One December evening, I was walking my dog, Max, when he suddenly darted into the woods. Chasing after him, I found two identical twin girls, huddled and cold in the snow. They told me they were nine and had been abandoned by their mother in a nearby shed. Concerned for their safety, I took them home, gave them food, and settled them in for the night.

The next morning, strange noises came from my daughter Emma’s room. I rushed in, fearing the worst. To my surprise, Emma, who had been so ill from cancer treatments, was laughing—her first true smile in months. The twins had transformed into magical characters for her—a good witch and a fairy princess—and they were putting on a show. Emma was enchanted, laughing and forgetting her pain.

The twins explained they had wanted to bring magic to Emma’s life, just as they had done for each other in the shed. They had so little, yet they gave so much.

In the days that followed, the twins spent every moment with Emma, filling our home with joy. On Christmas Eve, they performed their grandest show yet, and I knew I had to act. These girls had brought light back into our home. I decided to adopt them, making our family complete. Max had known from the start—those girls belonged with us.