Chapter 1

I always wanted a dog. When ever I got the chance, I would ask my parents for a dog. 

 

It was a sunny Christmas Eve and the leaves were turning brown. Birds were flying and there were not bees in sight. My Christmas list was almost full. I wondered if I would ever get a dog. I saw someone pulling up in the drive way, so I went inside to bring them a coat. (It was very cold.) I went to greet them. As they opened their car door, I saw it was my uncle and he had a big present in his hands. I took the gift from him so he could get out. I was very carful not to drop it just in case it was a dog. Inside, my parents were cooking roast beef and king cake. I placed the present on the floor. My parents got out of the kitchen to greel my uncle. "Hello Barry." My mom said. "Have a seat. Watch some tv. Your favorite channel is on." Said my dad. "Thanks but I think I will help you guys with them food." Of course I would be ok with that but my parents were very respectful and insisted for him to relax. He did not relax, instead he helped with cooking the roast beef. About one hour later, I hear a knock at the door. "I will get it!" I yelled. I opened the door and to my surprise was my neighbor, holding her pet cat in her left hand and present in the other. "Come in I bet you are very cold." I told her. She gave me my present and said, "I must go, my parents are waiting for me to start their party." We hugged and she left. I felt bad because I forgot to give her a present. "Emily!" My dad called. I walked over and he grinned. He had something behind his back and he gave it to me. It was a necklace with my name on it. I hugged him and he stroked my hair. My mom opened a door and my grandpa and grandma came in. "Now, the party can start!" My grandma lightly hit him to tell him to stop saying that. The food was later out on the table and we all ate. "Now let us get to the presents." I said. My dad gave me a stare. I knew I wasn't allowed to say that but, I was so tempred to open presents. My mom and I cleaned up the table and my dad washed the dishes. When that was done, we opened the presents and right when I was about to open Uncle Barry's present, I hear a dog bark and a scratch at the door. I opened it eagerly and a tiny dog jumped on me. His tail was wagging and he liked my face. I picked him up and pour him water into a cup. Once I named him he would be my dog. 

 

Chapter 2

I named him Ash. My mom picked Ash up and said,"I will take him to the vet." Abut one hour later, she came back with a dog bowl, dog food, and a dog bed. I feed Ash and later he fell asleep. It was getting late, so I took a bath and went to sleep. In the morning, I woke my parents, uncle, and my grandpa and grandma up. Under the christmas tree were about nine presents. I opened them and I got a candy cane, a tee shirt, a dog bone, and one sewing kit. I know you might be thinking that's not a lot but I am very thankful I got presents. Last year I only got one present, a doll. After I opened the presents, I walked outside with Ash. It was snowing lightly. I looked at the Christmas decorations and I thought we could of bought more. After my dog did his business, I went inside. "Mom, what is for breakfast?" I asked. She answered my question with pancakes. I only get pancakes on special occasions. "Thank you." She stared at me like she was telling me to share it with dad, Barry, grandpa, and grandma. Syrup was scarce in my family. We were not broke but we did not waste a lot of money to save up for my college. When we were done eating, I went outside with an old cat toy to give as a present for Beath. I knocked on her door but no one answered so I left the toy at her door step. After we eat on Christmas, we drive to the woods for a picnic. We packed up and I begged my parents to Ash so we did. The animals we not running around as they usually do. Thank God I brought my book to read. While everyone yalked, I saw Ash run to chase a bird that didn't want to fly. "Ash!" Everyone yelled "come back!" I yelled. He wouldn't come back so I chased him. I ran a few miles and I saw Ash run into a lake. I jumped into the lake and said to myself, "This never happens on christmas." I was very mad and I could not reach Ash yet.

