Momma's Rose Garden (Chapter Book from Early to Middle Grade Readers)

Chapter One




It was a breezy September day when my life I cherished had changed for the worst. It all began when Papa was coming home from work. I was working on my multiplication tables in my bedroom. In the midst of my homework, I heard his rusty Toyota Pick-Up pull into our dirt driveway. I stopped what I was doing and went to the window to see who it was. Papa had just gotten out of his truck and closed the door. He was walking slowly to front door. I rushed to the door to greet him. When I opened the door, his face was pale like he has seen a ghost. I tugged on his plaid coat to see if I could his attention. He wiped the sawdust from his torn blue overalls and turned to look at me.

“Poppa what’s wrong?”

Papa bent down and gave me a hug. I felt like I was hugging air. The emptiness and hollow feeling I got when he hugged gave me goose bumps. He crept back up to his feet and took a couple deep breaths. He turned to hang up his plaid coat and walked past me. I knew something was wrong but didn’t know what since he hasn’t answered my question. Mama walked toward him, but he wouldn’t even look her in the eyes.

“What’s wrong love?” Mama lifted up his head with her fingers and waited patiently for him to answer.

Papa quietly said something in her ear, then I saw that both of them crying. Mama tried her best to hide her worry and the sadness from me but I knew something bad must have happened to make both of them so upset.

Mama calmly asked us to come to table for dinner. All three of us sat quietly down to the table. We said our grace and an uncomfortable silence followed. I couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Mama, Papa, what’s going on here? Why are you both crying?” I blurted out.

Papa put his hand on Mama’s shoulder and turned to look at me with puffy eyes. “Honey, I have some bad news. I don’t have a job anymore”

Gripping onto my Papa’s hand with all my might, the worry started to overfill my head.

“How come Papa?” I could feel my stomach tighten waiting for his response. Mama turned toward me and put her hand in mine and said calmly,

“Sometimes companies have more employees than they have money and can’t afford to keep all of them. Understand?”

“Yes Mama, I understand. What are we going to do though?” My heart was beating so fast that I couldn’t breathe so I buried my head in my Momma’s chest. Listening to her heart beating seemed to calm me down.

“Sweetie, I’m going to do whatever I can to find myself a job.” Papa reached out to hold my trembling hands.

After a long discussion, we finished dinner and all helped clear the table. It was almost bedtime so I headed towards my bedroom and changed into my pajamas.

Mama came in and tucked me into bed.

“I know right now we have a lot on our plates,” she turned her head for a second and wiped the tears from her eyes, then looked back at me. “With a little faith and courage we will make it through this rough patch.” She kissed my cheek and headed out the door.

“I love you Mama,”

“I love you too darling. Sweet dreams,” she said. Walking out of my bedroom.

The following morning I woke up and headed toward the kitchen for breakfast. Papa was sitting at the table with his only black suit, finishing up his breakfast. I walked over to Mama to see what she was making me for breakfast.

“Mama, what’s for breakfast?”

Mama turned toward me and wiped the grease on her hands on her “Greatest Mother” apron. She looked at me and said,

“Scrambled eggs and toast, sounds good?”

“Sure does. Smells like a piece of heaven.” I walked over to take a seat at the table. My stomach was getting the best of me today.

Mama hanged up her greasy apron on the stove, pulled back her long black hair her eyes and sat down at the table next to me. Mama handed me the pan of scrambled eggs and I put a large spoonful on my plate. I grabbed the raspberry jam and started to put it on my toast. Mama and I began to eat our breakfast.

“Mama, what’s going to happen to us?”

“What do you mean?” she asked. She wiped the jelly from her face and looked up at me.

“Do we have to move? Are you going to lose our house?” The questions started flowing from my mouth and the more I thought about what might happen to us, I started to lose my appetite.

“I don’t know sweetie. Let’s hope we don’t have to move, and pray that your Papa finds a job soon.” Mama put down her toast and rested her head in her hands.

I could tell by the way she covered her head that she is just as worried as I am. We finished eating our breakfast and I helped Mama with the dishes. As I was walking into my room to get ready for school, I saw Papa standing in front of the full-length mirror. He had his short black hair slicked back over his bushy

I saw Poppa eating a few quick bites of his breakfast and head towards his truck.

“Poppa what are you doing,” I asked. Yanking on his black dress coat.

“Trying to find myself a job,” said Poppa. Tapping me on my shoulder.

“Good luck Poppa,” I said. Giving him a giant bear hug.

