I rounded the corner out of breath and ducked down into an ally. I then took shelter in the dumpster from the rain. The rain echoed as the dumpster amplified the sound. Soon, the rain stopped and I climbed out of the dumpster not knowing which direction to travel in.
Somehow my heart would told me the direction in which to turn, and as I walked along the path I wondered how this the journey would end. After a long day of walking, I turned another corner, ready to end my day of searching. When all of a sudden, I see a little girl playing the front yard all alone. She crawled through the grass whispering to herself. I began to walk up to her, my natural instincts for play time were calling for me! Then to my surprise, I continued to walk towards her, as if there was something drawing me in. I bent down and began talking to her, while joining in on her game. Her name was Emma and she didn't seem to talk much, but we had fun playing!
Soon, I heard her mother call her from inside. “Emma,” she called, “time for lunch!”  Emma got to her feet and began reaching for my hand. I gave it to her and she pulled me inside the house.
Her mother saw me standing there in the doorway and said, “Emma, who’s your friend?”  Emma however did  not respond, so she asked me what my name was.
“Madie.”  I replied, hoping that she wouldn't send me back to the lonesome orphanage, that I was forced to call home.
“Well come on in, I will get you some lunch.” 
“ Ok.”
During a lunch of mac 'n cheese, she asked me whether or not my mother would worry if I stayed too long. I told her that she wouldn't mind, and we continued eating.  I decided that I didn't want to mention where I was really from.  However, by the time lunch was over I began to feel like a part of their family.  I also knew from my time doing research, that families don't lie to each other, so I told them the truth.
“I….”
“Yes dear, is there something you want to say?”
I gathered my courage and said, “ I am from the orphanage down the road.”
“How did you get here? Did you run away?” To my surprise her voice stayed steady and calm.
“Yeah, during the storm.” I was ashamed of what I had did, but I could tell that she was not angry, but worried.
“Oh my gosh! I will call the orphanage tomorrow, but for now you can stay and play with Emma. Oh and Madie, don’t worry, ok?”
“Thank you so much!” I was so happy that they had allowed me to stay a little longer with their family!  So for the rest of the day, Emma and I played and explored their house. Soon enough, night came and I settled down in Emma’s room. The room was cozy and quiet, so I was able to fall asleep quickly. I awoke to the sound of Emma’s dad leaving for work and Emma’s frightening whispers. I crawled over to her and comforted her until she fell back into a peaceful sleep. The morning came fast and before I knew it I was whisked into the car, heading towards the orphanage. When we arrived, Emma's mom told us to wait in the car. We were in the car for about 5 minutes until she came back out and unbuckled Emma from her car seat and told me to come in. I walked slowly into the familiar building, dreading what was going to happen next. That is when the secretary called my name and told me to come up to her desk. Emma and her mom followed. Confused, I approached the desk.
The desk lady then asked me, “ Would you like these people to be your new family?”
My heart was pounding so loud that I thought everyone could hear it when I replied, “Yes, I would like that very much!”
“Welcome to the family, Madie!”
I thanked her for opening her heart and walked over to Emma and told her that I was going to be apart of her new family. She almost shrieked with joy, which was the loudest noise I heard her make since I met her. That is how my new life began.