"So Starla, can you tell me more about yourself?" Emma Rutherford - a mid-thirties woman, with soul gripping eyes - asked as the three women sat in Mrs. Stephens's office.

Starla grunted in disgust - she won't be the victim of another adoption! - her mind screamed the whole time while they sat in the dark office, with a lonely lamp hanging above her head. "You sure want to?" Mrs. Rutherford gave a short, quick nod. "How long do you want to sit here?" She said, with a nasty frown. "If I have it right, you are a busy woman..."

"Starla." Mrs. Stephens shot her a look, while she shook her head.

Starla looked down, and replied. "Sorry." - How will she cope with another adoption? Was it even worth fighting for, to stay in Madam Dew? - "Look Mrs. Emma." Starla kept her head bowed, but soon felt Mrs. Stephens's eyes burning through her. She looked up. "My life wasn't all that glamorous, like you are right now."

"That's exactly the point." The woman replied with a smile, while she clutched her handbag.

"Excuse me?" Starla and Mrs. Stephens said in sync, each with a fixed surprised expression.

Emma Rutherford nodded, and commented. "I read about you."

"You... read about me?" Starla said.

"I stumbled upon the newspaper eight years ago, and I wanted to see how the sweet little girl was doing, but I simply couldn't trace the foster home stated in that article."

"Yes, that's because it was previously named the Saint Dawn Vredeman Home." Mrs. Stephens interjected. "After giving it a lot of thought, the owner decided to rename the place, before her death."

"Oh..." Emma Rutherford said, as she exchanged a quick glance at the foster mother. She looked back at Starla. "Mrs. Stephens, will you be so kind to give us a little time alone?"

"Uh... I... yeah sure." She said, as she picked up a few files, and placed them under her arm. Starla gave her a warned look, but Mrs. Stephens ignored it - She already saw how the last adoption went off - "I'll just be outside the door if you need me." Mrs. Stephens looked back at Starla. "Behave."

"Lollipop..." The door to the office closed. Starla looked back at the woman with the warm smile.

"I'm sorry, but I don't do lollipops from strangers." Starla said, annoyed.

Emma sighed, and opened her handbag to put the lollipop away. "Okay. How about the chat?" She asled, trying to change the subject which caused the uncomfortable animosity between the two of them.

"Ugh!" Starla threw her head backwards. "Why are you torturing me? As if I haven't suffered enough."

"Drop your pride Starla." Emma said, rather cold. "I'm interested in you, and I care for you."

Starla hit the desk's top, and pushed the chair back. She stood up, and hovered over the woman. "Liar! Nobody cared for me, other than my brother."

"You have a brother?" Emma put her index finger on her bottom lip. "That's  new."

"I had a brother... he was the best."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emma asked, as she put her handbag on the ground.

Starla gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Are you a psychiatrist?"

"That is my profession, yes, but that isn't relevent at this time. All I want to do, is to get to know you Starla McPherson."

"I am not a McPherson!" Starla hit the desk again.

The door opened. "Everything alright in here?" Mrs. Stephens asked.

"Yes." Emma smiled. "We're just getting to know each other."

"Okay." Mrs. Stephens closed the door.

Emma looked at the girl, who was now standing at the small regtangular window. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Starla gave a deep sigh.

"Yes, Starla. Now if you want to talk about your brother, or let me at least meet him, it would mean the world yo me." Emma smiled once more, standing up from her seat.

"We weren't blood related, but it sure felt so." Starla said, with a tear running down her cheek and froze on her upper lip. "He was my everything."

"Was?" Emma asked, as she gave Starla a glass of lemonade.

"Yeah, he sacrificed himself during the ritual... he saved me..." a river of tears started to flow. "It's the McPhersons fault! They took him away..." Some of Starla's tears fell into the glass. Her hand shook as she took a sip of lemonade. "I'm all alone."

"Oh honey, you aren't alone... there are many people who care for you." Emma said, with a wall of tears blurring her view.

"You say it like it's a good thing?"

Emma put her hand on Starla's shoulder. "That's because it is."

"For you maybe, but for me... a girl who was raped by her father for three years, then held as a pet by the devils I thought who loved me. If that's caring, hatred would be a breeze for me." Starla said, as she looked into Emma's soul gripping eyes.

"Oh honey." Emma gave Starla a hug. For Starla it felt good. Was that how caring felt?

***

"Hey Starla!" Jayedn - one of Emma Rutherford's other adopted children - said. "Want to play a game on the Xbox?"

Starla laughed. "No thanks Jayedn, I'm doing fine in the kitchen, along with Mrs. Emma..." Starla looked in the direction of her new mother. Emma Rutherford. Unlike the previous household, Emma had adopted two other boys years ago. Jayedn and Zandr, who were, indeed, blood reletives.

"It's okay Starla. I can live with that, don't feel guilty. I too know that no mother can replace your own."

"Thanks Mrs. Emma." Starla smiled, while she stirred the cake mix, before pouring it into the baking pan.

"Today is a big day as well." Emma said, as she gave her new daughter a quick hug.

"It feels amazing to be working in a kitchen... I never had the chance to do so."

"Yes dear, but it is also the month anniversary of your stay here, with us."

"Is it a month already?" Starla said, surprised.

"Yeah sis, of course." Zandr interjected his adopted mother, as he dunked his finger into the chocolate cake mix.

"Zandr!" Emma laughed, while she took off behind the eleven year old.

"Run Zandr!" Starla joked, while she trailed behind her sixteen year old brother, Jayedn.

"Don't encourage him, Starla." Emma giggled.

"He's mine." Jayedn said, as he picked up his pace and tackled his younger brother. Both fell to the ground, laughing straight from their stomachs.

"Good job, Jayedn." Starla said, out of breath.

Was this how happiness felt?