Poppa kissed Momma and me on our foreheads and drove off. As soon as he disappeared, Momma and I went back inside and ate our breakfast. After breakfast I finished getting ready for school and headed out to toward the bus stop. When the bus came, Momma kissed me on my forehead and waved good-bye. I took a seat by Shauna and Denise sat behind me.

“What’s with the grim face?” asked Shauna. Looking right at me.

“Nothing much, just that Poppa got the boot from his boss. I don’t know what will happen next,” I said. Looking out the window.

“Well maybe, it won’t be so bad. You know, we never know,” said Denise. Smiling cheek to cheek.

“Who knows?” I said. Shrugging my shoulders.

Through the entire school day I tried my best to put my worries to the side and focus on my friendship with Shauna and Denise. They always have a way to bring some light into my darkness. When school was out for the day all three of us squashed up together and sat in the crowded seat of the bus. We were like a human sandwich and I was the Salami. All of a sudden I felt something come up and pinch me from behind.

“Ow, whose the one that pinched me,” I said. Trying to hold in my laughter.

I turned my head and looked at Denise and I could tell that she was going to burst out laughing any minute. I turned to look at Shauna and she just shook her head and pointing to Denise. We laughed all the way to the bus stop.

“See you guys tomorrow,” I said. Waving to them.

As I approached the door I could hear screaming going on inside the house. I slowly turned the doorknob and shut the door. Although I didn’t have any clue what the yelling was about, I knew it wasn’t good. I tapped my Momma on her back. She turned to see who it was. She covered the phone and began to speak to me.

“Wait one minute Sierra, can’t you see I’m busy?” snapped Momma. She turned around and finished yelling over the phone.

I ran into my room and slammed the door. I buried my head in my pillow and started crying a flood of tears. Finally I heard Momma slam the phone back on the hook. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm me down and wiped my tears on my sleeves. I quietly crept into the kitchen carefully not to startle Momma.

“What’s the matter Momma?” I asked. Tugging on her sweater.

“The bank says if we don’t come down with the money soon, they will close down the house and we have no choice but to move,” said Momma. Wiping the tears off her cheeks.

“I don’t want to move Momma! I want to stay here,” I cried. Hugging Momma tightly.

“I know you don’t and neither do I. Let’s just hope that Poppa found a job so we can stay here,” said Momma. Kissing me on my forehead.

After the discussion, I unpacked my backpack and started to work on my multiplication tables. Midway through my homework I heard Poppa’s rusted old truck pull into the driveway. I stopped what I was doing and ran to greet Poppa at the door.

“How is the job hunting going Poppa?” I asked. Secretly crossing my fingers behind my back.

“Slowly,” Poppa said. With a blank look upon his face.

Momma walked toward Poppa and gave him a hug.

“Any luck honey?” asked Momma.

“None so far. Why what’s wrong?” asked Poppa.

“I just got off the phone with our bank and they are threatening to kick us out if we don’t come up with doe by next week,” said Momma. As tears started to streak down her face.

“Poppa, you need to find a job. I don’t want to leave our home,” I said. Squeezing Momma’s hand tightly.

“Honey, I’m trying really hard but sometimes it takes a while before anything happens,” said Poppa. Hugging me tightly.

We all sat down and begin to eat our dinner. We didn’t say a single word to each other at the table. We all got dressed for bed and went to sleep. The following morning while Momma was cooking breakfast, I heard someone knocking on the door loudly.

Knock Knock

I ran to the door to see who was at our front door.

“Wait Sierra, don’t open the door yet,” yelled Momma.

“Why not Momma?” I asked.

“Peek through the eye hole to see who it is first,” said Momma.

So I got up on a stool and went to peek through the eyehole on the door.

I saw two men dressed in black suits standing in front of the door.

“Honey, what do you see?” asked Momma.

“There are two men in black suits and serious looks upon their faces Momma,” I said. Turning to look at Momma.

Momma slowly opened the door to let the gentlemen in black inside our house.

“Sierra, go to your room please,” said Momma. With a stern look on her face.

“Why Momma? Who are these men?” I asked Momma.

“Just go to your room, this is probably about the house,” said Momma.

So I slowly walked to my room down the hall and listened quietly to the conversation in the living room. I could tell by the screaming going on between my Momma and the men that the news wasn’t good. As soon as I heard the door slam shut I ran to the living room. When I arrived, I saw that my Momma’s face was all flushed.

“What happened Momma?” I asked.

“Those men were from our bank,” said Momma. Wiping tears from her eyes. Taking a deep breath she continued.

