Hannah only smiled, waved her arms about and made baby noises. It sounded like she was trying to talk to them, but have no success in having them understand her.

“Oh Bumlets,” Seven whispered, “why do they hafta give ‘er away? I wish I’d never met her.”

“That’s not true.” Bumlets told her. “If ya hadn’t, she woulda died. An’ ya know, she needed someone ta luv ‘er before she found a home. I think dat she thinks yer ‘er guardian angel.”

“But it’s so hard to let her go. Look at her. She’s so beautiful. She needs me.”

“I know. But ya gotta remember, she’s gonna have a good, supportive family. Dey’re gonna take good care ‘a ‘er.”

Seven looked up at Bumlets, then handed Hannah to him. As he took her in his arms, he looked into her joyous turquoise blue eyes and his heart grew heavy as well. Seven was right; she needed her.

But there was more to that, Seven loved her. She had fallen in love with this baby the second she laid eyes in her in the alley. If she had the money and the time, there was no doubt she would adopt her.

‘But she loves a child that doesn’t belong to her.’ He thought. ‘If she loves a baby that isn’t hers, how much will she love her own children?’ As he cast his eyes back down to Hannah, he let out a sigh. He knew very well why Seven wanted to raise her.

Someday, he knew, that she would grow into a beautiful young woman full of curiosity and wild imagination. But what would happen while she grew up? Would Seven be heartbroken as she grew older?

“I love her too, Seven.” Bumlets said. “I know dat I’d like ta be ‘er father, but I don’ think that now’s the time fer eidder of us.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz ya luv a kid that isn’t yours. Ya gotta think about yer future. What about yer own kids?”

She paused. “I don’ know. I haven’t thought about that before.”

“Bingo. What ya need ta know is dat ya got a lotta love to give, but ya gotta save it fer yer own kids.”

Seven fell silent. Unfortunately, he had made his point. For starters, she was too young, and Hannah was not her daughter to begin with. And Bumlets was right; she did have a lot of love to give, and she needed to save it for her future children. But she loved Hannah; how could she let her go without it being so hard on her?

“You’re right.” Seven said, holding back choked tears. “But it’s hard. I’ve grown so attached to her that I don’t wanna give her away.”

“I know it’ll be hard on ya. It’ll be hard on me too. But Esperanza’s a very lucky goil cuz you were de foist person t’ meet ‘er. You were also de foist ta love ‘er. If she was old ‘nough t’ know ya, I’m sure she’s think of ya as ‘er guardian angel.”

Seven lowered her head. “Thanks, but it’s still gonna be hard.”

“Ya also know dat she isn’t necessarily gonna ferget ya.”

She looked up. “What?”

“I mean, you can keep a ledder wit ‘er, tellin’ ‘er parents ‘bout yerself, an’ what ya did. You cin also ask ‘em ta tell ‘er ‘bout ya.”

“But what if they aren’t those types of people?”

“Well, it’s worth a shot, ain’t it?”

“I…I guess so.”

“Then write it when we leave. Esperanza jus’ might be able t’ remembah ya when ya send it with ‘er.”

Those were the last words said for a long time. Seven let Bumlets hold Hannah, and they both spent the rest of the day with her. Deep within their hearts, they knew very well that they loved her, but the best thing for her was to be adopted into someone else’s family.

Before they had to leave, Seven kissed Hannah’s tiny cheek and whispered that she would love her forever and never forget her. Bumlets did the same, only he took her in his arms, set her against his shoulder and quietly began to sing to her. Though Seven couldn’t hear him very well, she was able to discern what was the point of the song.

“I will remember you.”

Seven let out a silent exhale. She knew this song; in fact, she was going to sing it at Irving Hall tonight. Maybe Bumlets knew it, or he had overheard her rehearsing it. But this was more of a love song, why was he singing it for a baby?

‘Maybe he loves her as much as I do,’ she thought. When he finally stopped singing, Bringham entered the room and noticed the scene. She attempted to hide her sympathetic feelings, but was having no success.

“We need to give Hannah her medicine.” She said.

“Okay.” Bumlets said, handing her to the nurse.

Once in Bringham’s arms, Hannah began to whimper out loud, and then her whimpering became a loud wailing.

“We’d better leave now.” Seven whispered, grabbing Bumlets’ arm.

“The train leaves tomorrow morning around ten.” Bringham said. “If you want to see her again, you can before she leaves.”

“Thanks.” Bumlets said.