Chapter 3

I swam until I grabbed Ash. He yelped in surprise as I picked him up. Once we got back, we immediatly went home. My dad ticked me in bed and my mom took my temperature. They said I had a fever. They gave me medicine.  Later on, Grandma went into my room and showed me pictures of London. She said that she had to move to London because her parents got a new job. She showed me her diary and how sad she felt to move without her friends. She kissed me goodnight and I went to sleep. I woke up hearing the TV turning channels and my dog barking. I got out of bed slowly and I got ready to do my chores. Once my mom saw me holding a broom, she picked me up and carried me back to bed. She sat next to me telling me a story about how much she wanted to be a nurse, how she went to college, and how she met my dad. She gave me some more medicine and she carried me to the couch to watch TV. I was very sad to have a fever today because I saw Beath playing outside. She looked very happy. Ash licked my face for me to cheer up. "Emily, are you feeling better?" Barry asked. "No but thanks for asking." I heard my dad picking cherries from the cherry tree. "I am going to make some baked potatos." Said Grandma. Dad came inside and put all the cherries in a basket and Grandma baked all of her peeled potatos. My mom made cherry pie.  Then, we heard a knock at the door. My mom answered and my Aunt Lilly came in. "Sorry I am late. I just had to see my family." "Lilly!" Barry yelled in excitement. They hugged. She could not go on the same plane ride as Barry. Lilly gave me a present and I opened it. It was my favorite picture frame. It had paw prints on it and a picture of Lilly and me in it. I hugged her and we walked into the kitchen. We saw my family still setting up for her aririval.

We celebrated with her for hours soon enough, it was time for me to go to bed. I woke up seeing my mom taking my temperature. Her hands were cold as ice but I was still warmed by my blanket. She said I didn't have a fever but, I should stay in bed for now. One hour later, I got up and dressed for church.  

Chapter 4

 In Church, the choir was singing and some parents were trying to stop their kids from running around. Other than that, most people were praying. One little girl with blond hair and a pink dress ran up to me and pulled on my shirt. I looked down at her and smiled. She said "I can't find my mommy." I picked her up and said," let's go find her. " A few minutes later,  she found her mom. I walked back to my mom and dad. They looked very sad and grabbed my hand. Then, they walked outside with me and I asked why they were so sad. They answered, "We were never ready to tell you this but... you had a little brother." I was sort of ok with that because I never met him anyways. My parents still rabble on about him. " He was only five." I asked kind of quietly, "How did he die?" They hugged and kissed me. " He was swimming in the ocean and a big wave crashed over him... his head hit the ground hard before we could get to him. He was knocked out  and another wave pulled him deeper into the water. When we got to him, he was already dead. We called the hospital and that's when we knew, he was never going to take one more breath one Earth." We all started to cry and went went home. At home, we decided to go to sleep for a while. I had a dream that I saw my little brother in person. He was crawling and I was walking. My dad came home and yelled, " Where is my little three and five year olds?!" In a happy and exited way. Then, I woke up. Recalling frim my dream, I whispered," Right here ."

 

 

Chapter 5

 I was about to get out of bed when, my mom came in my room. She sat next to me and held my hand. Then she said, "Honey... your father is sick. He can barely move and is in the hospital. She started to cry but then she pulled herself back together. "We might not be able to see him for a while and Ash is with him so he won't be alone all the time." She let go of my hand and walked out of my room. I waited for her to leave so I could cry. I got out of bed, wiped my eyes and got dressed. I decided to climb a tree since I didn't have anything to do. The leaves were falling and they were a beautiful orange yellow. Once I got to the top of the tree, I jumped. The wind hit my face like a flame on paper would easily catch fire. I landed on a pile of leaves and I danced on it until my mom rapidly called my name. I came inside and she looked stunned. She put me into the car and we drove to the hospital. Inside, were a lot of patience. Some pregnant, some sick, and some looked hurt, with a cast. We came into my dad's  room and Ash wagged his tail. My dad looked like he passed out but the nurse said it was just the medicine. My mom walked up to him and whisper to him but so lightly that I couldn't hear. Back at home, we made pie and went to Beath's house. We knocked on her door and  Beath's parents answered. "Hello." "Hi." We said we gave her the pie and she said "Thank you." She invited us inside but we Said we couldn't. We went back home and I climed the tree. I was sitting on the lowest branch and I decided to lay down. Once I layed down, I fell. I guess I wasn't thinking. I always had my mind set on my dad and my little brother. I walked inside to watch TV. Soon I fell asleep and I woke up hearing my mom getting my bookbag ready for school. I brushed my teeth and my hair and ate breakfast. I grabbed my bookbag, kissed my mom goodbye and walkyd to school. Beath met up with me and we talked. "How's your dad?" She askeed. "I think he is ok but how did you know about that? " She said, "Everyone knows." Then, we got to the bus stop. The bus came and we went in. Usually we don't talk on the bus because we like to look out the window. The bus quickly came to a stop and we got out. "RING RING RING!" Wentry the school bell and we all ran inside. We had science first and a boy threw a crumbled up paper at my desk. I opened it and it said, "u want to hang out after school tomorrow?  - Calon" I turned around and whispered "Sure. But for what?" Then, my teacher yelled at me to listen. She called me up and wrote my name on the board. Everyone laughed exept Beath and Calon. After school, I went home alone because Calon had football tryouts and Beath had softball. When I got home, my mom asked how I was and I said fine. I ran upstairs and into my room to cry. I thought of how everyone laughed at me and how they didn't care about me. But I didn't know that I needed to save my tears for more important things. I was about to be broken. 

