Ailana’s Journal—2026-08-29 (and Island Kids) (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING by Ailana Geven Keller

This is going to be one of those days when my role in the events of the Journal is pretty minimal. And that’s fine, right?

The Ryans are on their way back from Fort Worth with Aria, Kel’s half-sister. They should be here this afternoon, and we’re all going to just play it by ear from there.

Of course we all want to meet her, but this day needs to be mostly about her. She needs to find her footing in a new place around a group of new people.

It’s been a crazy two weeks since they found out this was possible. But in the end, the owner of the house next door was agreeable to the offer, the movers came through, and all the paperwork got done.

So, this afternoon, we meet Aria.

This morning, I’m going to see about a little beach time to reset and refresh myself. Beyond that, I’m playing the day out as it happens.

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All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

WEEKEND IN NYC by Camila Lopez

Last night, I had dinner with Nick. Things moved fast after that.

“My schedule changed,” I said. “I’m off Saturday through Tuesday. I go back to work on Wednesday.”

Nick stared into space like he was working through some advanced math problem for a few seconds.

Finally, he smiled and looked at me. “How quickly can you pack?”

“For what?” I asked.

“A trip to New York…”

Nick wanted to come to Brooklyn to meet one of the teams he works with through Benevolence Worldwide—the Pay It Forward Society. Nick has enough travel points that my ticket was free. He added a second room to his hotel reservation, and suddenly I’m sitting on a jet flying to the Big Apple.

“Let’s plan on doing this more often,” he said as we took off.

I’m not objecting. I’ll have to adjust my budget to include a new category: Whirlwind Travel Weekends.

BEACH TIME by Ailana Geven Keller

You caught me just before I head back to the condos. The Ryans are getting close, and I’m going home to have lunch and clean up.

I dragged Emily to the beach with me. She needed something to occupy her mind.

We’ve talked a lot about Aria, of course.

“When I had to go back to foster care in the middle of first grade,” she said, “I remember thinking maybe it would only be for a little while. I guess I knew our mother wouldn’t be able to keep me, and I started hoping to get adopted. That didn’t happen.”

She went on to say that by third grade—Aria’s age—she had resigned herself to being in foster care forever.

“I’m really happy for Aria,” she said. “Kel is, too.”

I smiled. Like Kel and Emily, Jasmine had been in the same place at age eight. She was in foster care with no opportunity to be adopted. Jasmine told me at the hair dryer shoot that she was so happy for Aria. She went on to say that Kel and Emily were pretty blessed, too.

But the funny thing? I feel like Emily has been a blessing to me. I guess it can go both ways.

YOUR HOME NOW by Emily Amos

It’s afternoon. Aria is here! Mostly, the adults just said hello and said they were glad to meet her.

Right now, Josh and Geoni are in the kitchen making snacks. Kel and I are hanging out with Aria. We’ve got Nickelodeon on the TV and are just trying to let Aria decide what to do.

“Was Jasmine really in foster care?” she asked.

“She was. Just like you, me, and Kel,” I said.

“Jasmine has pretty hair,” she added.

I was going to say she did, too, but Kel spoke up. “So, this is your new home. We’re pretty lucky.”

Then the fear reared its head, and Aria said, “What if they run out of money and have to give me back?”

Kel took that one. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. You really don’t have to worry.”

“Andrea had to give me back when Donald got cancer. She didn’t have enough money by herself.”

“That must have been sad,” I said.

“Yeah… She cried about Donald and me both.” She held up her teddy bear. “She gave me this to remember her.”

“What’s its name?” I asked.

“It don’t got a name. It’s not real, you know. But I like how soft it feels.”

I touched it. “Oh, it really is.”

“It’s like a pillow with a face.” She laughed.

Kel went back to the money topic. “Aria, Josh and Geoni won’t run out of money, and if anything happens, you and I will always be taken care of. All these people you met… They’d make sure, but nothing’s going to happen. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’ll try to be brave.”

That sounded to me like something someone had told her to do too many times.