Seven glimpsed back at Hannah and Hannah looked at her. She stretched her arm out and flexed her fingers. It looked to Seven that she was trying to wave goodbye.

She couldn’t take it anymore; she pulled Bumlets’ arm and dragged him away from the room. When they exited the building, Bumlets pulled Seven to a stop and pulled her to the side of the building.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked.

“She knows.” Seven replied. “She knows that she won’t see us again!”

“What makes ya think that?”

“She was trying to wave. Really, she was! She held her arm out and was moving her fingers. She knows she’ll never see us again after tomorrow!”

Seven cast her eyes to the ground and brushed a stray tear from her eye. She was glad that Bumlets wasn’t saying anything, because nothing he could say right then could make her feel better.

After several minutes, Seven looked up at Bumlets’ face and could see the compassion in his eyes. He understood perfectly.

“You know that I love her too.” He said. “And if I could, I’d adopt her so she could be ours. But we can’t. I may love her, but I know that I can’t keep her. Remember what I said, someday yer gonna have lots of kids, an’ you gotta think about them.”

“I know. And you’re right, but I’ve just grown so attached to her that it’s gonna be hard to let her go.”

“It’s hard for the both of us, but we gotta move on. An’ besides, ya gotta sing in a half-hour.”

Another period of silence. Yes, it was going to be hard letting Hannah go, but again, Bumlets was right. ‘This time I should listen to him,’ Seven decided.

After a few minutes, she looked back at Bumlets and nodded. “I agree with you. We gotta move on.”

Bumlets smiled faintly, but it was a smile nonetheless. “I knew ya’d understand.”

Seven then wrapped her arms around Bumlets and embraced him. She loved it when he held her, for it felt like he was a protective wall around her to keep her from harm. When she was with him, she felt safe and protected.

When they finally pulled apart, they walked down the street together to Irving Hall. When they arrived, Seven went to change while Bumlets went to his normal spot on the side of the stage to watch Seven.

When Seven finally came out, Medda announced her and Seven walked onto the stage. When the applause and hollering subsided, Seven quickly glanced at Bumlets and then back at the audience and began to sing.

“I will be walking one day, down a street far away. And see a face in a crowd, and smile. Knowing how you made me laugh, hearing sweet echoes of you from the past. I will remember you.”

“Look in my eyes while you’re near, tell me what’s happening here. See that I don’t want to say…goodbye. Our love is frozen in time, I’ll be your champion and you will be mine. I will remember you.”

“Later on, when this fire is an ember, later on, when the night’s not so tender, give it time. Though it’s hard to remember darlin’, I will be holdin’; I’ll still be holding to you…I will remember you.”

“So many years come and gone, and yet the mem’ry is strong. One word we never could learn: goodbye. True love is frozen in time, I’ll be your champion and you will be mine. I will remember you. So please remember, I will remember you.”

The music faded, and applause filled the air. Seven bowed and left the stage. But as she disappeared, she knew what she had to write to Hannah’s new family. ‘I hope they tell her,’ she thought. ‘Hannah just needs to know how much we’ve loved her.’

Seven folded the piece of paper up and stuck it in her pocket. As she approached Bumlets, he gave her a bright smile.

“Didja write it?” he asked.

“Yes.” Seven replied. “I guess all we hafta do now is hope and pray that her new parents will tell her about us.”

“I believe they will.”

Seven then smiled and Bumlets wrapped his arm around her as they walked to the distribution center. Seven bought her usual hundred papers, but to her surprise, Oscar didn’t give her any flirtatious remarks.

‘Maybe he knows that I’m not in the mood,’ she thought. Bumlets then got his papers and the two went out selling for two hours. Around nine forty-five, they headed for the train station.

When they arrived, they saw Bringham holding a tiny bundle in her arms. They knew instantly that it was Hannah, and they rushed over to say their final goodbyes. Bringham knew why they were there and let them hold her one last time.

“Mrs. Bringham,” Seven said, “I have a letter for her new parents. Do you think you can arrange for it to get to them?”

Bringham nodded. “I’m sure I can work something out. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Bringham then left to talk with one of the nuns as Seven cradled Hannah in her arms. Though she loved her, she knew very well that Hannah was going to be very happy with her new family.

“I love her,” she said, “but I know that she’s gonna be with a family that will love her and make her very happy. And I’ll be glad to know that she’s happy and safe.”

“Me too.” Bumlets said. “Can I hold her now?”

