One rainy evening, after everyone else had gone back to their rooms, Mei Lin stayed behind.
The room was quiet.
Rain tapped gently against the window.
Baby Pumpkin moved lazily beneath Alankrita's hand.
Mei Lin looked thoughtful.
"You know something?"
"What?"
"People whisper because they cannot understand."
Alankrita remained silent.
Mei Lin continued.
"But understanding isn't always necessary."
She looked toward Alankrita.
"Kindness is enough."
The room fell quiet again.
After several seconds...
thump.
Both girls looked down.
Mei Lin smiled.
"I think Baby Pumpkin agrees."
Alankrita laughed softly.
For the first time in her life she understood something important.
Family was not always the people who shared your blood.
Sometimes family was simply the people who stayed.
The people who listened.
The people who chose you.
Outside, Cambridge disappeared beneath the rain and evening mist.
Inside Room 214 sat a journalism student, a tiny future Baby Pumpkin, and a small circle of friends who had unknowingly become home.
And for now...
that was enough.
More than enough.