Allison

When Allison tries on her new red kimono and looks in the mirror, she suddenly realizes that she looks more like her favourite doll, Mei Mei, than her parents. “Where do I come from?” Allison asks. “Far, far away – from another country,” Father says. “Mother and I went there and brought you and Mei Mei home with us.” But Allison is confused. At daycare the next day, she refuses to climb the monkey bars or play tag with the other children, and alone in her room that night she asks Mei Mei, “Allison isn’t my real name. Do you know what it is?” But the only answer is a cry of a stray cat looking in her window.