“They told me that we have until the end of this month to pay for our house or they’ll foreclose the house,” said Momma. Looking up at me. Then burying her face in her hands.

“What we do Momma?” I asked. Hugging Momma tightly.

“I don’t know darling, maybe your Poppa found himself a job,” said Momma.

Right after Momma and I had our discussion, Poppa came home. When Poppa entered the house, Momma looked up at him with her puffy red eyes.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Poppa asked.

“We just got a visit from our bank. They give us till the end of this month to pay them before they foreclose our house,” said Momma. Burying her head into Poppa’s shoulder.

Poppa took a quick glance at the calendar and then looked down at Momma.

“That gives us two weeks before they kick us out. Hopefully by then I would have a job,” said Poppa. Trying to keep a calm face.

The next morning, I woke up and noticed that Poppa’s beat up truck was outside in the lawn with a sign on it. I walked over to Poppa and tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around and looked down at me.

“What’s the matter Honey?” asked Poppa.

“Poppa why are you selling your truck?” I asked him.

“Because we need the money, I haven’t had any luck finding a job and we have to do what we need to live,” explained Poppa.

“How are you going to search for a job Poppa, if you sell your truck?” I asked.

“Your Momma is going to lend me the van for the time being,” said Poppa. With a smile.

“Breakfast is ready,” called Momma.

Poppa and I sat down at the table and we all ate our breakfast. After breakfast I finished getting ready for school. Poppa came over to me and kissed me on the forehead.

“Wish me luck honey, let’s hope I get a job soon,” said Poppa.

“Luck Poppa, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” I said. Smiling back at him.

Poppa hopped into the van and drove off in search for a job. I picked up my school bag and headed out the door to wait for the bus.

“Bye Momma, see you after school!” I shouted. As I walked out the door.

“Love you honey, have fun,” said Momma. Smiling from cheek to cheek.

A few minutes after I made it to my bus stop, the bus arrived. As I walked onto the bus I could see my two best friends Shauna and Denise eagerly awaiting my arrival.

“What are you two clown so happy about?” I said. Trying to keep a straight face.

“Waiting for you of course!” said Denise and Shauna.

Something about them made me want to burst out into laughter.

“You guys crack me up,” I said. Bursting into laughter.

Through the entire bus ride to school Shauna and Denise kept me laughing. By the time we arrived to school, I could hardly breathe.

“Ha, now look what you did,” I said. Trying to calm myself down.

“Your face looks like a tomato,” said Shauna.

“You should see yourself now in a mirror,” said Denise. Laughing hysterically

“You started it though,” I said. Pointing to Shauna.

All three of us started laughing uncontrollably. We laughed so hard that it made my stomach hurt.

“Oh I hope I don’t have to move. You guys are the best friends that anyone could have,” I said. Giving a deep sigh.

“We hope you don’t move either,” said Shauna and Denise together.

School went by pretty quickly. Before I knew it, school was over and I was back on the bus again. This time we just sat quietly together for the whole way to my house. When the bus arrived I picked up my belongings and gave each of them a hug.

“Love you guys, see you tomorrow,” I said. As I stepped off the bus.

“Love you too,” shouted Denise and Shauna. Waving out the window.

When I walked into the house, Momma was sitting at the table.

“Momma, I’m home,” I shouted.

“Hi honey, how was your day?” said Momma.

“My day was fine, Momma what you doing?” I asked.

“Just counting to see how much money we have,” answered Momma.

“Do we have to move Momma?” I asked.

“It seems that way, let’s just see if your Poppa had any luck finding himself a job,” said Momma.

“Okay Momma, I’m going to my room to get started on my homework,” I said.

“I’ll come and get you for dinner sweetie,” said Momma.

As I started my homework, I heard the van pull up in the driveway. I ran up to the door to greet Poppa at the door.

“ Hi Poppa, did you find a job yet?” I said. Giving Poppa a big bear hug.

“No luck yet honey,” said Poppa. Hugging me tightly.

Poppa walked over to Momma and leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. Momma turned her head and looked up at Poppa.

“Did you find a job yet honey?” asked Momma.

“No not yet,” said Poppa. Shaking his head.

“We only have a thousand dollars left between the money we received from your truck and what’s left in our savings,” said Momma. Squeezing Poppa’s hand tightly.

“Well we have a week left to try to come up with the money before they come and kick us out,” said Poppa. Trying to reassure Momma that everything will be okay.

Poppa and I set the table while Momma finished cooking dinner. We all sat down and at dinner in complete silence.

