Now, instead of telling you the story of the long, boring bus ride that we all slept through I’ll tell you how I got here. It all started when me and and Sarah were born as semi-identical twins. This was in Madagascar (AN: Ah, Madagascar and capuchin monkeys; good times) although I’m mostly Polish and American. We all lived here for about 7 years when we decided to move to Cici’s house for a year. Then we moved to Texas (Bedford). We bought a farm and lots of animals. I brought Stooge from Madagascar (AN: because that’s legal) but don’t worry. I have permission from the government to keep him. (AN: ah, good to know.) He was there when I was born. (AN: Did he help deliver you?)

We lived on our farm for about four years. We put our lives into it. Then, on that hot night, September 18th, 1999 our house caught on fire from an electrical problem. Within 30 minutes it was ashes. Oh, I left out one minor details. I’ve died three times. (AN: . . . ) No really, I have. (AN: . . . ) See, I was born with heart problems. Major. I’ve suffered four heart attacks in my 12 years of life. Three times I’ve died but don’t worry. Somehow I’ve pulled through. Mom says I have a hard working guardian angel. The doctors say it’s strange ‘cause usually only quintuplets are born with heart problems. (AN: Since when?) And even then only a few. Every time he says that mom and dad look sick.

But I don’t worry too much about my heart. I’m pretty tough and can deal. (AN: Yeah, every time my heart starts acting up, I just punch it and yell in its face.)

Let me explain the baby chest thing. mom and dad really take pride in me and Sara and for some reason were really worried about going to Uncle Cory’s. in the baby chests (one for me, one for Sarah_ were pictures, clothes, books and blankets that belonged to me & Sarah when we were babies.

Right then we were all covered in those memory blankets from so long ago. The bus was cold, hard steel and the seats didn’t have much cusion. Only thin blue cloth with polyester fiber beneath. My eyes fluttered open as we made yet another stop. I was too tired to sleep so I pulled out my crocey. (AN: crochet!) I was working on an afkan. It was going to be pink, green, white, yellow and purple. (AN: Sounds delightfully hideous.) I was only about a quarter done with the blanket though. So I had many more hours of work left.

The bus ride was not nice like in the commercial. There were smokers, druggies and even a few drunkies. Not the best place to be at night but we had no choice. (AN: I guess I was really scared of smokers as a kid.) Where else would we go? The dark and gloomy streets? I don’t think so.

I was sad because I wouldn’t see my best friend (besides Sarah) Alyssa and my boyfriend Jake. (AN: Alyssa was really my best friend as a little girl; Jake was a book character I had a crush on; he appears in a LOT of stories.) Not that I was worried about them getting together or anything. I just really loved them both. I remember, when I first moved here from Madagascar I was really scared that I wouldn’t make any friends. Right away they made me feel at home. And when I suffered my fourth heart attack, they were there for me. Infact they ditched school for a week to be with me. They didn’t know I’d left but when they saw the black remains of my farm they would understand. (AN: They would probably assume you were dead. The heart attacks didn’t get you but by golly, that fire sure did! Then they’ll go off and fall in love behind your dead back.) As soon as I got to Uncle Cory’s I was going to call. (AN: Oh.) They’re second cousins. (AN: Who, Alyssa and Jake? Then they’d BETTER not hook up, huh?)

Finally, after three gruesome hours on a secondhand smoke bus we arrived at our stop. I recognized the familiar sight of oil wells. When I was little I counted them but right then I had too much on my mind. I shoved everyone awake. No one was sleeping hard so it was easy. We payed our fare (42$) and dragged our baby chests the 30 minutes to Uncle Cory’s and Aunt Cara’s. (AN: They dragged two hope chests for 30 minutes?) At 6:36 in the morning Cici (Unc C & Aunt C) woke to find 5 very exhausted people on their porch. (AN: Why didn’t they call Cory and Cara to come get them?) It had been a long time since I’d been hear so it wasn’t too familiar. They ushered us into a room full of sleeping kids and we just practicly dropped dead from loss of sleep.

Next Morning

Light barely shined through the dark blue curtains and the whole room started coming alive. Sarah grabbed my hand and we headed to the breakfast room so as not to be the first thing the stampede saw. When we got to the breakfast room I looked around too see what these strangers looked like. There was me, Sarah, CC, and three other girls and mom and dad. (AN: That’s not much of a stampede.) Everyone just sat there and within 10 minutes CC said, “Well everyone’s here. Let the reunion begin.” (AN: They just sat there for 10 minutes?)

I just stared at those 3 girls. For some reason they reminded me of myself. Most the people I didn’t know and since there were 21 people there was a lot of introducing. (AN: Wait, where did they come from?)

Finally we finished breakfast, which was homemade pankakes, sausage and eggs, then headed outside. I was on my way to the stables when mom called out, “Delanniey, come here for a second.” (AN: Recognize that name? I’ve reused it.) So me and Stooge changed directions toward mom. Sarah and the other 3 girls were there. “Delanniey, Sarah, Fi, Miranda, Larissa. There is something I have to tell. I’d like you first of all to know that you are all my daughters. And second of all I’d like you to know that, well, I can’t think of how to say this. But you are all quadruplettes.” (AN: “I didn’t love you three enough to keep you though.” Also, it should actually be quintuplets.)

That was a shocker. Such a shocker in fact that I turned and ran to the stables and grabbed a horse. Stooge leaped on in front of me and we raced to The Secret Anex. I named it that after I read “The Diary of Anne Frank”. My horse leaped through the prickly underbrush and over fallen trees. Finally I arrived there but much to my surprise another horse was there. I quietly climbed up the stairs to see who was there and saw a guy probably about my age. He had blond hair.

“Oh hi,” he said as I pulled myself up, “My name’s Eric.”

“I’m Delanniey. How’d you find here?” I asked as I looked in the closet to make sure all my stuff was still there. Yep, it was. (AN: How is it that she was here long enough to make this tree house and all but not long enough to meet the other girls before?)

“I was wandering through the woods when I came across it. Say, are you the Delanniey that use to live here?”

“Yes,” I said with my expression softening a little. He wasn’t trying to raid my privacy. Just look for a place for his own. I decided I could share.

“You probably don’t remember me. I’m from the other side of the woods. Remember we used to play together when you lived here for a year?” Of course. How had I been so stupid.

“I didn’t reckognize you. Since we ar friends can I ask you some questions?”

“Anything,” he replied, taking a seat on one of the wood chairs. I took a seat on the other. Did you ever know that there are more of me?” I asked.

“Huh?” he looked totally confused.

“Oops. I mean that, you know I have a twin right? Well, it turns out that I’m a quint.”

“That’s 5 right?”

“Right.”

While living here we had become great friends. (AN: But not great enough for you to recognize each other.)

“I see you’re taking great care of Stooge.” Eric’s family was rich. They lived on a farm because they all loved the animals. To my surprise he brought in Stooge’s second best friend Sierra. When Eric had met Stooge he went and bought a girl capucine monkey. Stooge and Sierra went onto the roof while I looked to see if my gameboys were still there. They were but I felt like being outside.

“Say, remember that field that we played in? Is that still there?” I asked grabbing a chocolate bar left from my last visit. (AN: So it’s, according to the rest of the story, like six years old.) Remember, chocolate doesn’t go bad. (AN: uh huh).

“Yea. You can come see it. That little tree we planted is big enough to climb!” he replied as he climbed down the ladder. (AN: Holy hell that tree grew fast!)

I climbed down after him and we hopped onto our horses. On the way, everything I saw brought back memories. I had lived here for a year.

Written: Age 11/12

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