Chapter 6

My mom got another call. When she was done talking, she hung up the phone and just started at a wall. She walked from the kitchen to my bedroom to tell me we had to go to the hospital now. When we got there, we were rushed to my dad's room and I saw Ash wag his tail. He was sitting on my dad's lap and I could see he was getting shots everywhere. A doctor came in and slowly explained to my mom and I that my dad was diagnosed with cancer. Then, we started to cry. Our crying was inturupted by a person saying it was time for us to leave and that we had to take Ash with us. I quickly hugged my dad goodbye and my mom kissed his forehead. We slowly and silently walked away. Ash was very tired and thirsty. He drank and ate so much. I tried to keep my mind of of my dad but I could not. I heared a knock on the door and I opened it. To my surprise it wasn't a person, it wasn't a dog, it was a card. By now, everyone knew that my dad was sick. I opened the card and it said, " It's us your two favorite friends, Calon and Beath. We have been visiting your dad too and his exact words to us were "Tell Emily and Sarah that I love them very much with all my heart and Sarah is the best wife anyone could ever have. Emily is the best daughter and gives the warmest hugs. I enjoy Sarah's kisses but tell her she missed. She was supposed to kiss my lips not my forehead. I love you guys and I miss you. You are the best family anyone could ever have. If I go, please remember goodbyes are never forever and stay strong. The doctors know what they are doing and I might be back in a week or so. Love, dad." I ran to show my mom and I started to cry. She held the card to her heart and stroked my hair. She said, "You sure do have the best dad and friends in the whole world." I hugged her and ran outside with Ash. He skipped and chased squirrles. He probably missed running and playing for a while. And I sure missed him. I knew I couldn't keep my mind off of my dad, so I grabbed a ballon from my room, a pice of paper, and a pen. I wrote, "Dear God, I know I'm asking too much of a meirical, but I want my dad to get rid of cancer and that he can come home to us. I promise I will take care of him. I wil do anything for him to get better. You know how you wold feel if that happend to you. Thank you and bye. YOU KNOW WHO I AM. Xoxo xoxo." I tapped my paper to the balloon but my mom walked in on me. I was so surprised, let go of the ballonfrom already. I flew up in the skt but my mom quickly grabed it and read it. Her eyes scrolled throught my paper and then she let go of it. She picked me up and said "It's ok, he will get better I promise." I hugged her and she put me down we came inside for dinner and Ash followed. She gave my eggs, bread, and some berries all from our chickens and gradens. I ate all if it and asked for more. She starred at me and said "One doesn't just ask for more. It is very rude and you should know that. If I had more, it would be on your plate. If you are finished, you ask if I have leftovers nit van I have more." I said sorry and she gave me more bread and eggs. She fixed herself berries and bread because that was all that was left. Sometimes, when dad was here, he wouldn't get any food because we didn't have enough. My parents never told me we were poor, but I knew we were. We barely could afford food, we get $14.00 a week. In a month we only make $56.00 dollars. We can barely afford Ash. We have to ask friends to buy dog food and for not very close friends, we have to pay them back sooner or later. I have never been to Disney or other places like that. Only on holidays, people are nice enough to give us $80.00 dollars. We already used half of it up so we have $40.00 left. I ran upstairs when I was done eating and I took all of my money out of my piggy bank and my parents' piggy bank. In all we have $180.90 dollars. I sat down in relief that we can actually afford things. Ash ran upstairs and liked my face. I pet him until he ran downstairs. It was getting late so I took a bath and fell asleep. In the morning, my mom left a note on my door saying, "Good morning. I am at the farmers market getting things. Can you plow the wheat, pick the tomatoes, and peel the oranges I left in s bowl on the kitchen. Love you." I live near the woods so I have a very big backyard. I have one tomatoe garden, one giant wheat garden, two cows, and one orange tree. The tomatoe garden has 7 rows and 4 tomatoes in each row. The wheat garden has 30 rows and 12 wheat in each row. I got dressed. (Getting dressed means to brush you teeth, brush your hair, take your pajamas off and put your normal clothes on.) I picked all the wheat and the sun finally came out. My dog was panting and I put the wheat in a mixer along with my chicken's eggs and my cow's milk. I mixed it, put it in a furnace, baked it, took it out and rolled it, put it back in and took it out. It was now bread. I weaved a basket and placed a cloth in it. Then, I cut the bread and put it in the basket. I placed it in the fridge and peeled the oranges. I picked the tomatoes and washed them off with cold and hot water. Then, I washed the oranges with hot and cold water. I placed the in separate baskets and waited for my mom to get home. Once my mom got home, she looked very tired. She dropped all of her bags on the floor. Then, she got a drink of water and almost tool a bite of the bread I made. "Mom! I made that and it took hours. Now your going to eat my hours work?" I said. She looked very sad and dull. She said, "I am sorry, it's just...life is very hard for me. I almost lost my job and your father is even worse. I am so sorry."