The next morning I heard a bunch of racket going on in the room next door. So I went to go see what all the noise is about. I saw Momma and Poppa gathering some of our belongings.

“What’s going on Momma?” I asked.

“We need to get rid of some of things we don’t have to have so we can make money,” said Poppa. Putting some paintings and miniature statues away in a box.

We all got a bunch of boxes and started to put everything we could find into the boxes. We laid everything out in the lawn for the garage sale. The house seemed very empty since the majority of the stuff was gone. At the end of day, we all came back inside. Momma and Poppa sat at the table and counted up the earnings from the garage sale.

“How much money did we make Poppa?” I asked.

“ We made a little over a hundred dollars from the sale Sierra,” said Poppa.

“I guess we have no choice but to move then right Momma?” I asked Momma. Trying to hold in my tears.

“I’m afraid so honey,” said Momma. Hugging me tightly.

After we finished putting everything away from the sale, we got ready for dinner. While we sat down at the table eating our dinner quietly, there was a loud knock at the door disturbing our silence.

“Momma, who’s at the door at this time of day?” I asked Momma.

“I don’t know sweetie,” said Momma. Shrugging her shoulders.

Poppa got up from his seat and went to answer the door.

“Who is at the door honey?” called Momma from in the kitchen.

“It’s those guys from the bank,” said Poppa.

Momma and Poppa greeted the guys from the bank at the door. I went to stick my nose out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. I could tell it wasn’t good. As soon as they left I ran into the living room to see what was going on.

“What did they want Momma?” I asked her.

“They told us,” said Momma. Taking a few breaths she finished her sentence.

“That we have twenty four hours to pack our belongings and move out,” Momma continued. Burying her face into Poppa’s shoulder.

It’s not fair, what about my friends? Where do I go to school? Tears started streaking down my cheeks as the mere thought of leaving Shauna and Denise behind. The image of leaving them was making me sick to my stomach.









Chapter Two

I ran to my room in tears and my Momma followed me soon after.

“I know this is tough for all of us, sweetie but we all have to be strong and things will look up after awhile,” said Momma.

“It’s not fair Momma, it’s not fair” I said with tears still streaming down my face. “I know sweetheart, we will make it through this and everything will be all right, you’ll see,” said Momma. Trying to calm me down.

I finished getting ready for my final day at school. I kissed Momma good-bye and waited outside for the bus to arrive. When the bus finally arrived my heart was beating twice as fast than normal. I stepped into the bus and I could see Shauna and Denise with big grins on their face. I walked towards them with my head down.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Shauna.

“There isn’t anything wrong with me,” I said. Avoiding eye contact.

“If nothing’s wrong with you, then why can’t you look up at us?” asked Denise. Placing her hands on her hips.

I took a deep breath and started mumbling.

“Speak up girlfriend, you’re mumbling,” said Shauna.

I took in a couple of deep breaths and slowly looked at them with my puffy red eyes meeting up with their eyes. I started to explain to them why I was so upset.

“We have to move,” I said.

“Why do you have to move? Didn’t your Dad find a job yet?” asked Denise.

“No he hasn’t had any luck. I know he is really trying to find a job but with everybody after a job the pickings are very slim. We sold just about all our possessions and Poppa even sold his truck. We just don’t have enough money to stay here,” I explained. Before I knew it I was bursting into tears.

“That’s too bad. We’ll miss you,” said Shauna and Denise. Hugging me tightly

“Let’s make the most of our last day together,” said Shauna.

I nodded and the whole trip to the school we cracked jokes and made funny faces. They really know how to cheer me up. School went faster than I expecting. When I walked outside with my two best friends next to me I saw my Momma’s van waiting in the parking lot.

“Looks like someone is ready for you to hit the road,” said Denise. Giving me a slap across my back.

“Maybe she is but I’m sure not ready to say good-bye yet,” I said.

“Got a plan?” asked Shauna. With her hands on her hips anticipating an answer from me.

I look at her and gave them both a nod. We huddled up and started whispering a plan to one another. We ran the opposite direction of the crowd and into the gym. We decided to take out our frustration on the basketball court and started shooting hoops.

“You make a pretty basketball player when you’re angry,” teased Denise.

“Too bad I don’t get angry often, our basketball team might win,” I joked. Suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Is my Momma still out there?” I asked.

Shauna went to peek out the window.

“Yep, she looks like the only one left in the parking lot,” said Shauna.

“I’ll better get going then before she becomes angry,” I said.

“We’ll go with you then, make like Dorothy, scarecrow and the lion in the Wizard of Oz,” said Shauna and Denise together.

