The doorbell rings, and I jump up from the couch where I've been reading Harry Potter for the millionth time. Today is going to be a fantastic day, I can already tell.

For starters, when I woke up this morning, it was incredibly sunny and already warm. My favorite shorts were clean, and John was making hash browns for breakfast.

Now, I pull the door open, letting another shaft of sunlight into the house. Alex likes to keep all of the windows open until it's almost too dark to see, and so our living room is already bathed in warm and golden light. The person who steps through the door, however, seems to bring even more illumination to the area.

I throw my arms around Vanessa, basking in the warm glow that she carries in with her. Her long hair brushes against my cheek, and I laugh when it tickles my nose. "Hello!"

She chuckles and holds me at arm's length. "Hola, mi bonita! I swear, you must have grown six inches since the last time I saw you." Vanessa herself doesn't look too different. Her hair is still perfectly straight, and she still has her giant earrings and the mischevous smile that tugs at the corners of her mouth.

"No, I haven't grown since school let out." I straighten the shirt I'm wearing- a tank top with a drawing of a giraffe riding a bicycle. "I guess the giraffe makes me look taller."

John walks around the corner from the kitchen, cradling a mug of coffee. He looks utterly exhausted. "Hola, Vanessa."

I grin and walk over to hug him. "We're going to Vanessa's neighborhood today. It's not too far from here, just a short drive and then we have to take a train or two. It's going to be fun."

He ruffles my hair absentmindedly. "Okay, honey. Stay safe, please. I trust you both to look out for each other."

Vanessa slides her manicured hand into mine. "Ready, mija?" The nickname sends a happy little shiver down my spine. If I remember correctly from the meager attention I pay in Spanish class, it means 'my daughter'.

"Ready." We walk outside, and I tip my head back to let the sun's rays run across my face. I honestly can't wait to meet all of the people that she's told me about, to see the world that she grew up in.

********

We step off of the escalator, and Vanessa pushes the glass door open. The neighborhood, Washington Heights, is hot and humid, and the warmth covers me like a blanket as soon as I emerge from the air conditioned subway chamber. I smile and stand on the curb, waiting for Vanessa.

My eyes focus in the light, and I look around. I remember those sidewalk trees, that one with a little heart carved into the corner. I remember the slightly crumbling RadioShack with the broken window- the one they still haven't fixed after almost three years. Every inch of this street, every square of gum-spotted pavement, is as familiar as walking into my own bedroom.

"Wait, you live in Washington Heights?" My voice jumps an octave on the last few words. Somewhere in my brain, nothing clicked before this. Never her mentions of Abuela, never her jokes about life in 'el barrio', none of them made me wake up and recognize it.

I hear a pair of sneakers pounding on the sidewalk, and I look up to see a gangly teenage boy barrelling towards us at top speed. He has a flop of curly hair and a giant smile full of crooked teeth. "Ay, Vanessa! You brought her after all..." He stops and looks at me. "No way. Kathryn?"

"Sonny?" It can't be my old babysitter, but somehow, it is. Sonny de la Vega, one of my best friends. He looks just like he did three years ago, wearing a hoodie and giant sneakers. We had so many fun times together- walking to the park for piraguas, playing tag on the fire escape, bothering the ladies at the salon.

He wraps me in a bone-crushing hug that smells like cologne and sweat, just the way I remember. My face presses against his sweatshirt zipper, and I laugh softly.

"Ay, mi torpita, I never thought I'd see you again!" I laugh harder- this is one Spanish phrase I'll never forget. It's always been Sonny's nickname for me, and it means 'my little klutz'.

"You either, viejo." I poke him in the side, and he snickers. Back when I lived here, I always called him 'old man' because he was six years older than me.

"Espere." Vanessa looks between the two of us. "Wait a minute. You two know each other?" She seems incredulous, and one perfect eyebrow is raised in confusion.

I pull out of the hug and nod. "I...used to live here. A few years ago, with a foster dad." Just saying that both takes a huge weight off of my chest and sends my happy feelings plummeting to the ground. "Mr. Enrique Lake."

"I remember him. He moved away several years ago. I think his daughter put him in a nursing home." Vanessa nods. "I never knew you were right here in my barrio. Why did you move away?"

"Trust me, I didn't want to." I look around at the neighborhood that I used to know. "I was sent to stay with him when I was nine. He was the sweetest person I've ever met in my entire life. I was there for three years. He was-" My voice breaks, just slightly, and I lower my head. "He was going to adopt me."

Sonny wraps an arm around me. "You don't have to tell her, if you don't want to." His voice is low and concerned.

I shake my head. "I do want to." I take a deep, gasping breath of the hot air and then continue. "One night, it was really, really hot. The power went out, and Mr. Lake was really stressed. He- he said he was having all kinds of chest pain. He joked it off and told me I shouldn't worry, so I didn't."

