A Glimpse of Home

There was one window in the foster home. In the big gathering room on the second floor. The window stretched all the way from the floor to the ceiling. It was the only room in the whole building where one wouldn't feel trapped. Marco spent much of his time in this room, looking out this window. It was through this smooth pain of glass that Marco first saw Angel Vega.  

She was an average looking woman with her dull blond hair forming two braids that fell out of a baseball cap. She wore no fancy clothes, merely a t-shirt and jeans, and carried only a backpack with too many overlaying straps to count. Her face was void of makeup and she appeared to be young, only twenty years in age.  

Just another foster parent here to pick up a kid. All the children at this foster home were orphans, and Ms. Vega had been approved to foster one of them. When asked which one, she did not respond with a request to meet the children, she simply said,  

"The one that's been here the longest."  

Mitchell, the head of the foster home, then explained to her that Marco had been turned down by multiple foster parents over the past year. Marco had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had only five months left. Ms. Vega replied that she didn't care and demanded to meet Marco.  

Marco understood why nobody wanted to foster him, after all who would want to become attached to a dying boy? This is why he was surprised to hear that the woman was here for him. After a short talk, Marco was taken to Ms. Vega's home that very day. He learned a lot about his new guardian on the short drive to her home.  

When she was a little girl, Ms. Vega told her mother that she wanted to buy a fifteen-passenger van and fill it with thirteen children. Her mother thought it was a silly idea, and young Angel became determined to make it happen. She decided to foster all her children and began adopting as soon as she could, when she was 18. After three years, she already had seven kids living in her house, Marco would be the eighth. 

_ _  

So, Marco lived with Angel Vega's three daughters and four sons. Her daughters, 17-year-old Tinsley, 16-year-old Olivia, and baby Evan (the one daughter Ms. Vega got to name had a name more commonly used for boys), varied in looks and sizes. As did her sons, 14-year-old John, 10-year-old Arnold (who was the same age as Marco), 6-year-old Benjamin, and 5-year-old Cameron.  

Marco got to know each of them individually, he hung out with Tinsley and her girlfriend, went on drives with Olivia, played at the neighboring park with John. He entertained Ben and Cameron with funny voices and made-up games. Because of their age difference (which was non-existent), most of his time was spent with Arnold, watching cartoons and playing card games. Though he even enjoyed time with Evan.  

His family loved him the more time they spent together. He was a smart, funny boy, who, despite his disease, spent much of his time enjoying the life he had left. Marco also got to know his new family, all seven siblings and single mother, who he more often referred to as his friend. He relished every moment with these people and even started to introduce himself to others as Marco Vega.  

He had a couple months to adjust to his new life before school started. He stood in front of his house in his school uniform, ready for the last 3 months of his life. Arnold and Marco were in the same grade, which made everything easier on him. Marco made some friends at school and started to experience the true delight of his new world more than ever.  

Angel Vega eventually adopted him. Although he was already considered family to his guardian and seven roommates, it was now official. Ms. Vega always threw a party whenever an adoption happened and a family member became official. This party was bigger than any of the others. Marco enjoyed himself throughout the entire day.  

_ _  

The Vega family (which of course, was not the Vega family, but the family headed by Angel Vega) took an annual camping trip every March. Ms. Vega decided to move the trip up a few months. They were to leave in September, four months after taking in Marco. There was no further explaining, but everyone knew the reason behind the change.  

Ms. Vega enjoyed giving her family ten days with only nature. They found a spot in some far away woods, built a shelter, and lived off animals and berries found in the woods. Marco had never done anything like it before. His new family seemed a bit crazy, and he liked it. The trip was amazing, exciting, and at times scary.  

He was hospitalized four days after returning home. He spent close to two months in the hospital. Living past his predicted date. One day, Marco asked to see Ms. Vega alone in his hospital room. He asked for her as Mom.  

While in the room, Angel Vega heard her son's last words, "Mom," he'd said, "Under my bed, they're for you."  

_ _  

Angel Vega and her children mourned the loss of their son, brother, and friend. Ms. Vega spoke at his funeral, stating that she never looked at him and thought about the fact that she was raising a dying boy.  

"We all die one day," she had said, "We don't ever look at healthy people and think about the fact that they will someday die. We just appreciate the time we have with them. Everyone will pass, but that doesn't mean we should avoid becoming friends for fear of feeling pain. Instead, we should take the time they have left to feel joy. And that's just what my children did."  

It was close to a month after his death that Ms. Vega began to recover and remembered her last conversation with her son. She went into the room that Arnold now slept in alone and found a case under the bottom bunk of the boys' bed.  

Inside, was found a stack of papers. The papers were worn, some of them looking much older than others. The ones on top looking crisp and white compared to the brown, wrinkled ones on bottom. She started to read and realized that the case was a collection of letters. She decided to start with the ones in the back. The ones that seemed the oldest.  

The letters were all addressed simply to 'Mom'. They mapped out his life, talked about how he was told his parents disappeared and left him soon after he was born. After he turned 6, he moved out of his fine home with a couple who no longer wanted to care for him. He was then put under the care of an underqualified woman who abused him for two years. After being taken out of her care, he was sent to the foster home until Ms. Vega adopted him.  

He wrote about how he'd lost hope since being diagnosed with cancer. Until he met Angel Vega. The letters picked up as his life became more interesting, less painful to record. The last letter was written the day he returned from the camping trip.  

Dear Mom,  

I just got home from a fun trip with my adoptive family. It was a great adventure and I was happy the whole trip. During the trip, I realized something. 

Mom, this whole time I've been writing to you, I've been wondering if I will find you some day. I think I finally have. Not biologically, but Angel Vega is my mom, she's the mom I've always wanted. I found you, mom. I love you and I hope that you will find these and read them because they are all written to you, Ms. Vega.  

Though I'm sorry it took so long, I'm glad that I could find you just before my time runs out. I'm glad I could get a glimpse of home through this window that you opened in my life.

I was losing hope and you helped me find it. You helped me when nobody else wanted to.  

I love you, Mom  

Love, Marco Vega  

Ms. Vega cried and reread many of the letters. She had always immediately thought of these foster kids as her own, growing up with her own parents, she never thought about the kid's journey to calling her their mom.  

After several hours, she left the room, got a pen and paper and sat down at her kitchen table. She pictured her son's smiling face and began to write.  

Dear Son,  

When I went into that foster home, I asked for the child who had been there the longest. I never expected to meet you. But you changed my life. Because I've been looking for you this whole time. And we found each other. You made our whole family happier.  

And, no, I don't regret adopting you and getting to know you. It hurt horribly to lose you, but it was fun while it lasted. I didn't adopt you thinking about how I would soon lose you, I adopted you thinking about how I would forever love you.  

I love you Marco, gaining you blessed me, losing you broke me, and hearing you restored me.  

I am forever changed  

Love, your mother, Angel Vega