Chapter 7

 I looked at her and her eyes watered. I wasn't in the mood of wiping any tears. I hugged her and walked outside. The leaves were swaying and the sky was bright. It looked as if God was telling me to cheer up. I yelled "I can't cheer up because there is nothing good in life right now!" Then, I heared Ash bark at a tree. I picked him up and he licked my face. I put him down because as I said, I wasn't in the mood to be happy. I looked around to see what to do. All I wanted to do was to go to sleep. I heared cars and a loud knock on my door. I ran inside to see my mom open the door and police asking if we wanted a ride to the hospital for a surprise. My mom declined and offered them tea. They looked inside wandering why was there pictures of my little brother if he wasn't here. I answered their "question" and said, "He is dead. He died from drowning in an ocean." I stammered and ran to my room. A little while later, I heared my mom crying. I opened the door and she ran to hug me. I asked "What's going on?" She said, "Your d-d your dad... he he is almost dead. The doctors said that he would die in about a day." I started to cry and tried to shoo the officers away. But my mom said that we knew them. That their sons were in my class. We drove to the hospital and we ran into dad's room. He was awake and he looked very weak. I didn't understand why this had to happen to him, but it did. I hugged him and he stroked my soft hair. He said slowly, "You are just like your mother." I got off his bed and the my mom walked up to him and held his hand. "Sarah, you don't have to be here... It will just make you sadder." He said. My mom said, " I will be sadder if you pass away and I didn't get to say goodbye."  I turned around and saw a nurse walk near the door. She knocked and then opened the door. She held a shot and a cotton ball in her hand. She walked up to my dad and cleaned of part of his hand with the cotton ball. Then, she put the shot on his hand. He didn't care very much. Once she took the shot out, she gave him a band-aid and left. My dad said to me, " Emily, I want you to have this..." He gave me a beautiful crystal that shined when I held it. "I want you to take special care of this. It shows a symbol of my love for you. It shines even when you are down." I hugged him and said, "I love you." And he said, "I love you more than you will ever think." My mom held me and said, " I love you both more than anything." He tried to lean in close, but he was too weak. He said, "I love you all." Then, the doctor came in and polity said for us to leave. It was very dark when we got home. I decided to take a bath and go to sleep. My night prayer wasn't very pretty. I used some very colorful words. I can't belive that this was how it would end. I cried myself to sleep that night. In the morning, I ran downstairs to see if my mom was cooking breakfast. She wasn't even up yet. I saw that the bread I made was still on the table along with the oranges and the tomatoes. I got dressed and tried to sell all of the good I had made. TheRe was only one pice of bread left and I had sold everything. I ate the last pice out of hunger and I counted all the monew I had made. $70.00 dollars. I had sold 30 pieces of bread, 20 oranges, and 15 tomatoes. I went inside and walked Ash. When I came back, mom was up and made breakfast. I saw that we had grits, eggs, and gravy. She gave me one egg and some gravy. I ate it all and dI don't ask for more. I knew that she only had that much left. She ate half and egg and 3 bit's of grits. I was very worried about dad and I could never get my mind off of him. I just wanted him to get better. My mom and I heared a phone ring. She answered and looked very happy. Once she hung up, she grabbed my hand and we drove to the hospital. I don't know how, but we went in dad's  room and he was walking. He looked better tHan he was last night and he was smiling. The doctor gave him a cane to make it easier to walk. They said that he could stop using his cane in a few weeks. He looked dizzy and he almost fell. My mom picked him up and she was very surprised that he was very light. I was so exited that he was well again. Beath and Calon came over to my house. They noticed that my dad was better and they seemed very exited. They played with Ash. We were not talking and I was getting bored. "Well... let's do something. I'm bored." I said.  Calon and Beath said, "No. your dad just got better, we should leave." I didn't want them to go, but they left even when I begged them to stay. I heard my dad scream from upstairs and my mom was crying. I ran upstairs and I saw that Ash had fainted. We rushed him to the vet and she was very calm. They checked him and he appeared to be ok. He just needed more water. He woke up and we gave him fluids with water. The next day, he was better and able to come home. My life was so complicated. My dad got better, but my dog fainted. I found more facts about my brother, but my friends left me. "Emily!" My dad called. I came and he gave me wonderful looking shoes. "This is for a party." He said. Tried them in and they looked like a shiny blue. I hugged him and I took them off. He said that Calon invited me to a party. I was very exited.

