Tiffany lay in the hospital cot with Lexi fast asleep in her arms. The cot really was rather small to fit the both of them, but it allowed them to be closer to each other, and both girls preferred that more than anything.

Lexi had tried her utmost to stay up for as long as she could, but the weakened state of her body meant she didn’t have much energy reserves. The excitement of meeting all the people she had ‘met’ in the past almost two years or so in the confines of her hospital bed meant that Lexi was soon drained beyond belief. Even then, it took Tiffany a full half hour to convince the girl to close her eyes. There was an unspoken fear between the sisters: the fear that Lexi wouldn’t wake up. But in the end, Lexi fell asleep after Tiffany sung ‘If We Hold On Together’ in a hushed tone.

Tiffany thought back to her alone moments with Lexi after the others had left. The two sisters had sat there with Tiffany holding Lexi tight in her arms for a few minutes, just enjoying the simple joy of being together once more. Then the little girl had insisted they try and finish more of the puzzle Yuri had bought for Lexi. The black pearl had bought an 18, 000 piece puzzle she had a friend custom make for her. It was a picture of baby Lexi running towards Tiffany. Yuri would sit there and avidly try to finish the puzzle after she had finished her homework. So far the black pearl was three-fifths of the way done. Tiffany tried hard to persuade Lexi to not take on something so exhaustive, but Lexi had Tiffany’s stubbornness and wouldn’t agree. So in the end, the two sisters sat there trying to finish the small top-left corner portion of the puzzle.

They had talked while they slowly pieced together the puzzle.

It began lighthearted and full of hope.

“Jessica is really beautiful Stephie.”

“She is isn’t she?”

“You love each other.”

“We do.”

“I’m so happy you found someone to love.”

“Me too babygirl…me too.”

“…”

“…”

“What’s Korea like Stephie?”

“Korea? Korea’s different. Very different.”

“Do you miss home?”

“Lexi-belle…this is home now…”

“…”

“…Babygirl?”

“I miss home.”

“…”

“Stephie this is your home and my home is wherever you happen to be. But…I miss home-home…” Lexi insisted with childish simplicity.

“I know baby,” Tiffany fought against the tears that were trying to sneak out again.

“You do? You really do?” Lexi asked in surprise.

“I do. I really do. I promise I’ll take you home-home,” Tiffany’s voice cracked.

“Thanks Stephie,” Lexi murmured sadly.

“Anything for my babygirl,” Tiffany said in an unsteady voice. One lone tear slipped out, but Tiffany brushed it away before Lexi could see.

That last promise tasted like ashes in Tiffany’s mouth. But she would never even dream of breaking her word to Lexi. She would rather die.

Lexi was homesick, and Tiffany was going to take her home-home.

…

…

…

As Lexi slept, her little bird-like chest rising with a tenacity that renounced her long sickness, her sister wept. Tiffany held Lexi in her arms, turning her head into the pillow and muffling her sobs.

Tiffany fell asleep that night still crying silently.

And all the while, Jaesung stood outside and watched, his heart constricting and his own tears flowing endlessly.

He wished he were not a doctor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just like they had promised, everyone was once again gathered at the hospital the next morning. Mr. Lee had reserved a much larger hospital room for Lexi so that they could all spend time together.

One big happy family.

Eleven people stood outside the room and watched with fond smiles as the sisters slumbered on, the younger still held deep in Tiffany’s embrace, just like how they left them last night. They stood there for a good ten minutes, just watching like creepers and grinning themselves silly at the happy sight of Tiffany together with Lexi. Tiffany was the first to stir, and she almost yelped out loud when she saw everyone staring at her. Talk about disturbing, waking up to eleven pairs of eyes staring unblinkingly at you…

Two nurses came in and wheeled Lexi’s cot into the bigger reserved private room, with the two sisters still on it. Tiffany pressed Lexi even closer to her own body, making sure her babygirl wasn’t jostled awake in the move.

The room was extravagant.