Seven didn’t answer but gently handed Hannah to Bumlets. He bounced her a little when she was in his arms and she giggled a little. After a while, she began to reach up toward his face.

“Uh, Seven, I think she wants to pull my beard again.” He said.

“Well, it might be her way of saying that she loves you.” Seven offered.

Bumlets then looked down at Hannah, and her eyes were smiling. Bumlets then lowered his head toward her and let Hannah grab his hair. She laughed when she grabbed the tiny hairs, making Bumlets smile.

When Hannah finally let go, Seven walked over to her and kissed her tiny cheek. “I love you, Hannah Rose. Please try to remember us.”

“Yo te amo, Esperanza.” Bumlets whispered. “Siempre estoy pensando en ti.”

Seven looked at Bumlets and smiled faintly. She didn’t know what he had just said, but she had a clue as to what it meant. As she drew the letter from her pocket, Bringham returned with a nun by her side.

“It’s time for us to take the child.” The nun said. “Mrs. Bringham said that you wanted to leave something with her.”

“I do.” Seven said, handing her the letter. “This is just a letter for her new parents. Will you please give it to them?”

The nun took the letter and nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Thanks.”

Bumlets then kissed Hannah’s forehead and handed her to the nun. Before the nun boarded the train, Hannah stretched her arm out and flexed her fingers. Both newsies saw and knew that this was her way of saying goodbye.

The nun then boarded the train and the engine roared. A whistle screeched through the air, steam erupted from the train tires and the train slowly pulled out of the train yards. Seven watched with dry eyes and a feeling of loss in her heart.

“I’m gonna miss her.” Bumlets said. “But I’ll always be thinking of her.”

“Is that what you said?” Seven asked.

“You mean ‘siempre estoy pensando en ti?’”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, it meant I’ll always be thinking of her. But I hafta admit, there’s one reason why I’m glad she’s gone.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m gonna spend more time with you now. You’ve been pretty wrapped up with her that I was actually kinda jealous.”

“You were?”

“A little. But it also got us to spend more time together too.”

Seven only shook her head and let out a soft giggle. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you. C’mon, let’s get to sellin’ our papes.”

When the whistle sounded, Donna looked down the tracks to see the train coming toward them. Her heart pounded as she turned to her husband.

“It’s here.” She said. “Oh Robert, I’m so nervous and excited!”

“I know. I am too.” Robert said.

Donna clung tightly to Robert’s arm as the train pulled into the yards. Young children began hopping off with nuns behind them. But they had adopted a baby girl, how come they didn’t see any babies?

Finally, a younger nun came off, holding a bundle in her arms. Donna’s heart stood still as the nun made her way over to them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kenton?” she asked.

“That’s us.”

“This is Hannah Rose, the baby you adopted.”

Donna’s legs felt weak as the nun handed her the baby girl. When she looked at her, she had a joyous feeling in her heart. She was now a mother. But when she saw the scars on her arms, she became confused.

“What are these scars on her arms?” she asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. But I have a letter for you that might explain it.”

The nun handed Donna the letter. She handed Hannah to Robert and let him hold her as she opened the letter and read it.

It read:

“To the new parents of Hannah Rose. Dear sir and/or ma’am, my name is Juliet Ryan, and I’m a newsie from Manhattan. Almost two months ago, my boyfriend Michael Lopez and I found Hannah Rose in an alley. She was left there by her mother in a pile of rosebushes to die. That explains the scars on her arms and how she got her middle name. If we hadn’t come along when we did, she would’ve died. She wasn’t expected to live, but Michael and I knew she would. When she was recovering, we tried to adopt her, but we were too young, not married and didn’t have the money. Since Hannah is only a baby, we knew that she wouldn’t remember us. We’d like to ask that you tell her about us. Michael gave her the nickname of “Esperanza,” meaning “star” because he said that she brought light into his life. We loved her very much, and we’d be very much obliged if you tell her about us. And if you ever come to Manhattan, look us up. Only my newsie nickname is Seven of Nine and Michael’s is Bumlets. Maybe even by then I’ll be Juliet Lopez. Thank you for taking Hannah. And try to love her as we did. Juliet Ryan.”

Donna smiled and folded the letter up. “What was that all about?” Robert asked.

“It’s just a letter from the people who wanted to adopt her.” Donna answered. “They said that her nickname is Esperanza and they asked if we would tell her about them.”

“Do you want to tell her about them?”

“I think I should. From what they have written, they really must have loved her. And I believe Hannah should know that there’s someone else out there who loves her.”