We walked slowly out the door arm in arm to my old beat up van. When we finally arrived, Momma didn’t look too happy.

“What took you so long Sierra,” asked Momma. Her hands on her hips and tapping her foot. .

“Sorry Momma, I want to make the most of my last day of school, that’s all,” I said. Looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact with Momma.

“I know you’re going to miss your friends but we have a long trip ahead of us, understand?” said Momma. As she lifts my head so our eyes meet.

“Yes Momma I understand,” I said. Forcing a smile on my face.

Shauna, Denise and I huddled together one last time and gave each other a great big bear hug before climbing into the van.

“Keep in touch girlfriend, remember friends forever” said Shauna and Denise. In perfect harmony together.

Shauna put her “Friends Forever” necklace around my neck “Thanks, but I can’t take this from you. I gave it to you when you moved here,” I said. Carefully taking off the necklace from my neck.

“Don’t be silly, I want you to have it so you can remember us,” said Shauna. Carefully putting the necklace back on around my neck.

“I’ll never forget you,” I said. As tears started streaming down my face.

“Better not,” said Shauna and Denise. Trying their best to be strong and forcing a half smile on their faces.

I started to climb up in the van and sat down in the seat. I rolled down the window.

“I love you both, hope this isn’t the last time I will see you,” I said.

“Love you too,” said Shauna and Denise.

As Momma pulled out of the parking lot, all I could do was stare out the window watching Shauna and Denise wave. Farther from the school we got the smaller they got. When we arrived at the house Poppa had just finished packing. Momma and I got out of the van and helped Poppa pack the rest of the luggage into the van.

I sat in the van with Momma and Poppa. Staring out the window watching our house disappear in the background. I held on to the necklace Shauna and Denise gave me and stared at the picture of us the whole way there. We drove for hours until we reached a trailer park with about six homes. We finally arrived in to our small house. It was a small one-bedroom house with cracked windows and torn tapestry covering the windows. All of us started to unload the cars one by one into the house.

“Momma, its so small, we won’t all fit in here” I cried out.

“I know darling it is small but we can’t afford anything bigger for the time being” said Momma. As the tears started flowing down her cheeks. All I could think about was our old home and my friends back in the old neighborhood. After we finished packing, Momma made us all sandwich’s for dinner.

“How come you’re not eating honey?” asked Momma.

“I’m not hungry,” I said.

“You need to try to eat to keep up your strength,” said Momma.

“I don’t feel good, I miss my friends Momma,” I cried. Tears started to pour from my eyes.

“I know you do, I miss our old house too,” said Momma. Hugging me tightly. Being away from my friends was making me home sick and I just couldn’t stomach much of anything. After dinner I walked into the cramped living room and went to lie down on the small and scrunched up Futon. Through out the entire night I kept tossing and turning only dreaming about my friends and neighbors back home. So I sneaked into Momma and Poppa’s room and crept into their bed.

“What’s wrong Sierra?” asked Poppa. With his eyes half open.

“I can’t sleep Poppa, I keep dreaming of Shauna and Denise,” I said. Snuggling close to Poppa’s chest.

“It’s alright, you can sleep here if you want to,” whispered Poppa.

“Thank you, love you Poppa,” I said quietly.

“Love you too,” said Poppa.

I suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning I woke up and headed towards the kitchen and I saw Poppa g

“Where are you going Poppa?” I asked with a smile.

“Looking for a job honey,” Poppa said smiling back at me.

Poppa drove away in the van searching for a job. Momma had finished making breakfast and called for me to come in and eat.

“Sierra! Breakfast is ready!” called Momma.

“Coming Momma,” I called back. Running to the kitchen.

I took a seat and ate breakfast with Momma. After breakfast Momma and I washed the dishes in the sink and laid them out to dry. Momma went into her bedroom and changed into some gardening clothes.

“Momma what are you doing?” I asked.

“Getting ready to add some color to this bleak house,” said Momma. Smiling.

“Can I help you Momma?” I asked.

“Sure you can sweetie, go get the watering can and my trowel,” said Momma.

She pointed the gardening can and the trowel that was sitting at the side of the house. I walked over to the side of the house and grabbed the watering can and trowel. I followed Momma





While Momma started making breakfast I heard loud noises coming from outside so I went to the window to see where the noise was coming from. A few doors down from our house I saw a man banging on the door and screaming.

“LET ME IN OR I”LL BREAK THE DOOR DOWN!” the man yelled as his voice got louder and louder.

