Megome Riley grew up to be a beautiful, kind, amusing, stubborn little girl. She loved to make faces at her parents, the mirror, and complete strangers behind her mother's back. Her parents blamed each other for spoiling her. She had pretty black hair that curled up like her daddy's and big brown eyes, skin like coffee with crème, a little nose, a pink smiling mouth and just a spattering of freckles on her left cheek. She was a happy girl with a wide grin. Her daddy was a superhero and her mommy was the smartest lady in the world. In her parents' opinion, she was perfect.

In her little world, Meg didn't think anything ever went wrong except in princess movies right before the prince showed up to save the day. Her parents were in love and they were going to give her a brother one day. She did not see the underlying currents that were taking her parents further apart. Her mommy just always rolled her eyes after her father gave his opinion. And her daddy's voice just always got higher when her mom asked him to do something. That was just how it was.

She really liked hanging out with the other kids of the people her mommy worked with. Michael was a bit disgusting, because he always had worms in his pockets and in jars and stuff, but he always knew everything about them. But he was always fun. Plus he could draw the best out of all of them and he gave her a charm bracelet for her birthday. Christine was always nice and shared her dolls with Megome. She really liked to read, so when they wanted a book to be read to them, they didn't have to ask a grown up. She had a book about the Maya civilization, which had cool drawings and cool stories. She was always more willing to play cops and robbers with Michael than Meg was. And she always had fruits and veggies in her backpack for snacks. Christine's big brother Parker was a teenager and didn't really hang out with them. But he was nice and didn't snub them just because they were little kids. He played video games with Michael and sometimes Meg (especially if they were playing the car racing game she liked). Parker was also the cutest boy Megome knew. Not that she had a crush on him or anything. Colin Sweets was still a baby, but Megome loved playing with him. He was always laughing and smiling, showing his first tooth. And he always smelled good. She loved playing peek-a-boo with him and reading him stories and doing things to make him giggle. His mommy said to her that she was good with him, and she knew she was at least better than Michael, who did things to make him cry.

Her favourite person in the whole world was Amanda. She didn't mind when Meg played in her hair like Christine did. She didn't say she was too old to play certain games. She always had extra paper in case Meg wanted to draw. She laughed and screamed on the top of her voice when she was having fun. She was amazing. Meg secretly thought of her as a big sister; although Michelle was already her big sister, she couldn't always be there since she had to go to work. Meg loved Michelle, but Amanda was her stand in big sis for when Michelle wasn't around. She had a wonderful life, and had no reason to think it would ever change. …

Her daddy's voice was what woke her up. He was shouting so loudly, Megome wondered briefly if he had hurt himself. She flung her princess comforter off, grabbed her Ozzie Bear and ran through her bedroom door without her slippers.

When she got to the landing, she skidded to a halt, her midnight curls bouncing. Her daddy wasn't hurt. He was angry, he was yelling. He was yelling at her mommy.

"Cam, I don't think we have to discuss this! My mom needs me; I'm going home to take care of her!"

"But why do I have to come?" Meg's mommy asked. She wasn't shouting. She had that voice that she got when she thought Meg was sleeping in the back seat of the car, "Don't you think it is a bit unfair to ask me and Meg to uproot our whole lives and move all the way to the other side of the world?"

Meg was confused. What was on the other side of the world? She had a globe in her room, but since it was round, she didn't think it had another side. Maybe it was another figure of speech that her father made up. He made up a lot of figure-of-speeches.

"If you really cared about me, Cam, then you wouldn't be asking that. Meg is a baby. She will adjust to Japan eventually. And I already have my sister talking to labs in Tokyo where you can get a job."

Megome frowned at her daddy calling her a baby. She was four years old! She wasn't like Colin, who could barely walk. She could make cakes with a little help from her mommy, and she could almost tie her shoelaces. She was big enough.

"How long do you expect us to stay?" her mommy asked.

"A year at most. Mom should be better and settled by then. She wasn't really that keen on me living so long in America, honestly. She keeps asking me to move home."

"I though you told me this was your home, Nathan. You told me you have no plans to move back to Japan."

"What am I supposed to do, Cam? She is my mother and she needs me!"

"I know Nathan I know. Stop shouting, Meg's asleep."

"I'll shout as much as I want, Cam! It's my damn house! And you know what? I'm going to Japan, Meg's coming with me, you can do whatever the hell you want!"

Meg felt shivers go up her spine and she hugged her stuffed bear close to her. They sounded really scary now.

"You are not taking my daughter without me."

"Well then," Megome's daddy had a chilling lilt in his voice, "it's settled."

Megome felt a tear run down her cheek. She choked on a sob, though she didn't know what she was crying for. It was all confusing. Her grandma was sick? They were all moving to Japan? She didn't want to go. Japan was very far away. All her friends were here in Washington.

When they told her about in the morning, she cried all the way from the house to school. …

Her daddy was still trying to sell her on moving when they were on their way to the airport, and Megome was not buying. She didn't want to see her cousins. She didn't want to go to a new school. She didn't want to live in a house made of paper and bamboo. She loved her grandma, but she also wanted to stay with her friends. A tear fell down her cheek when she thought of leaving everyone behind.

"Don't cry Meg," Michelle, who was sitting in the back beside her, though it was her car, because Meg's daddy insisted on driving, "I'll be coming to visit in Christmas, and we can go shopping, okay?"

Megome didn't miss the look that her mommy sent behind her in the rear view mirror. Meg didn't forget how much her mommy was against them going to Japan.

"But that's all the way in December!" Megome whined.

She cried again, and once more when she had to tell her sister goodbye before they boarded. Michelle and their mom hugged for a long time and shook when they cried. Her daddy was holding her hand, so Megome didn't get to go over and comfort them. When they waved goodbye the last time, Megome felt like she was leaving her whole life behind.