Chapter 8

 By the next two weeks, dad was already running around. He was back to his normal self. Ash would always walk next to him just in case he fell. He was still trying to walk normally. The next day, I got dressed and went to school, I told Beath and Calon thar my dad was better and he can walk. They were very happy to hear that. I said that I was sorry that I couldn't meet up with Calon. He said that my dad was way more important. Our next class was Religion. In Religion, everyone was happy.  We sat next to each other and we wouldn't stop talking about my dad getting better. My religion teacher asked what was all the fuss. I said that my dad doesn't have can er anymore. She was delighted and wrote it on the board. Everyone looked at me and smiled. It was the first nice smile I had every gotten from all of my class mates. To my surprise, they actually are nice. After school, Beath and Calon came over. We talked and talked. Then, we surprised dad and mom with cards, balloons, and cancer free signs. I was very happy that he was better. But I was still sad that my brother was dead. It was getting dark and Beath had left. Calon didn't leave because he wasn't my neiboor and his parents didn't pick him up yet.  Beath knocked on our door and said that Calon and I could have a sleep over with her. So Calon called his parents, they gave him clothes and a tooth brush. We walked over to Beath's house. We didn't sleep and I was studding on how my brother died. Beath and Calon were curious  and read my studies. They were surprised that u had a brother and asked some many questions. How old was he when he died? What were you thinking when it happed. And so on. I answered all of their questions and I went to sleep. In the morning, I got a phone call. I answered and it was Calon. He was crying alot. I asked what was wrong and he said, "My parents think I know too much about your brother and then they were talking. They just pit me up to get new parents. I'm adopted. My real parents are gone." He invited me over to his new home to set up his room. He answered the door and he was wiping away tears. His new parents didn't know I was coming so they started yelling at him that he should ask to invite someone over. I went to the bathroom and I heared Calong saying to his parents, "She never went to Disney. It would be a very good welcome home present for me and a great welcome to Disney present for Emily! I'm sorry I yelled I just-" BANG! I heared a loud noise like someone got hit and then I ran out to see Calon on the floor. His dad was holding a metal stick in his hand. I ran to him and knelt on the floor. I saw his parents talking very low buy not quite like a whisper. His brown hair was covered with red blood. I tried to reach the phine, but his mom took it away from me. They pocked me up and threw me out of the house. I was banging on the door asking for them to let me in. An old man approached me and asked what was the matter. I said, "They they have him! Please sir help me open the door please." Tears were falling from my eyes down to my shirt. He called the owners of the neighborhood and they unlocked the door. I ran in and there, the mom and dad were dragging him up the attic. I ran towards the mom and pushed her off the ladder that they were climbing on. She fell of and hit her head hard. The dad was already up the attic. I could hear the police and people yelling for me to get down. I turned and faced the entrance of the attic and saw many kids laying on the floor begging for food and water. Some couldnt talk because they had duck tape around their mouth. The next thing I knew were the police grabbing me and cradleed me up with a blanket. Then, they shot the dad and quickly grabbed Valon. "Where's Calon?! I need Calon!" I demanded. The police brought him to me and I asked if he was ok. His eyes were closed and he didn't answer. The police asked me if he had parents and I said not anymore. You shot his new ones and his old parents don't want anything to do with him. I saw the other police holding about 15 kids who were quivering. The ambulance came and picked every kid up including Calon. The news came too. They walked up to me and asked many questions. After half an hour, they were talking to others. By the next week, Calon was back with his actual parents and they were very happy to have him back. Beath came over and kept asking me what did you feel like. And is Calon ok. We heared a knock at the door and I answered. It was Calon's mom. She said that Calon was ok, but he has a concussion. She gave me another picture of my brother and said, "I think that you should have this. At least Calon did. I hope that you were ok during all of that." Ash ran up to her and tugged on her scarf. "It's ok." Ash stop." I said. Ash stopped and sat down. She looked like she was uncomfortable she she said she got up and said she had to go. She left and Beath had to leave too. The next day, Calon knocked on my door. I answered and he came in. I asked if he was ok and he said yes. He said, " If it weren't for you, I would have been in the attic, starving...or wors. Thank you for not giving up on me. For not letting me die." I said your welcome and we sat down on the couch, discussing the pictured with my brother in it. " My mom said that no one else noticed him when he was drowning." Calon said.  I said, " But what if someone did, what if... he didn't drown? We have to look for him. Go on your phone look him up and ask what beach did he die at. My parents said that he doesn't have a grave." 

