Wow. I’m watching Emilia grow up with my very eyes. It felt like yesterday I was picking her up off the porch of the orphanage. And now, today, is her 8th birthday. I’m crying watching my little sister grow up in front of me. She had grown up so much with her black and red hair and her blue eyes. She smiled so big when she blew out the candles.

  We cheered for her as all the candle flames went out. I saw the big smile and the sparkle in her eyes. I walk behind her and give her a big hug. She hugs my arm back as I squeeze.

  “I’m so proud of you sis.”

  “Thanks, sissy.” I stop hugging her and Ms. Ruby goes and grabs a few presents. She sets them on a table and looks at Emilia.

  “I’m sorry it’s bit a lot but…”

  “Ms. Ruby, I don’t want anything. Being here makes me happy.” Emilia’s words made Ms. Ruby cry. “I’m sorry Ms. Ruby. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” She got up and ran over to Ms. Ruby to give her a hug. Ms. Ruby wiped her eyes.

  “You didn’t do anything. I’m crying because I have never someone so caring like you.” Ms. Ruby hugged Emilia back tightly. She let go and Emilia went back to the chair. Ms. Ruby handed her a present and she began to open it. When she pulled it out, it was a bracelet with little beads. The little beads all had a letter on them.

  “We made that for you. It’s a bracelet with all the initials of your brothers and sisters here.” Emilia hugged it close to her chest and smiled. I notice something move around her neck. She’s wearing the necklace she came with. She must value the bracelet like her necklace.

  She wore a blue gemstone necklace when I brought her in that night. I took it and put it up till I felt like she was big enough to take care of it. Last year, I gave it back to her as a birthday present. The face she had when I gave it back to her was something I’ll never forget.

  “Emi, come here.” I was gesturing her to come to the room. We shared a room because I wanted her with me. She has lived in my room since. She turned and came into the room. “I have present for you.” I handed it to her.

  “I don’t need anything. You have it.” She tried giving it back to me. But I pushed it back into her stomach.

  “Now is not the time to try to be generous. This is yours.” She sighed and opened it up. She saw that it was something and pulled it out to show me.

  “It’s a necklace with a cute little gem.”

  “That’s not just any necklace.” She looked up a bit from the admiration of the necklace.

  “What is it then? Was it expensive? Please take it back, I don’t want Ms. Ruby upset that you spent so much on me.”

  “Emi, I didn’t spend anything on it. This was the necklace that you had on when you came here. Your birth parents left you that.” She looked at me with a shocked look. “I found you wearing that and didn’t want it lost so I put it away until you were old enough to take care of it.” The thought of her parents made her cry.

  “Th..th…thank you sissy.” I took the necklace and unclasped it and put it around her neck. I reclasped it and set it down. She got up and turned around and saw the tears begin to build on her face. “How do I look?”

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  “Like the most beautiful girl in the world.” She hugged me and I hugged back. I can’t believe she’s already this old.

  That memory made me smile as Emilia finished opening her presents. She didn’t get much since we didn’t have more to offer. She was happy with what we gave her anyway, so we all celebrated her birthday. We at the cake Ms. Ruby made and played her new board game. There was a knock on the door after some time playing the game.

  “I’ll get it.” I get up and walk to the door and open it. Unlike last time I opened a door mysteriously, someone was standing at the door this time. They had something in their hands like kind of looked like a present.

  “Emilia Reinhart?”

  "I’m her older sister. She’s only eight.”

  “So, she does live here?”

  “Umm, yeah?” He holds the present out a bit towards me.

  “This is hers.” I take it. He tips his hat and turns and walks away. I hold the package a bit stunned and look down at it. I read the label on the package. It says “Emilia Reinhart.” So, it is true. It is meant for her.

  “What is it?” Ms. Ruby broke my concentration.

  “Oh. It’s a present for Emilia.”

  “Another present?” I come back inside and close the door. I turn to the ground holding the present. I walk over and hand it to Ms. Ruby. She looks it over and analyzes the box. She hands the present over to Emilia. Emilia opens it and looks at it. She grabs it and pulls it out.

  Ms. Ruby quickly grabs it from her out of reaction. I look as she studies the present. I move my head to the side to see what she was looking. It was a knife in a sheath. The handle was golden and saw a part of it written on it. She opened it and slightly pulled it from the sheath a saw a blade that was made with a wavey metal. It shined silver and gold.

  Ms. Ruby put it back into the sheath and handed it to Emilia. Emilia took it and opened it, pulling a knife from the sheath. It’s a little long for her but I could see she was happy with it. Ms. Ruby was smiling but I could sense the uneasiness.

  “I’ll handle it safely.” She puts the blade back in the sheath. She looks up at me and smiles. “Abigail has been teaching me how to fight.” They all looked at me. A little bit of fear shot through me.

  “You been teaching her?” Uh oh.

  “I have. Only what I was taught. I found sticks and she’s been helping me train.”

  “So, you’ve been easy on her?”

  “She’s been easy on me. Honestly, if she was mad, I’d be scared to spar with her because she could really hurt someone with a little stick.”

  “But I would never hurt you, sissy.”

  “No, but you are incredibly strong. Honestly I don’t know where your strength comes from.” Hearing that made her a little sad, which made me a little sad. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It just surprised me. That’s all.” I walked over to her and hugged her. “I know you’d never hurt me.”

  “I want to protect you.”

  “I know you will, Emi.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”