“Honey, get away from the window!” yelled Momma from a distance.

“Why Momma? I just want to see what’s going on over there,” I whined at Momma.

“It’s not safe Sierra, if that man sees you he might come after us next. So I am begging you to please stay away from all windows and doors until he is gone.” Momma said angrily.

“Oh alright Momma,” I said as I slowly back away from the window.

Momma very quickly closed the tapestry over the cracked window and double bolted all the doors. I carefully and quietly turned off the lights and TV; I waited patiently and silently for the noise and the danger to disappear.





Chapter Three

After the noise faded Momma went to peak out the window to make sure it was safe. When it was all clear, Momma finished making me breakfast and started to gather her planting tools and put her sunhat on. When I finished my breakfast I followed my Momma outside.

“Momma, what are you planting?” I asked with a grin on my face.

“Roses my love, to represent beauty and love,” said Momma glancing at me. “Think of like this sweetie, at first it is just a seed, but with love, care and plenty of attention it grows into something filled with the beauty and love that we give,” Momma said to me with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Can I help plant the flowers Momma?” I asked

“Sure you can Baby. You can help by pulling all the weeds out of the garden.” Momma said as she was handing me the trowel.

I started to work in the garden with Momma digging out the weeds in the garden while Momma planted rows for the seeds. Momma gave me a handful of seeds and showed me how to plant them in the soil. After all the seeds were planted Momma handed me the watering can to water the flowers.

Right after we finished planting the roses, Poppa came home after searching for a job. I could tell by the expression on his face that he was exhausted from hunting for a new job. When he stepped out of his truck, I ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

“Poppa, you’re home!” I shouted with joy.

Momma got up from her knees, brushed off the dirt on her pants and gave Poppa a kiss on his forehead.

“How did the job hunting go, dear?” Momma said with a grimace of hope on her face.

“I interviewed at two different places and filled out over a dozen applications. So I should hopefully hear from them sometime by the end of the week,” said Poppa holding onto Momma’s hands.

After we sat down to eat lunch we went out and took a look at the new school that I would be going to tomorrow morning. When we arrived, it was a smaller school than what I am use to. Principal Marcus greeted us at the door. He was a slim man with just a ring of hair around the crown of his head.

“Hi Mr. And Mrs. Jenson, my name is Marcus Mallard I am the principal here at Denton Middle School.” Principal Marcus said as he was shaking Momma and Poppa’s hands.

“Hi Mr. Mallard, My name is Rosanna and this is my husband Darren. This is my daughter Sierra, who will be attending your school here.” Momma said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

Principal Marcus showed us the school and introduced me to my new teacher. They all seemed nice but deep down inside I was scared out of my pants and the more I wanted to be with my friends Denise and Shauna. After the tour we all said good-bye to Principal Marcus and thanked him for taking the time to show us around. We got into the van and drove off to our small one bedroom shack.

As soon as we got home Momma started to cook dinner. I could smell something heavenly coming from the kitchen.

“Momma, what are you cooking up tonight?” I asked her as I was taken in by the heavenly scents.

“Pot roast baby, and mashed potatoes with gravy,” Momma said with a smile.

“MMM smells yummy Momma,” I said as I was rubbing my stomach.

When dinner was finished cooking, we all sat down and ate dinner. I didn’t have much appetite since tomorrow I will be starting at a new school.

“Honey, why aren’t you eating?” Momma asked me with a concerned look upon her face.

“How can I eat when I will be at a new school tomorrow morning? I will be a small fish among many. What if nobody likes me? I don’t wanna go to school Momma,” I cried as a buried my face in my hands.

Momma gently lifted my head from my hands until we are eye to eye and said to me in a soft voice:

“I know your scared baby girl, but there ain’t no reason why people wouldn’t like you. You’re super sweet and a very bright young girl.”

Momma and I hugged each other for a while.

“I love you Momma,” I said as I was drying my tears.

“I love you too sweetie” said Momma with a smile.

After dinner I got ready for bed and hopped onto the Futon. Momma and Poppa both followed me and tucked me under the covers.

The following morning I woke up to the sunrise and started getting dressed for school. I could smell the sweet aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon brewing on the gas stove. I walked into the crowded kitchen and gave my Momma a big squeeze.

“It smells delicious Momma,” I said while seating myself at the table. .

