The Beginning of Forever

I was wearing a purple velvet dress with little flowers embroidered into the material. The dress was itchy when it whipped against my legs in the wind, leaving a stinging pain in my legs. My soon to be mom and dad were also very dressed up. My mom was wearing a dark navy blue dress that was almost black. My dad was wearing a dress shirt and pants, as was my brother.

Gotcha Day, May 24^th, the day my parents officially became me and my brothers guardians.

There were two chairs, set before the judge, behind one large and very intimidating, wooden desk. When my parents sat down I went to sit on my mother's lap, and Shane, my brother, went to sit on my dad's lap.

Why did we have to be here? I wanted to stay with my parents, so why should some guy I didn't even know get to choose for me? My parents had explained that my brother and I were still the ones choosing. “The judge just wants to make sure that your choices are the best for you.”

Some of our family and friends were in the audience. I was confused at why they were there, so I asked my mom, “What are they doing here?”

“They're here to support us, and to see the moment we officially become a family,” she replied. With my questions answered, I turned to the audience and smiled to show that the thought of them coming appealed to me.

Soon the judge called the court to order. I don't remember much about what the judge was saying, except for when he addressed my brother and I. “Do you want to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Engstrom?” said the judge in his gruff voice.

“Yes.” my reply was short and weak compared to his booming voice. At that point I was nervous. My brother needed to have the same answer as I did so we could all be a family.

“Yes.” The voice was barely audible, but I knew it belonged to my brother.

The judge said a lot of big words that I didn't understand, and soon ended the court session.

After the court session ended I saw tears glistening on the cheeks of my family and friends. “Mommy,” I asked, “ Why are they crying? Shouldn't they be happy for us?”

“Honey they're crying because they're happy. Those are tears of joy.”

“Oh,” was all I said. I didn't understand why you would cry if you were happy. I thought tears were a sign of sadness. I decided to forget about it and let my happy thoughts carry me through the evening.