Sara felt like she was between a rock and a hard place. She looked at the simple black-lined frame on the small table alongside her bed, smiled, and said,
"I bet you'd know what to do."
Inside the frame was the last photo of her and her family, taken the same day as the tragedy.
As a toddler, she was aware of and had known since she was 4 that her parents could barely afford to feed themselves, let alone her. They were good friends
with the owners of the orphanage, so when the time came to reluctantly ask they were more than happy to take Sara as a houseguest at hard times.
Still, even with that small setback, her parents loved her just as much as any other. On special occasions, though money was tight, her parents always did the best they could and even if the surprises, places, and gifts were small or even used, Sara loved them just the same because her parents did their best and because she loved them. Tender hearted, she was not in the least bit greedy.
On her 7th birthday, they planned their biggest surprise of all. Sara had always wanted to go to a certain annual event, coincidentally on her birthday that year, and her parents had finally gotten enough money for a good, long day at it.