Plush suede black couches, expansive windows that showed a soothing green view of the park below, two humungous flat-screen TVs, private bathrooms, and multiple vases of colorful flowers in full bloom that gave the room a splash of life and spring vivacity.

In the room, everyone bustled about quietly, setting up two tables full of food that Mrs. Lee ad prepared. Tiffany couldn’t help but notice that all the food was only very lightly seasoned with little to almost no oil. There were more veggies than meat and most of the food was meticulously cut into small bite-sized pieces.

Mrs. Lee had catered the entire meal to Lexi.

Tiffany looked even more closely and realized something else: they were all dishes that Lexi loved. The thug shot a questioning glance at Nayeong, who smiled back at her in affirmation. Mrs. Lee must have asked Nayeong to tell her what Lexi liked to eat. Nayeong, within the first two weeks of taking care of a comatose Lexi, had already hounded Tiffany incessantly for a list of Lexi’s favorite foods, saying she would prepare them the moment Lexi was awake in celebration.

Nayeong pointed to herself, ‘I helped!’ she mouthed to Tiffany. The latter gave her a grateful smile.

Their kindness knows no bounds…

Just then, Lexi stirred in Tiffany’s arms, stretching like a little kitten. Tiffany smiled widely.

No more tears today Steph. Let her see you happy. She deserves to see you happy.

So she erased what her sister had said to her before she fell asleep completely from her mind and focused on smiling for her sister and enjoying the company of her makeshift family around her.

Tiffany gave Lexi an Eskimo kiss before pressing her lips lovingly onto her babygirl’s forehead.

“Good morning my little sunshine,” Tiffany beamed.

Lexi smiled back, just as cheerful as her older sister; last night temporarily forgotten between them.

Altogether they enjoyed a nice meal, chatting and laughing with each other. Even with the need of Tiffany constantly translating and relaying Lexi’s messages, it didn’t seem to detract from the warm ambiance circulating the room, bathing every nook and cranny with a loving afterglow.

Jessica watched as Tiffany patiently spoon-fed Lexi, making sure the girl chewed each bite thoroughly before swallowing. The sisters were never apart. Tiffany wouldn’t allow it. Nor would Lexi stand for it. Besides, no one with even half a heart could be able to bear tearing them apart.

Lexi couldn’t eat much. Her stomach had shrunk after living months and months off of the IV drip. Her limbs were frail and she had lost a lot of muscle tone. She sometimes had coughing fits and had slight difficulty breathing. Each time this happened, Tiffany would freak out a little, worried about a danger than no one else could grasp.

Despite all this, Lexi never stopped grinning. The girl was like a happy virus with the infection efficacy of Ebola. Of course, she was deadly in a different way. Lexi easily had everyone wrapped around her frail little pinky. And they were all more than happy to be at her beck and call.

As Jessica continued to observe the two sisters, she came to realize that this bouncy, happy-go-lucky, resilient, bubbly young girl is probably what Tiffany would be like if…if none of all that had happened. Lexi was funny in a cute way, with none of Tiffany’s biting sarcasm that had developed as the thug became jaded and distrustful of the world. The younger girl was very open and happy to share, something that had taken Jessica many months and months of coaxing before Tiffany could bring herself to comply. Yes, the sisters were very much different in many cases…but they were alike in many ways too.

Their smile was one and the same.

Jessica was caught off guard at one point when both Tiffany and Lexi turned to smile at her. Their resemblance was remarkable. And then all of a sudden, Jessica found herself thinking back to that charcoal drawing Tiffany had done of their mother. All three did not share one drop of blood in their veins, but their enchanting smile could not be denied.

Jessica noticed something else.

Lexi, like her sister, had a simple dream.

Love and family.

When Mr. Lee had boisterously asked the young girl what she wanted to be when she grew up, Lexi had stopped laughing and had quirked her head to the side. Mr. Lee, in his excitement, didn’t notice the girl’s reaction. Instead, her bowled on about how he would pay for the best schooling Korea had to offer, getting Lexi into a career she loved.