I felt intimidated by the old man standing in front of me. He was the elder, a powerful man within the village, the only man that decides who stay or leave, who gets fed or not. His initial expression of surprise quickly transformed into a warm smile. He stepped forward, pulling the blanket away from her face, revealing a necklace I hadn't noticed before.

"Where did you find her?" the elder asked, his fingers gently grasping the charm hanging from the necklace—a tree encircled in a gold circle.

"In one of the cars on the abandoned highway."

"And your injury? Have you treated it already?"

I remained silent to his question, closing my eyes as I moved my head from side to side. He placed his hand on my shoulder, then sighed at the obvious choice in his mind.

"I'm allowing you to bring her in, but convincing everyone that she won't be an extra burden will be challenging. If the villagers agree to let her stay, you will be responsible for her care—feeding, bathing, and educating her. Many of our elderly are sick and malnourished, and discussing her stay could be contentious given our current struggles. She will not be included in the regular feeding schedule. Instead, she will share your portion of food and water. If you accept these conditions, I will do everything within my power to persuade the elderly to let her stay with us."

I understood the implications of bringing her into the village and I was prepared to take on extra work to help my new little sister earn her place. However, the idea of deciding the fate of a baby who couldn't speak for herself seemed utterly absurd.

"Thank you." I said.

I grabbed my bags and headed home, where my brother laid sick in his bed. I opened the door as quietly as possible to avoid waking him. Nonetheless, he noticed my entrance and tried to sit up, greeting me despite his poor health. "Brother, I'm glad you're back. Did you find anything out there?" he asked, his voice punctuated by violent coughs.

I handed the bag over to him. He set it on the table, pulling out two cans of food, some rags, and some old medicine I had discovered in the glove compartment of one of the cars on the highway.

"I think I found what you need to get rid of your sickness. I hope it works."

My brother took the bottle of medicine and opened it, immediately recoiling at the smell. "This smells like vomit. I think I'll take my chances with the illness, thanks."

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A gentle coo echoed through our small home, instantly capturing Julious' attention.

"What was that?"

I moved the blanket off her face, showing my brother the face of his new little sister.

"Is that what I think it is? A baby?"

"Yes."

I knew, in the beginning, my brother would show some resistance to the idea of feeding another mouth other than ours. We have been struggling for weeks, after our efforts in the village to grow food had not yielded anything worth eating.

"Did you fall from the highway and hit your head? You know better than anyone in this village, they will not accept her. We are feeding ourselves once every other day as it is."

"I didn't have the guts to leave her outside on her own. I know, you would've done the same if were you the one to find her."

Julious sighed, then a smile broke across his face. "You know me too well. Oh! What's the baby's name?"

"I haven't thought about that."

Julious gently took the baby from my hands, noticing the injury on my arm from the fight with the coyote. "And what the hell happened to your arm?"

"Coyotes."

"We don't have any alcohol left; if you don't treat it now, it's going to get infected."

"Someone in the village might have some. I'll go around and ask."

I reached to remove the blanket away from the baby's head, pulling it gently. To my surprise, I saw something I couldn't believe was real, a pair of pointy ears. The baby smiled, grabbing one of my fingers on my injured hand. Her light green eyes changed in color to a vivid turquoise and the charm on her necklace began to glow.

Startled, I stepped back from her, noticing my injury was completely healed. I gazed at Julious, bewildered by what just happened.

"She healed me. The baby healed my injury."

I pulled the bloody rags off my arm, showing no signs of the coyote's bite. "How is this possible?"

Julious glanced at her little arm, now showing a scar, similar to a bite mark. "Farris, do you see this?"

The baby begins to cry, just like she did when I found her. "Let's give her some water. That will calm her down."

Julious gently placed the baby beside him on the bed, inadvertently brushing her hand. Instantly, the scene we had witnessed before replayed itself. My brother, miraculously cured of his illness, burst into a joyous celebration.

"I can jump, I can jump!"

The baby's skin darkened to a shade of brown, from her original pale white tone. It was then I fully grasped the nature of my little sister's ability—she didn't simply heal; she absorbed the sickness into herself. The baby began to cry louder, moving her hands as if crippled by pain.

"Julious, the water!"

I took the bottlecap and filled it, placing it on her lips as I did outside in the abandoned highway. An immediate change was noticeable, the scar mark faded from her little hand and her skin tone returned to the delicate pale color as the water soothed her fragile body.

"Amazing!" he said.

Our celebration was interrupted by a solid knock on the door. The elder entered our home, accompanied by many others from the village.

"Farris, Julious, the elderly are ready to hear your case. Have you decided what to name the little girl?"

"Her name is Lacey."