Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

by Mitch Albom

We have names we are given and names that just attach to us, and Chika was yours.

And even though I knew so little about you, Chika, I could tell that you were brave, and I knew that being brave would help you in this life.

The fact is, from the day we took her in, Chika was a bossy ball of fire who was soon directing the other kids like a drill sergeant, even the older ones, telling them who should go first in relay races, which doll they should play with, where to stand on line for the bathroom. She had a strong voice and a stubborn streak, and I believe some of the shyer kids were terrified of her.

Well. All right. The true answer is selfishness. I have always warned you about being selfish, Chika, but that does not mean I was not selfish myself. I was, often, especially when I was younger, and especially with my time. I thought there was so much left. I thought starting a family was like a new carpet I could store in a closet and unroll when I was ready.

Omg, I remember Morri 😕

I am often amazed by how little a child needs to know you to want your embrace.

Ambition is not something I ever warned you about, Chika, but I have learned it can overtake you gradually, like clouds moving across the sun, until, consumed by pursuing it, you get used to a dimmer existence.

Look. It’s one of the shortest sentences in the English language. But we don’t really look, Chika. Not as adults. We look over. We glance. We move on.

Children wonder at the world. Parents wonder at their children’s wonder. In so doing, we are all together young.

❤️

What we carry defines who we are. And the effort we make is our legacy.