 

Chapter 9

 It was time to go to the party. I was in a dark blue dress with my dark blue heels. Once I got to the part, I knocked on the door. Calon and Beath answered. They looked very exited and pulled me inside. It looked very big with so many stairs. I looked around and saw maids cleaning. "Wow!" I cried.  "I have never seen a house like this before." Calon looked upset and said, "It is from my mom. She said that big houses are the best. I just don't want to be treated like a king even if it's on my birthday." Not talking about the subject, Beath said, "Let's swim!" I looked outside and saw a one mile seimming pool in the backyard. "Wow"! I yelled. He didn't look very proud of having a big house. I asked what was the matter and he said, "I never wanted to be the center of attention. My mom invited people I don't even know. She looks best to be the center of attention so I guess she wants me to be like her." I saw that Beath had already put her bathing suit on. "I will go change." I said. I went to the bathroom to change and even the mirrors had golden chains around them. I walked out and Beath and Calon were very surprised. They said I looked great. Calon already got his bathing suit on also so we jumped in the pool. We kept on splashing water at each other until we saw the lifeguard. I whispered to Calon and Beath "A life guard! Who has a lifeguard at their house!?" Calon looked at me and smiled. Beath jumped on Calon and I laughed. The lifeguard blew his whistle and yelled at us. "Sorry." We said. We got out of the pool and dried off. I washed my hair. Beath washed her hair too. Calon just wet his hair.m, not caring for it. A few hours later, Beath had to go. Calon and I went to the kitchen to see what his mom was making. It looked like pizza and soup. We sat at the table and ate. When we finished, Calon said, " Emily, do you want to see something?" I said "See what?" He lead me to his room and I followed. He pulled out something from under his bed. It was a picture of a boy that looked like my brother. "It has been here for a while and my parents won't answer my questions about him." He said. I examined the picture closely. "It looked like my brother...the same eyes, the same hair. That's my mom and my dad right in the corner of the picture." For sure that's my brother." I exclaimed. We starred at each other. He grabbed his phone and called Beath saying to come over. In an hour, she was here and we told her the whole story. "Who took the picture?" She asked . "It has to be someone who is a very good friend of mine." We looked at Calon and we ran to his mom. We asked if she went to the beach lately and she said yes. We showed her the picture and she looked away. "I don't want anything to do with that!" We begged her to say something. She said that she was there that day and nothing else. My mother picked me up from Calon's house and we went home. It was dark so I went to bed.