“It’s okay to be scared,” I said. “And don’t be too scared to ask questions, okay? You can ask anything you want to ask.”

“Do I have chores?” Aria asked.

Kel looked at me and stifled a laugh. “Yeah… clean up your own mess. Do your schoolwork. Put your laundry in the hamper.”

“I can dust, too,” Aria said, nodding.

Kel smiled. “Well, we can talk about it with Geoni and Josh.”

That was when Josh and Geoni came in with the snacks, so our attention turned to the food. I have to add that it felt good to be part of helping her through the first few hours. Really good.

ABOUT MOM by Kel Ryan

Well, now it begins, like, for real. I have a sister. Geoni and Josh have two kids.

Josh, Geoni, and I talked about how they had thought all along, maybe later, they’d try to adopt another kid. Maybe later came sooner, right?

After the snacks, Aria sort of relaxed. Josh and Geoni went to clean up and she looked at me.

“Is Emily your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”“Do you kiss her?” She covered her mouth and laughed.

“Sometimes.”

That was all she wanted to know about that, but then she had a question for Emily when Emily said she was going to leave us on our own. “Are you too old to be my friend?”Emily knelt down and hugged her. “Of course not.”

Aria smiled.

Her next question was tougher and came while Josh and Geoni were making dinner. “What was our mom like? I never met her.”

I didn’t mention that, technically, they had met, but Aria was removed shortly after being discharged from the hospital. That’s beside the point. How do you tell an eight-year-old that her mother abused substances?

“Mom was loving, but she had health problems. She tried to overcome them, but she just couldn’t.” That was basically true—she did try.

“Why did she have us?”

I couldn’t very well say she was trying to make money for her habit. I never knew if that was why I was conceived, but yeah… well…

“What did they tell you?”“They said I was an accident.”

“Well, I don’t like how that sounds,” I said. “I’d say we were unexpected. And Tiana Hale… Mom… She tried to love us. I’m sure she would have if she wasn’t… sick.”

I really hope that was true. She always seemed disappointed in herself with me, so I think it was.

“I hope she gets better someday,” Aria said. “Maybe if she’s not sick, I can meet her.”

“Maybe so,” I said.

Now, I’m thinking about that. How would we find out and all… I mean, it wouldn’t un-adopt us, but maybe someday she’s in a nursing home or something.. I dunno…

Anyway, I can see that Aria is going to add a lot of life around here. And I’m down for it, no lie. But it’s going to be interesting, for sure!

GOOD NIGHT by Ailana Geven Keller

A couple of weeks ago, Kel’s caseworker said she wanted to meet us and talk. She said it wasn’t a bad thing or something like that.

She couldn’t have been more correct, if you take a snapshot of today.

The last two weeks have been a marathon run at the pace of a sprint, but today, we unpacked Aria’s things into her bedroom. She’s been wonderful every step of the way.

To be sure, she’s a little scared. But—despite my slight worries that their enthusiasm might overwhelm her—Kel and Emily were amazing with her. My heart melted in the kitchen when I heard the three of them laughing in the living room.

“I’m going to try my hardest,” she told me.

I don’t really know what she thinks she has to do, but you bet I’ll be trying to understand her thoughts. If she thinks this is something she has to earn, Josh and I have some work to do.

“I’ll try my hardest, too,” I said.

And I will.

For now, Aria and I are negotiating bedtime routines.

“I think I’d like stories, sometimes,” she said.

We talked about night lights. She thought it was funny that Josh and I keep one in the bathroom for when we have to get up at night.

“Does Kel have a night light?”“In his bathroom. And there are some in the hallway, too. It’s just for safety so no one trips.”

We decided one on the wall by her door would be a good idea.

We talked about anything she wanted to talk about. She laughed. She flopped back on the bed when I was silly.

I’ll stop and go in a different direction.

This is the most unexpected blessing I’ve ever experienced. Without any planning or intention, a little life came into our family.

Oh, there’s a lot of paperwork to be done. Hearings. Things like that.

Part of me is just ignoring all that. Our family grew by one little smile today, and I couldn’t be happier.

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