Collection of Hearts

Second Drabble - Tomas

"Hey, little man, what did you find this time?" Warmth filled the soft voice as Tomas peered intently into the dusty box he had found hidden away in a closet.

Sparing a moment to look up with a grin, Tomas reached his hand into the box and pulled out an old, slightly faded photo from the loose pile hidden inside. Brushing fingertips gently along the image, the 9-year-old boy turned it to his older sister with great care.

"Look! It's grandma and grandpa! I found them!" The pride in his voice was as clear as a summer day, bright and filled with a warmth that hid the distant sense of loss for those he had barely known.

Her caramel skin carefully taking hold of the photo as the boy turned back to the box and began sifting slowly through the contents, Niah gazed down upon the people she had only met a handful of times as memories of those happy moments filled her. She'd been old enough to understand how blessed she was to have gained a family that loved her so completely, even those who hadn't fully seemed to understand their children's choice to adopt at first, but all it had taken was one meeting with the once lost and lonely girl they found and all their hesitancy had vanished.

She'd been so loved by them and by her parents that she'd felt like nothing could ever stop the smile that had spread across her lips that day and each day that followed and she'd shared that feeling with Tomas, helping him to understand just how wonderful and special his family was. And lately, she'd been teaching him that everyone deserved to have a family that loved them, to have the same chances that they themselves were given, to be picked up and helped find the place they belonged without feeling like it would always be out of reach because of something like skin color, social status, or income.

And bless his heart, he listened to everything she said as some people would listen to their favorite show, all big eyes and his little mouth hanging open like she was some kind of superhero.

And in his mind, even though he never said as much, she was an even better superhero than Superman, better than Dr. Strange, and even better than Wonder Woman! In fact, she was even more amazing and brave than all of them combined! That is why he would always look up to her and do whatever he could to be there for her, even if she didn't need him nearly as much as he felt he needed her.

But right now, right now he had found something he knew she would treasure, not having many pictures of their grandparents around the house and he knew how she'd loved them. She'd known them so much better than he had, so he just knew she would love this discovery of his.

Smiling up at her with more photos carefully held in his hands, he opened his mouth and said something that put the most beautiful smile on her face he'd ever seen.

"Let's make a scrapbook together! We can have Mom get copies of all these so we can fill the book front to back with happy memories for you to keep!"

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Years later, Tomas would sit quietly at times, his fingers tracing down familiar pages as he gave a slightly broken smile down at the caramel-skinned girl waving towards the camera as her photo had been taken, her other arm around a small brown-haired boy as he smiled up at her, the picture surrounded by those of their grandparents.

On the opposite page, a graduation photo stood out by itself, a brown-haired young man standing beside a female, her smile infectious as she wrapped one arm around his shoulders in a familiar manner as her head leaned against his. His fingers trembled slightly as he brushed them over the photo, the same words repeating that he said every time he looked at the image.

"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry."