I stood there on the cold pavement, longing to be enveloped by the warmth and happiness on the other side of the window. Beyond the sparkling lights entwined around the porch railing, the twinkling Christmas tree glowed through the glass panes while the cheerful laughter I heard through them made me yearn to fling the door open and throw myself inside.


Another freezing blast of wind whipped at my jacket and stung my cheeks. How I ached to be inside and with all of those nice-sounding girls instead of out here in the cold, alone.

It had been a long day. So much happened, and I had barely gotten the chance to process everything. The adoption, the shock, the goodbye – plus the tears through it all.

I had been adopted. That was supposed to be every doll’s dream at the American Girl Doll Orphanage; so why did it feel more bitter than sweet?

I knew why, really. But even the thought of the reason made me want to cry some more, as much as I was about to pretend I had no emotions. I had heard countless of other stories of dolls who had been adopted into families with tons of other crazy sisters.

And I wasn’t ready to let go of mine.


My heart about ready to burst at the thought of having left my sister, I turned my back on the joyous sounds of Christmas cheer. I wasn’t ready to go in there. I couldn’t go in there. I wasn’t ready to have all of those sisters.

I wasn’t ready to let go of my only sister. Having a home of my own for Christmas had been my dream, but not without her.


I jumped at the sound of the door being opened, my eyes opening with a start.


“Hello?” A girl with cream-bowed brunette hair and a velvety forest green holiday dress called as she walked out onto the door step.

“Um, hi,” I muttered back. I had no idea what to say, what to do. Judging by the discombobulated look of confusion and curiosity on the girl’s face, I guessed that no one had been expecting me. Which was good, very good. Maybe I could convince them that there had been some mistake and they would send me back to the orphanage.

The girl seemed to be waiting for me to give an explanation of what I was doing outside her door on Christmas night, but after a moment or two of awkward silence, the girl finally spoke up sweetly. “Are you lost?”


“You could say that,” I answered truthfully.


The girl’s face instantly brightened. “Oh, don’t you worry about a thing! Come inside out of the cold. We’ll help you get to where you need to be. Come on!”


My heart was reluctant but my freezing toes pulled me forward as I followed the girl. “I’m Molly, by the way,” she introduced herself. She seemed friendly enough, and she was reassuring; just like my sister. Wait, what am I thinking?! I mused. I wasn’t ready yet.

“I’m Taryn,” I told her.


“Nice to meet you, Taryn,” Molly smiled, offering her hand to shake mine once I had stepped into the enveloping warmth of her home. Shutting the door, she added, “That’s a really pretty name.”

“Thanks.”

Molly led me down a long hallway of hard tile-wood floors while I wondered where exactly she was leading me to.

I found out soon enough. We stepped into some sort of a party room, where anything and everything Christmas had taken place.


Not a second after we arrived, all heads turned toward me. Six girls around my age dressed in dazzling holiday attire all locked eyes with mine, no doubt wondering who on earth I was. A girl with short black hair and bangs murmured, “New roommate?” to which a girl with long, dark brown curls jabbed her in the side with an angry elbow.


“Everyone, this is Taryn,” Molly wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Gesturing to the group of girls, she continued, “Taryn, these are my roommates and sisters.”

“Hi, Taryn!” Came the chorus from those gathered around.

“Hi.”

“So, guys,” Molly explained. “Taryn is a little lost. Where’s Mom? She’ll be able to help.”


The girl with long, dark brown curls stepped up. “I’ll get her,” she offered. The girl then pointed to a table full of treats and goodies. “Taryn, please make yourself at home! Feel free to help yourself to a snack. Or two or three,” she grinned with a wink before walking off in search of “Mom.”

“You can set your stuff down there,” Molly told me, motioning towards the corner of the room.

“Thanks.”

I gentled placed my dark blue suitcase on the floor while slipping off my messenger bag. It was then I realized that my hands were shaking, but as soon as my bag’s strap was also resting on the floor, I clenched my fists. Get yourself together, I told myself, swallowing hard while playing it calm, cool, and collected. This whole thing will be over with soon and you’ll go back and see her again in no time.

“C’mon! We have cookies and hot cocoa!” A peppy girl with bouncy blonde curls grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the table. “I’m Chloe, by the way!”


I couldn’t refuse the sugary chunks of Heaven calling my name with their enticing aroma. Besides, hot cocoa was the perfect way to warm up my insides… And delight my taste buds. With Chloe’s advice on which treats were the best and before I knew it, I had a plateful of unhealthy goodness that was ready and waiting for me to devour it.

I soon learned the names of everyone around me; Emelie, Josefina, Jasmine, Chloe, and Ellie. The girl with curls that had left to go find “Mom” was Cécile, and of course, there was Molly.