Chapter 10

 The next month, Calon knocked on my door. I opened it and he was holding a gift. I invited him inside and he handed it to me. I opened it and inside was a necklace. It had a beautiful blue crystal and on the chain it had a heart on it. He put it on me and I hugged him. Surprised, he slowly hugged me back. "I am so glad your ok. I missed you." I pushed him to the ground and said madly but happily, "You scared me! Never ever scare me like that again!" He pulled himself up and smiled. "I won't. At least I won't try to." I ran to my room to get him a gift. He opened it and it was seven Disney tickets. He got very exited and he asked, "How? You you shouldn't have! Your wasting money." I smiled and said, "No. I just made your day." I wasn't mad that I wasted tons of money. I was very happy for him. He deserved it. Ash ran up to him and licked his leg. "Hey little bubbly! I missed you too." Calon said. Ash jumped on him and licked him some more. "So... What's goi. ng on with your parents?" I asked. " Nothing really. They always say for me to stay in bed. They worry about the things that could happen to me now that What happened." His phone rang and he answered. "Yes mom I'm ok. I will be fine. Don't worry. I love you too." Calon said. "Sorry I have to go." We hugged bye and he walked out. I sat down admiring my new necklace. I look up and saw Ash holding a picture of my brother, dead. I stared at it wandering, who would of seen him and not save him. Ash jumped in n the door and opened it. I saw the trees moving back and fourth like they were saying, "Go on. Find out what happened to your brother. See if he is still alive." I said to my mom and dad that I was gone by out to see my brother's grave. They were ok with it and said for me to be back soon. I walked outside with Ash. Once we reached the nearest graveyard, I looked everywhere for his name but I couldn't find it. I walked about five miles longer, I found the next graveyard. I looked everywhere and the last grave said, "Here lies Tobby. 2009-2017 R.I.P." I stared at it. Ash ran up to it and howled. I sat next to him and pet him. About a half an hour later, we left. When we came back home, my parent were cooking dinner. "It's getting late. Why don't you take a shower?" I ran upstairs and took a shower. When I got out, Ash was there waiting for me by the door. We ran downstairs to eat. We ate crawfish. My parents asked, "Did you find his grave?" I said, "Yes ma'am and yes sir. It took me a while to find the grave but I did. I picked some flowers to put on the grave." When I was done eating, I put my plate in the pile of dirty dishes and I went to my room. I layers in bed looking at all the pictures I had of Tobby, my brother. Most of the color faded, but it still look detailed. Soon enough, I fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. My mom answered and said, "Hello Beath. Please do come in. Would you like anything to eat?" Beath sat down and said, "No thank you. My father says that he will make me breakfast right around seven. Is Emily awake?" My mom said, "Proboaly not. I could wake her up if you want." "No please I would like her to sleep. I have to go. Thank you for offering me food, but as I said, my father is getting me breakfast." My mom said, "Ok. Well have a nice breakfast." Beath left and she skipped to her house. I went downstairs and got dressed. My mom was making me breakfast. It was bread and one scrambled egg. I grabbed the plate it was on and I ran outside. I sat on the wet grass. I ate my breakfast and I climbed the fence to get to the front yard. I ran around everywhere just to get my energy out. I walked in the house and I put my plate in the sink. "Anything new?"Did you find anymore pictures of Tobby?" My mom asked. "Yes. Actually I have them in my room. I'll go get them." I ran upstairs and grabbed all the pictures. I showed them to my mom and she pondered them. She gave them back and said,"Your brother was a very good writer. When I was younger, I used to write books and I would give them to my parents to read." I said, "Well maybe he got them writing skills from you." We both smiled and starred at each other until my dad came in. "Dang it!" He yelled. "What happened?" We asked. He smiled and he got very excited. "I found some tickets to Disney!" I saw it on your dresser and it had a piece of paper on it." He gave me the piece of paper and it said, " I heard you have never been to Disney. Here are some tickets to..... Disney! From Calon." I knew I had them but I forgot. I thought to myself, if it was on my dresser, then I would have knew he had given it to me. "I am so excited!" I yelled. "Ring Ring Ring!" Went my dad's phone. "Hello. Oh really. Poor girl. I hope she gets better." He hung up and said to us, my very close friend's daughter has cancer too. All she has ever been wanting to do is to go to Disney. Emily, would you be nice enough to give her the tickets you have?" I felt bad for her but on the other hand, I didn't want to give the tickets away. My wish finally had came true, but now I have to give them away. "Ok. I would be glad to." My dad hugged me and said, "you are very kind. I know it's hard to give away something you have been dying to go to." I was mad that I couldn't go to Disney and I blurted out, "We don't need to give her Disney tickets! I have been waiting all my life to go to Disney and now that she knows she has cancer, all of a sudden she wants to go to Disney!" I ran to my room and slammed to door. I looked out of my window and saw kids playing outside. Some on bikes and some were playing with toy cars. My mom opened my door and sat on my bed. I looked at her and all she did was smile. " just think of her happy face when she gets to Disney. She will be so happy. I hope you know that there are people out there who are living worse lives than we are."

