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Of course. Here is the English translation of the story, preserving all sentences and incorporating literary touches.
Alunie was an ordinary 5-year-old child, living a happy and peaceful life with her twin sister Laura and their parents. Every morning, she would skip and bounce her way to kindergarten. She simply couldn't contain her energy. She was cheerful, too. Cheerful she was, but... she was quite different from the other children. Because the difficulties she faced with socializing had begun to become noticeable as the weeks passed. She was a child who loved to keep to herself and draw; she didn't get involved in any trouble. However, albeit rarely, she would have nervous breakdowns and would be impossible to calm down.
After a big fight, the teachers contacted Alunie's parents and stated that she needed psychological support. Although Alunie was the smartest among all the students, no one could make sense of her actions because she was a child who struggled greatly to express herself. And the psychiatric results showed that Alunie was a child suffering from both ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. But the psychiatrist had seen great potential in her.
Then one day, everything changed. And no one had foreseen that day would come.
A November morning. The place was Iowa. Their mother, Melody, as usual, dressed the twins and made them have their breakfast. Their father, Theodore, had started the car and was waiting for them to come. After dropping their daughters off at school, they had plans to hang out together at a shopping mall and buy the girls various clothes. They got their daughters into the car, and after fastening their seatbelts, they set off. They arrived at the school. First, Alunie's twin sister Laura got out of the car and ran into the school. Alunie, however, was calm and seemed anxious, as if she had sensed what would happen that day. Her father sat in the back seat, next to Alunie. "What's wrong, sweetie, you look sad," he said. Alunie was silent. "I'm scared," was all she could manage. Her father stroked her head and continued in a soft tone.
"Why are you scared?"
"Of losing you..."
Theodore paused for a moment and thought. It seemed strange to him that his daughter should harbor such anxiety at this age.
"Can you tell me why you think that?"
"I can't imagine a life without you; it would be so hard. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here..."
Her father was at a loss for words in the face of these statements. That a tiny child was thinking these things had truly surprised him.
"We will always be with you, Alunie. Forever. Now go to your school; we might be a little late picking you up. We're going somewhere a bit far away. Take good care of yourself, alright, my lamb?"
Alunie remained silent. She smiled, hugged her father, and kissed his cheeks. Then she got out of the car and entered her school accompanied by her teachers. Melody and Theodore also set off for the out-of-town shopping mall.
A few hours passed. The school's dismissal time came and went. But there was no word from the twins' parents. The school administration couldn't reach them either; something was wrong. After the dismissal time, another child who had stayed at school with them waiting for their parents had run to his mother the moment he saw her arrive. But even though a long time had passed, there was still no one. Laura was getting very bored. She too began to worry. "Where are mom and dad? Everyone has left, but only we remain," she muttered, her tone making her annoyance evident. Alunie put her hand on her shoulder and tried to calm her down. "Dad informed me this morning when he dropped us off that they might be late. Don't worry, they'll come," she said in a calm voice. They went and sat on one of the benches in the schoolyard. Alunie opened her sketchbook and started drawing. Out of boredom, they started talking to each other.
"Ugh, I'm starting to get bored. Aren't you bored at all?"
"Nope, I'm not bored. Actually, if you occupy yourself with something, you don't get that bored."
"Best we go inside; the air is starting to get cold."
The two siblings went into the school. They sneaked into the teachers' lounge and sat in front of the heater. Someone placed a hand on Alunie's shoulder. Alunie flinched first, then when she turned around, she met the gaze of her teacher. "Haven't your mom and dad arrived yet?" asked their teacher. Laura said, "Yes, we've been waiting for maybe an hour, but we haven't heard from them." Alunie added, "Our mom and dad had business somewhere far away, so they'll be a little late picking us up. We were sitting outside, but we came in when we got cold." The teacher had received bad news; the fact that the children would eventually have to face that reality was tearing her apart. "You must be hungry; I'll get you some of the leftover food and make some tea. Your mother called me; they're still far away," she told them, directing them both to the kitchen. Laura was very embarrassed. "No, no, it's alright, teacher, we're full," she said, but just then her stomach growled. The teacher spoke to them with an embracing tenderness. "Come on, eat, don't stay hungry," she said and heated up the food. She also brewed some fruit tea to go with it.
Half an hour later, a large vehicle pulled up in front of the school. The teacher went outside and spoke to the people getting out of the vehicle. Alunie and Laura went to the window and looked out. They couldn't understand what was happening. Afterwards, these people in official clothing entered the school, took Alunie and Laura, and put them in their vehicle. A female official started talking to them because the twins looked frightened. "I'm a sister from the Department of Health and Human Services. There's no need to be afraid; you are safe. We will take you to your aunt in Minnesota. All the personal belongings from your home will be delivered to your aunt," she said and stroked their heads. She sat next to them to provide reassurance, and they set off. The twins didn't yet know what had happened. Even if they were told, they weren't mentally capable of comprehending it.
In America, the process of the Department of Health and Human Services placing a child with relatives takes weeks. However, when the twins' aunt was contacted, she had insistently expressed her desire to take on their guardianship. By law, the children needed to be urgently placed with a safe relative. Their aunt Magnolia would, for now, officially be their foster caregiver because the twins had no other relatives in America and they were still very young. Once the court procedures were completed, their aunt's home would become their permanent residence.
