<\/span> I padded to the door in my pajamas, expecting to find Mrs. Castellanos from next door, maybe needing help with something. Instead, there were two police officers and a woman in a gray suit holding a briefcase.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this the Ramirez residence?\u201d the woman asked gently.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d I said, suddenly feeling very small. \u201cBut my parents aren\u2019t here. They went to the market early this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The officers exchanged glances. The woman knelt down to my level, her face kind but serious.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your name, sweetheart?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSofia. Sofia Ramirez.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSofia, I\u2019m Ms. Chen from Child Protective Services. We need to talk to you and your brother and sister. Can you wake them up for me?\u201d<\/p>\n Something in her voice made my stomach drop. I wanted to ask where Mom and Dad were, wanted to demand to know why these strangers were in our house, but instead I just nodded and went to wake Elena and Marcus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elena was always a light sleeper. She sat up the moment I touched her shoulder, her dark eyes wide and alert.<\/p>\n \u201cSofia? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people here. They want to talk to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus was harder to wake. He grumbled and tried to pull his blanket over his head until Elena shook him more forcefully.<\/p>\n \u201cMarcus, get up. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n We sat together on the couch in our small living room, still in our pajamas, facing these three adults who suddenly held our future in their hands. I sat in the middle, Elena on my right clutching my hand, Marcus on my left leaning against my shoulder.<\/p>\n Children,\u201d Ms. Chen began, her voice gentle but firm, \u201cI\u2019m afraid I have some very difficult news to share with you.\u201d<\/p>\n The world seemed to tilt on its axis as she spoke. Car accident. No survivors. Instant. Didn\u2019t suffer.<\/p>\n The words bounced off me like stones. This couldn\u2019t be real. Mom and Dad had just left that morning. Dad had ruffled my hair and told me to keep an eye on Elena and Marcus. Mom had kissed my forehead and promised we\u2019d make tamales together when they got back from the market.<\/p>\n Elena started crying first, great heaving sobs that shook her small frame. Marcus went completely silent, his face pale as paper. I felt like I was floating above myself, watching this scene happen to someone else\u2019s family.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens to us now?\u201d The question came out of my mouth, though I didn\u2019t remember deciding to speak.<\/p>\n Ms. Chen\u2019s expression was infinitely sad. \u201cYou\u2019ll come with us for now. We\u2019ll find you a safe place to stay while we sort everything out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTogether?\u201d Elena asked through her tears. \u201cWe stay together, right?\u201d<\/p>\n The pause before Ms. Chen answered told us everything we needed to know.<\/p>\n The next few hours were a blur. Strangers packed our belongings into garbage bags. Neighbors gathered on their porches, watching and whispering. Mrs. Castellanos tried to give us each a hug before we left, tears streaming down her weathered face.<\/p>\n \u201cYour parents were good people,\u201d she whispered to me. \u201cDon\u2019t you ever forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n They took us to a group home first, a big house with too many children and not enough attention to go around. Elena, Marcus, and I were given beds in different rooms. That first night, I snuck into Elena\u2019s room and brought Marcus with me. We all crowded into her single bed, holding each other tight, trying to pretend this was all just a nightmare.<\/p>\n For two weeks, we lived in that limbo between our old life and whatever came next. During the day, we attended a local school, trying to pretend everything was normal. At night, we whispered plans about running away, about finding relatives in Mexico we\u2019d never met, about somehow getting our old life back.<\/p>\n Then came the worst news of all.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve found families for each of you,\u201d Ms. Chen announced during one of her visits. \u201cGood families who are excited to welcome you into their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTogether?\u201d I asked, though I already knew the answer.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Sofia. Finding one family willing to take three children is\u2026 challenging. But you\u2019ll all be staying in the same city. You\u2019ll be able to see each other regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d The word exploded out of me with a force that surprised everyone, including myself. \u201cWe\u2019re a family! You can\u2019t split us up!\u201d<\/p>\n Elena burst into tears again. Marcus grabbed my hand and squeezed so tight I thought he might break my fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cSofia,\u201d Ms. Chen said gently, \u201cI understand this is difficult, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t understand anything!\u201d I shouted. \u201cWe\u2019re all we have left! You can\u2019t take that away from us too!\u201d<\/p>\n But they could, and they did.<\/p>\n Elena went first, to a middle-aged couple named the Johnsons who lived across town. They seemed nice enough \u2013 Mr. Johnson was a librarian, Mrs. Johnson taught third grade. They had no children of their own and had been trying to adopt for years.<\/p>\n I helped Elena pack her few belongings, folding her clothes carefully into a small suitcase someone had donated.<\/p>\n \u201cPromise me,\u201d she whispered as we sat on her bed in the group home for the last time, \u201cpromise me we\u2019ll find each other again. Promise me we\u2019ll be a real family again someday.\u201d<\/p>\n I was twelve years old, about to lose my sister, with no idea how to keep such an impossible promise. But I looked into her tear-filled brown eyes and nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI promise. We all do. Right, Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus, who had been silent since the announcement, finally spoke. \u201cWe\u2019re going to get our family back. All of it. The house, Mom and Dad\u2019s restaurant, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Ezoic\"](\"https:\/\/go.ezodn.com\/utilcave_com\/ezoicbwa.png\" "\\"ezoic\\"")
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