Chaper 11

 The next day we went to the hospital. I looked through the door window and saw a little girl. She looked like she was seven. Her brown hair was long and her eyes were watering. Her mom and dad were talking to a nurse outside the room. I saw ballons sns get well cards everywhere. I opened the door, hiding the tickets behind my back. I showed them to her and said, "I heared you like Disney." She looked at me and smiled. I gave them to her and she got very excited. " No one has every given me more than ballons and cards. You don't know me and you gave me something I love. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much." She said. I smiled and waves goodbye. We slowly walked out with a smile on our faces. We drove home. I felt very good, but sad. Wouldn't you feel like that if you wanted to go somewhere so bad and when you finally got the chance you had to give it away. I heard everyone is going somewhere this weekend and if someone asks where am I going I would have to say nowhere and listen while they talk about their trip. "Honey! Can you get this box?" My mom asked when we went inside. I picked up the box and carried it upstairs. It was tapped so I couldn't open it. It was very heavey and very hard to carrie upstairs. I placed it carfully in my room. I wanted to open it so bad. On the side of it was a pice of paper that said, "Do NOT open." That made me tempted enough to open it. I opened it and inside were news papers and pictures of Tobby. I took out the newspaper and it said, " Tobby Shots drowned in the Flamingo Beach in January 7. Please contact us if you have more information. 954-634-715." I heard my mom walk upstairs and I hid the newspaper behind my back. "Sweetie have you see my-" She saw that the box was open and she knew that I read the paper. "Sorry" I said. She looked at me and I looked down. "Newspaper..."She said. I handed her the newspaper and she walked downstairs. I decided to take things in my own hands. I took all the pictures and put the neatly in a pile. One by one I sorted them out like a picture book story. In one picture I saw a giant wave coming towards Tobby, and my dad running to grab him. It was only big enough to pick up someone the perfect size as Tobby. Exept in the next picture was Tobby lying on the sand. Only of you looked close you could see a bullet in his chest near his heart. I wave didn't hit him, a bullet did. I ran downstairs to show my parents. "Mom dad! Look what I found look look!" I yelled. They came running to me. "What is it?" They asked. "The the picture. The bullet see. Do you see it?" I pointed at the bullet in the picture. They looked surprised. My dad was the first one to speak, "That-that looks like the perfect bullet to the heart. Someone must of knew we were coming if he killed no one else." My mom didn't speak. She just starred at the picture. "I have more." I mumbled. My dad said, "I don't think we are ready for more pictures yet." I walked upstairs and went to sleep. 

Chapter 12

 In the morning I got dressed and vacuumed the floor. After that was done, my parent woke up. It was about eight twenty when they started to make me pancakes. They made homemade sugar cane syrup to use. It was in the shape of Mickey mouse and it had strawberry eyes with a butter mouth. It had syrup dripping down the edge. I took small bites knowing I didn't get pancakes very much. It tasted like soft fluff cake, but instead of frosting it had syrup. It was the best pancake I had ever ate. "We'll.." My mom said. "I made it myself. Do you like it?" I nodded my head with a mouth full of pancake. When I finished eating, I fed Ash. "Emily, can you wash the dishes? I'm very busy today. I have to go to a meeting today. I'll be back soon. Love you." My mom rushed to get her coat and left. There wasn't a lot of plates in the sink so I cleaned them very fast. I heard a knock on the door and I opened it. "Hi Beath." I said. "Hi." Beath said back. "Do you think that this will help you with finding out what happened to your brother?" She showed me a picture that looked like Tobby sitting in front of a sign that said, " Welcome to Robbie's boat shop." "I got to go." She said. I didn't even look up to say bye. I ran inside and put the picture in my room. About three hours later, my mom came inside. "Emily, it's the perfect weather go go walking. Do you want to," My mom said excitedly. I didn't want to go but I said yes. It was very windy, but not cold.  A few hours later, I could see the town. It wasn't very far from where we were. When we reached the town, I saw little kids playing jump rope. Some little girls were sitting on a water fountain and braiding each other's hair. Some boys were holding coins, making a wish, and throwing them in the fountain. Little kids loved the town. Everyone loved the town. It was getting  very dark, but my mom didn't turn around. She just kept on walking, never sped up never slowed down. When we did walk home, my legs were so tired and my throat was dry. I couldn't take one more step. My mom lifted me up and cared me to the house. I drank a lot of water and went to sleep.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 12.12.2016

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Widmung:
I would like to thank my dog, Ash for inspiring me to write a book about a dog and it's owner and one of my best friends, Sofia who introduced me into this Sofia's user name: Falling, and Falling https://www.bookrix.com/-ml7c7586c56df75/