“Is there a place where I can hang up my coat and hat?” I asked after I had finished eating, feeling warm and toasty by then.

“I’ll take them!” An eager Josefina offered kindly.

I began slipping out of my coat. “Thank you.”

The moment Josefina left to put my coat and hat somewhere, I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Cécile better be coming with news I want to hear, I mused. That there’s been a mistake, that they’ll send me back… that I can see my sis again.

“There’s been some sort of a mistake,” Cécile began, and my hopeful eyes gleamed as she neared me. “You aren’t lost at all. Madison, my mother, did indeed adopt you from the orphanage, but didn’t expect that you’d be here so soon and didn’t tell us yet. So, Taryn…

“… Welcome home.”

Wait, what? No! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go at all! My heart sledgehammered against my chest as I implored her hazel eyes. No, no, no. I was losing my one and only sister and gaining seven other, very unwanted ones. This can’t be happening! I felt tears well up, but I blinked them back quickly.

“It’s getting late,” Cécile turned to the rest of the girls. “Let’s go ahead and turn in for the night. What do you say we show Taryn to our room?”

The others nodded their agreement, and Molly offered to take my bags for me. “I’ll take them,” I hastily stopped her.

With every step I took toward my new room, I was getting farther and farther away from my sister. I grit my teeth, trying to be composed. I closed my eyes to keep from tearing up as I grasped the handle of my suitcase tighter. I can’t do this!

That’s why I was very grateful for Ellie’s next words to distract me: “Taryn, hold on a second! I just found a stocking for you.”

Madi here! As you know from my last post, I GOT LEA! ASDFGHJKL SHE’S SO PRETTY! You guys were very smart in your guessing. ? I got her accessories, earrings, and Bahia outfit, too! I’ll do a “haul” with everything I got whenever I feel like it. XD On Christmas day, I was quite surprised that I even typed up this post – out of habit, I kept walking to the computer to read & comment on others’ blogs or reply to comments, and then I remembered that I didn’t have to – I was on holiday! Surprisingly, I couldn’t wait to put together this post. I could hardly keep myself from snapping the photos and crafting the storyline of another dramatic photostory… with my new doll. I was just having fun with this post, really, and wasn’t holding myself to a deadline. It makes posting a whole lot more fun!

I won’t give you her last name yet, because that gives away whether she adopts my last name of Lorfing and becomes sisters with everyone or not. After this mini-series is finished, though, I’ll have her profile up! I was actually going to name her Adalyn/Adilyn, but there were, like, fifteen different spellings of her name that I just could not decide on. For example…

Adalyn
Adalynn
Adilyn
Adilynn
Adelyn
Adelynn
Adaline
Adiline
Adeline
Adalyne
Adalynne
Adelyne
Adelynne
Adilyne
Adilynne

Don’t even get me started on the other list of -yn/-yne names I put together. XD

I liked Adalyn, but her nickname would be Adi, and it would make sense if her name was Adilyn, but I didn’t like that spelling of her name as much as I did Adalyn, and then I thought the e at the end was super pretty, but it didn’t exactly fit her personality, and so I continued debating about her name with three other friends over text, on the phone, and even in person for the entire month of December. XD

But seeing your doll in person gives you a whole new perspective on how you’re going to name her (like when I bought #56). When I looked at Lea, one of the names from my insanely long list of -yn/-yne names popped up in my mind; Taryn. It was perfect! It was the only one that stuck out of that insanely long list, even though I had decided against it, somehow thinking I’d choose between Adalyn, Adilyn, and the e at the end. But Taryn fits her perfectly. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, Jade popped up, too! Like, where did Jade come from?! I hadn’t even thought about middle names yet! But… Taryn Jade. What beautiful first-and-middle names! They fit her personality oh-so-perfectly.

But, wait? What about her last? Will she adopt my last name, Lorfing, and become sisters with Molly, Josefina, and Cécile? Or will everyone become sisters with her? What if her last name remains Clark, and she’s just a roommate like the rest? And what about Taryn’s sister? Who is she, anyway? Will Taryn ever see her again? Did I secretly adopt her sister and have been playing it like Taryn was the only one I got? #62 is next on my wishlist… DID I GET TWO DOLLS?!

Hehehe.

Anyway. XD Are you excited for part two? I’m excited to make it! I have the entire thing plotted out in my head and can’t wait to share it with you.

I almost decided to be cliché and say “Happy New Year!” here, but I didn’t.

Have the absolute best new year ever, only to be topped by every one after it!

 Love,

If you liked this post, let me know! Just hit “like” and leave a comment below.