“You need to eat a big breakfast, it is a big day for you,” said Momma as she handed me a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

Poppa came in and started to sit down at the table. Momma and I headed towards the van. We went our separate ways and drove towards the school. When we arrived there were so many students at the school. My legs were shaking in my shoes. Momma helped me out of the van and I clutched her hand as tight as I could squeeze and we slowly walked towards the entrance. By the time we got to the entrance, the bell rang for class to start. So I hugged my Momma one last time before heading into Mrs. Robbins classroom.

She said to me in a calm voice:

It is okay, be brave sweetheart. You will make friends in no time.

“I love you too Momma” I said back.

I never felt so nervous in my entire life. When I got into the class everybody stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me.

“Everybody I would like you all to meet Sierra. She just moved here so everybody say hi to her,” Mrs. Robbins said.

I waved shyly to the class and took a seat in the back row. During lunchtime I found a table by myself and took a seat and started eating my lunch. Then all of a sudden one of the students decided to sit at my table.

“Hi, my name is Janice. May I sit by you?” said Janice as she stuck out her hand.

“Yes sure I guess,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

Janice and I talked over lunchtime and we hanged out everyday during lunchtime and recess. We became very close and it made my school days go fast. At three thirty I got on the school bus and couldn’t wait to see how much the roses have grown since Momma and I planted. When the bus stopped a block from our small shack I ran towards the rose garden to see if anything has sprouted. When arrived at our home I saw Momma watering the garden.

“Momma, how come they haven’t sprouted yet?” I asked.

“It takes time baby, just like you don’t grow up overnight. Roses don’t sprout into beautiful flowers overnight either,” said Momma as she was turning off the hose.

While Momma was cooking dinner, Poppa came home. He looked exhausted and glad to be back home.

“How was your day dear?” asked Momma as she was giving Poppa a hug.

“It was a long day but it feels good to be working again,” Poppa said with a smile.

Once dinner was finished cooking we all sat down and talked about our day.

“How was your first day of school Sierra?” asked Momma

“At first I was scared and worried that I wouldn’t like it. At lunch I met a nice girl named Janice and the more we talked the better friends we became,” I said with a big grin.

“I’m glad to hear that sweetie,” said Momma as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

After dinner we all did our share of work and helped put away dishes and clean the table. When everything was done we all went to sleep.

Everyday after school I would jump off the bus and run towards the garden to see if the seeds have grown into roses yet. When summertime came, Momma and I would drench the roses with the watering hose so they wouldn’t dry up. One summer day, I was playing in the backyard and I saw some green over by the garden. I went closer to the garden to see what it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes so I ran inside to find Momma and when I did I shouted:

“Momma, momma, look your flowers are growing!” She walked outside with me and I pointed at the green sprouts in her garden.

“Yep your right. Our beautiful roses are beginning to bloom,” she said as she gave me a big hug.

We both looked in awe as we imagined what our roses would look like when they are fully bloomed.

It really made our days, watching them begin to grow.







Chapter Four

One day while I was coming home from school I saw Momma watering her garden. Right before I got to the house I saw her slowly fall to the ground. I ran up to her as fast as my legs could go and caught her just in the nick of time right before her head landed on the dry dirt.

“Momma, momma, what happened? How come you fell? ” I said with tears running down my cheeks.

“There was a drive by shooting right before your bus showed up at the bus stop and I guess a stray bullet must of hit me baby,” said Momma looking up at me.

“You can’t die on me Momma, you have to fight, tell me you’ll be alright,” I pleaded with Momma.

“Honey, as much as I love you, I have lost too much blood and I don’t think I have the strength anymore. I need you to be strong; you are now in charge of my rose garden. Cherish it with all your heart and I’ll always be with you and the garden,” Momma said as the twinkle in her eyes began to fade.

Within moments her spirit faded away as she died in my arms. I held her head close to my heart and just sat there crying. All I could think to myself was:

Why? She can’t leave me. It wasn’t fair, not fair to Poppa and I.

I heard my Poppa’s truck pull up in the driveway. When Poppa got out of the truck I looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes and said:

“Momma dead Poppa, Momma was hit by a bullet and died in my arms”

Poppa ran to my side and held her limp body up to his chest.

“Why did you leave sweetheart? This isn’t fair” Poppa looked up shouting out to the sky.

We gathered around Momma’s lifeless body and held each other through the rest of the day. Later that night I couldn’t go to sleep; I tossed and turned on the Futon so I got up and woke up my Poppa.

“Poppa, I miss Momma. I can’t sleep. Can I sleep with you?” I asked Poppa as I tapped him on his shoulder.

“Sure you can honey, hop into the bed with me” said Poppa as he tapped the bed.

I hopped onto the bed next to Poppa and dozed off to sleep.