After a day-long journey, they arrived in Two Harbors, a city on the shore of Lake Superior. The officials had bundled the twins up in thick clothes because Minnesota was entering a period of cold and harsh weather. Their aunt Magnolia had cooked their favorite foods to welcome them. Creamy chicken soup, creamy mushroom chicken sauté, apple pie... As the officials handed the twins over to their aunt, they asked her to send the twins inside. Magnolia was tense because she could never have imagined something like this would happen. Afterwards, the officials conducted checks on the financial situation, hygiene, and the room, took a few signatures, stated they would visit regularly for check-ups, and then left.
Magnolia didn't know how to explain things to the children. Events had unfolded too suddenly. She was still thinking about how to break the news to them. She worked with her husband at a hospital and had only managed to get two days off; she urgently needed someone to provide childcare. She worked with her husband from 9 am to 6 pm. Since they worked in the healthcare sector, it was quite difficult for Magnolia to get time off. She couldn't quit her job either because their financial situation was quite good, and she didn't want that to change.
Suddenly, she thought of her husband's niece, Irene, who lived half an hour away and was a young adult. Before Alunie and Laura were born, she used to go on vacation to Melody and Theodore's house in the summers with her uncle Roman and aunt Magnolia. Melody loved her like her own daughter; she would say, "I wish I had a daughter like her." Irene, on the other hand, loved small children very much and aspired to be a professional nanny. And Alunie was a special child, so Irene would be the ideal caregiver for them. She waited for her husband Roman to come home to discuss this with him.
By the time Roman got home, the twins were already asleep. After hugging and kissing Magnolia, they went to the kitchen together, sat at the table, quietly ate their food to gather their thoughts, then turned on the dim lights and started talking over coffee and pie. Processing the events was truly difficult. Roman spoke first. "Is what I heard true?" he said in a trembling voice. Magnolia suddenly broke into a crying fit, covering her mouth as she began to weep because she didn't want to make noise. Roman quickly stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. In a warm tone, he said, "I'm here, my love, please don't blame yourself. Think of our future," and handed her a tissue. After wiping her nose and tears, Magnolia continued in a choked voice.
"For years I blamed myself; I miscarried all three of my children when they were just a few weeks old. You know we didn't want to give up, but I was tired. The second time, we said, 'It will happen this time.' We believed it. We said the same thing the third time. I wanted to have children, but I didn't want it to happen this way. I didn't want to lose my one and only sister, Melody. How am I going to look those children in the face now?"
When Roman turned his head, he saw Alunie standing motionless in the dark hallway in her pajamas, mismatched socks, and her plush duck in her hand. She had dark gray fur, but her red hair shimmered in the light. Except for Magnolia's silent sobs, the environment fell silent for a few seconds. Alunie couldn't believe what she had heard; she took a few steps into the kitchen and asked in an uneasy tone, "What happened to my mom and dad?" Roman sighed; his heart shattered into pieces instantly. "Come here, sweetie, sit here," he said, placed a cushion on a chair, and sat Alunie down on it. "Your mom and dad became angels, Alunie. You would have found out this truth sooner or later, so we didn't want to lie to you pointlessly and damage your trust," he said and stroked her head. Alunie was struggling to comprehend the events. She was facing the concept of death for the first time. "So what, I won't be able to see them again?" she asked. She looked from Roman to Magnolia, her eyes welling up with tears. Magnolia quickly composed her tears and said, "Even if you can't see them again, they will always be watching over you. From now on, we are your mother and father." She finished her words with, "If we can arrange it, you will also have an older sister. She would be Uncle Roman's niece, Irene. Maybe you remember her; she used to bring you so many gifts when you were very, very small."
Alunie still couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her young mind was struggling to grasp the reality. "One second," she said, left the kitchen, and headed to the bathroom. She closed the door, leaned her back against it, and quietly sank to the floor. Then she began to cry silently. Just that morning, she had said to her father, "What would I do without you?" It was as if she had felt something would happen early on. A short while later, the door was gently knocked. Magnolia's voice came from outside. "Alunie... are you okay?" she asked in her soft voice. Alunie remained silent. Then Magnolia opened the door and said to Alunie, "Don't worry, we will always be here. We will raise you. On weekends, you'll go fishing with Roman, you'll go to church and socialize; the winters are very harsh here anyway. I know you like winter." And after picking Alunie up and carrying her back to the kitchen, she warmed some milk for her in a small pot. After eating a small slice of pie, Alunie went back and lay down in her bed.
After Magnolia got in touch with Roman's brother Romeo, she explained what had happened. They were also very saddened to hear the news. Irene had also eavesdropped and learned a little of what was going on. Magnolia said to Romeo's wife, Jade, "It's best we come visit you tomorrow. We can explain everything to you there. It would be more reasonable to talk face-to-face." After talking for a few more minutes, she hung up. It was 2 a.m. And although Alunie had gone to bed, she couldn't sleep for half an hour. She was only thinking about her mother and father. She simply couldn't accept the reality that she would never see them again.
