be new to my life and my family, she will always be known as my little sister.