NO GREATER LOVE-A Miracle Maker Adventure

the writing on the door

It was close to midnight Friday night and into Saturday when I saw it. Before I had gone to sleep, it wasn't there. It was early November, over a month and a half until I turn 8.

I peered closer at this door. I wondered where it would lead me. I smoothed my black hair in a single braid, cascading down to my hips, and I also smoothed my teal green and lavender purple Little Mermaid nightgown with Ariel on the front as a mermaid swimming with Flounder and Sebastian. My South Asian features, dark brown eyes and biracial skin regarded the door with interest, and I read what the door said in gold letters:

Ask and it will be given to you.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened.

I was aware that my sisters and cousins were behind me, staring up at the door.

We were a family of eight, each all diverse, a mix of different religions, ethnicities and other wonderful things.

My Daddy was Jewish and Indian, and had tan brown skin, long dark wavy hair, dark eyes and a very slim build. The reason for his skinny appearance was because ever since he was three, he had a serious condition called a heart defect, and he had a very strict sleep schedule, according to my great uncle Eli.

Miss Mary was my Daddy's best friend. She had a slim but athletic body with pale skin, dark eyes and long dark hair. I had been told that Miss Mary gave birth to me and my two triplet sisters to help Daddy and Dada start a family. In a way, she was kind of like my Mommy. She had a partner of her own named Patricia, and she was always very nice to me.

My Dada had pale skin, dark hair and eyes, and was slim and athletic. My Daddy met him middle school, and they fell in love. I would always go to him for advice, or when Daddy needed rest, he'd hold me and sing to me.

Jamie, Jocelyn and Jessica all came from Japan and were adopted by my parents. Jamie and Jocelyn were pretty much normal, and were already into makeup and cute boy bands. Jessica, the third oldest child, had high functioning autism, and knew a lot about astronomy, and loved Star Wars.

Adrienne and Alexandria, the middle children, came from India and were also adopted by my parents. Adrienne also had high functioning autism, and was into world maps and earth science. Alexandria, Alex for short, had Down syndrome, and was into Disney Princesses, crocheting and knitting.

All the siblings who had autism and Down syndrome participated in Special Olympics summer and winter sports, and I was always on hand with my sisters and parents to cheer them on.

And then, there's Kimiya, Krishna and myself, the youngest daughters. The only natural born daughters.

Kimiya was like Grandpa Jim, Daddy's dad, who had pale skin, but she had Grammy Ami's dark hair and my Mommy's dark brown eyes. She was a girly girl and loved animals, and was obsessed with Justin Bieber. She was born first.

Krishna was more of like Grandma Padma, my Daddy's mom, who had brown skin, dark hair and dark eyes. She was more of a tomboy, and loved to play basketball, baseball and football, all the sports that the boys played. But she had a crush on the Jonas Brothers and One Direction, her latest obsessions.

And then there's me, Rani Haruka Williams, the youngest daughter of the family. I was a mix of both tomboy and girly girl, and I loved the same stuff that my sisters loved to do, while also doing my own thing—drawing and painting, singing and dancing. I knew I was a bit different than my sisters, I just didn't know how I was different. All of the bands that they listened to were great and all, but I was into artists like Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Paramore, Britney Spears, Shania Twain, Celine Dion...the list is endless.

"What should I do?" I asked my siblings.

"I say knock, and bust in." Krishna answered.

"Nah, Krish. Let's just knock and visit." My one cousin named Mei shook her head.

Mei was a few months older than me, born in July of 2000, while Kimiya, Krishna and I were born on Christmas Day some months later. She was the youngest of two, with adopted sister Ruby being the oldest daughter. Mei had Asian features as well, and was much like her Mommy, my Aunt Tamera, but she had my late uncle David's blue eyes. My aunt was married to Aunt Bridget, an athletic and loving woman from Ireland with red hair and brown eyes.

I took Mei's advice, and went through...