A tear frees itself unbidden from my eye and runs down my cheek. "When I woke up in the morning, he was gone. Nobody would tell me where he went. I had to go all the way down to Sonny and Usnavi's apartment before someone told me. He was in the hospital a borough over. He had a heart attack the night before."

Vanessa wraps me in a hug. "Oh, mija..." I don't want to be pitied, don't want to be reassured that it will all be okay. This happened in the past, and I already know how the story ends.

"Apparently, he had to go to a physical rehab center for a few months, and he wasn't in a state to be in charge of me. I got sent on to the next home." My voice is almost a whisper now. The tears on my face are cold- the only cold thing for miles in this weather.

Sonny squeezes my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I mean, I already knew most of it, but it's still sad. Do you need a minute to...to think?"

"No." I dry my eyes on the hem of my shirt, then stand straight again. "Vanessa's friends are waiting for us, right?"

Vanessa takes my hand and gives it three strong squeezes. I remember my foster mom Miss Hubbard taught me that three squeezes meant I love you. Not quite as strong, I squeeze back- one, two, three, four. I love you, too. Somehow, even though this is the first time either of us has communicated anything like that, it feels natural. These are the things that teenage girls do with their mothers.

We walk along the sidewalk for about a block and a half, until we come upon a cluster of people gathered together. One of them, a short young woman with curly, very red hair, waves to Vanessa.

"Ay, V, la potencita esta de nuevo!" Her voice is loud, and this announcement brings on a round of groans from the assembled crowd. The gears in my brain struggle to translate, but Sonny whispers helpfully in my ear to let me know what she's saying.

"Power's out again, torpita." I feel the tickle of faint stubble against my cheek. It's funny- only now do I realize how much my old best friend has grown.

Another woman, taller than the redhead, pushes a few people aside. "Ay, dios mio!" She crosses herself quickly. "Are we going through this again? How many times have we had this happen, and we take it in stride, si?" Her accent is thick, but I spent years here- I've gotten used to it.

A boy in what looks like his early twenties, with short curly hair and a diamond stud earring, shakes his head. "Why bother, Daniela? It's hot, we're all annoyed, and there's no getting over it."

"We're all here, let's make some fun of it. Besides, Vanessa is bringing her daughter today, and we have to show her a good time." Daniela folds her arms and glares at him.

Vanessa presses past the boy, pulling me along behind her. I follow dutifully, my sneakers flapping on the hot sidewalk. "Well, I'm here, and so is she. Familia, es mi hija Kathryn. Kathryn, meet my honorary family."

I wave, digging the toe of one sneaker into the pavement. It's almost gooey in the heat- the tar leaves a dark smudge on my shoes. "Um, hola!"

That elicits a round of laughter from the gathered crowd. I blush lightly, and Vanessa wraps her arm around me. "Anyway, I agree with Dani. Why don't we make the best of all being together?"

Daniela smiles widely. "Carnaval!" She draws out the word, rolling the 'r' heavily and raising her arms skyward. She begins to hum and clap, making a rhythm. Sonny flips a trash barrel and uses it like a drum, the bongo-like sound adding a deep accompaniment to the tune. Vanessa shakes the bangles on her arms, and they make a bit of tambourine. Someone else, a boy with his head shaved very close to the skin, begins to dance. He spins on his hand, launching himself to his feet.

Now the boy with the earring is beating on Sonny's trash can drum, and so the almost-bald boy pulls Sonny over to dance. The two hold each other close, performing a sort of wild samba. They're both laughing, and a few people are cheering them on.

"No pare, sigue, sigue!" Someone calls, and others join him. He's short, with a newsboy cap perched on his head. It becomes almost the lyrics to the song we've made. Do not stop. Follow it, follow it. Follow the music, follow the beat, follow the current of energy in the air. The power may be out, but we've made our own electricity.

Vanessa grabs my hand, spinning me around in a circle that goes faster and faster. I lift one leg, pirouetting with more spirit than I ever have on the stage. We smile every time our eyes meet- the same dark eyes that link us, the ones that I couldn't have gotten from anyone else.

Something cold, like the mist from a spray bottle, hits my legs. It's refreshing and fantastic, and I look to see where it came from.

"Really, Benny?" The man in the newsboy cap calls. "I thought you were trying to shape up for Nina."

"Chillax, Usnavi," calls the boy with the earring, who must be Benny. "All I did was open the fire hydrant. It ain't a big deal."

'Usnavi' laughs and shakes his head. "Ay, gamberro, you're going to be the death of me."

The water is rushing faster now, and it makes a few-inch buffer between the hot street and us. I close my eyes and just breathe it all in. The music we've made has filled my veins, combined with the laughter and shouts of the people around us. The spray from the fire hydrant hits my cheeks, combatting the sweat that was living there only a few moments before. The noise and the heat and the sweet relief of the water all combine and set my heart pounding.

It's funny- I haven't been here in years, but with these people, I am home.