I fell into school rather easily, although I didn’t make many friends. Most of the classes bored me, but I saw it as the price I had to pay to keep up my charade. Most of the children at the orphanage didn’t speak to me. They just whispered things about me when they thought I wasn’t listening.

Mia and Dolly Frost were the only two girls who paid any attention to me, but I didn’t feel close to them. They were nicknamed the ‘Giggle Twins’ by some of the other children, but they were not twins at all, not even sisters. They just had the same last name.

In early March Missy told me about potential parents coming to the orphanage to examine children, and she convinced me to take part. I had anxieties about it, but a reasoned that if a nice couple came by and wanted me there was no doubt in my mind that I would take the chance, if for no other reason to be far away for Jimmy and his threats. It seemed that he never missed an opportunity to call me by my real name when no one else was around.

Late in the afternoon after dinner I took to the solitude of my room. It was the only time I could look upon my mother’s doll and remember how good things used to be. Now, here I was living someone else’s life.

I remembered Uncle Martin’s book. I opened it and began to read. It seemed to give me comfort as he once said it would. Then I spotted the letter he wrote. It fell out of the book, but I noticed that it was folded the wrong way. I was always careful about my letters. I had the feeling that someone had tampered with my things.

Then it dawned on me the somewhat hostile conversation I had with Jimmy. The accusations he made about my true identity. Had he tampered with my things? How could I hide who I was if someone like him could figure it out? I reread Uncle Martin’s letter and hoped for an answer. Then it came to me. He said he would always be there for me. Now was his chance to prove it.

I took some paper out of my desk and wrote a letter to Uncle Martin. It wasn’t a long one. I just wanted to tell him where I was and how I got to this place, not that it mattered. I longed to be me again and to be with someone who loved me.