Chapter Five

The next morning Poppa and I took a week off to grieve Momma’s death. We planned the funeral together.

“Poppa instead of having a traditional funeral can we decorate the church with roses. Since Momma always loved her rose garden?” I asked Poppa.

“That is a wonderful idea, Momma would very pleased with her funeral,” said Poppa.

Poppa called the florists and picked out the colors for the roses. I wanted to do something special for her funeral so I decided to write a poem and recite it at her funeral. With Poppa’s help I was able to create a beautiful piece I called Rose.

“Listen to this poem Poppa and tell me what you think,” I said with a smile.

“Okay, I’m all ears,” said Poppa

Rose you are a sign of everlasting beauty that flows through your stem to your leaves. With love, care and attention we give you and in return you give me hope and dreams. I will shower you with all my heart like Momma use to do so Momma can spread her love through your beauty divine and she’ll stay in your heart and memory and in mine.

I recited to Poppa.

“That is beautiful honey, I bet your Momma would love it too,” said Poppa as he was wiping the tears from his eyes.

The day of the funeral all the friends and family came to the church and were in awe of how beautiful the church looked and how heavenly the church smelled. When everyone was seated it was my turn to recite the poem I wrote for the funeral.

After I read the poem the whole church was flooded with tears, but I did my best to be strong just like I promised her. It was a beautiful ceremony we had for Momma’s funeral; I knew Momma would be smiling down from heaven from watching her own funeral.

After the ceremony, everyone followed one by one down the road in a line to our house. Everyone stepped out of their cars and walked over to the rose garden. We decided to spread her ashes in her rose garden since that is what she treasured the most.

Poppa wanted to say something before we sprinkled her ashes in the rose garden.

“Rosanna loved working her rose garden. The garden represents everything about her. Even in the darkest of times she seems to overcome the worst and bloom. Let us all remember what and who she represents and never forget her.”

After his speech, he wipes the tears from his eyes and we all bow our heads in silence. He grabs her ashes and together Poppa and I sprinkle them into the garden. Everybody walks to their cars and headed back home. As soon as everybody left, we went back to the church and gathered the roses and decorations and went back home. Poppa and I used the left over roses as centerpieces and placed them all over the house.

We ate in silence during dinnertime and quietly cleaned up after dinner and headed to bed. A couple of days later Poppa went back to work and unfortunately I had to go back to school. Since Momma is gone I became the mother of the household. Luckily she taught me how to do laundry and cook.





Chapter Six

It has been a week since my Momma passed away and although I am going to school I am not completely done grieving. Poppa has been working overtime since Momma’s passing so I hardly ever see him.

Everyday after school I would stop by Momma’s rose garden and pause before going into the house. Every time I looked at the roses in bloom images of Momma kneeling down on the dirt and picking the weeds from the garden filled my head. Each memory of her sent a wave of sadness. As the depression hit me tears began to run down my cheeks and I would burst out crying. I spent many nights crying myself to sleep. Other times Poppa would run into the family room waking me up. I remember one night I would have these dreams about my Momma and I would wake up all hot and sweaty.

“Momma, Momma, don’t leave me Momma,” I would cry out in the middle of the night.

“Wake up, wake up honey. It’s just a dream,” said Poppa as he was shaking me to wake me up.

I laid my head on my Poppa’s chest and started bursting out crying.

“Poppa, I miss Momma. Why did she leave us Poppa? Why?” I cried.

“Sierra honey, sometimes bad things happen to good people. It wasn’t our fault she died. Even though she isn’t here physically, she’ll always be in your heart,” said Poppa wiping the tears from my cheeks.

For the remainder of the night I slept in Momma and Poppa’s room hoping that I wouldn’t wake up screaming again.

The next couple days I could see the neglect the roses are getting from not being watered. The red and pink shades of the rose petals are turning brown and black. The sweet aroma that the roses gave off is now gradually disappearing. As much as I wanted to nurture the plants back to health it was killing me on the inside. Before going to the bus stop and going inside the house I would take a quick glance at the garden and walk away. Within a couple weeks as the temperature dropped the rose garden died and all there was left were some dried up dirt and leaves. When the wind blew picking up the dried leaves I could imagine my Momma’s soul floating away in the wind.

One day Poppa came outside and looked at the sad and very grim garden. He just stood there and shook his head. I went outside to see what he was up to.

“Poppa what’re you doing?” I asked him

“Looking at the garden and thinking about your Momma,” he said as he looked at me.

“Sad looking isn’t it?” I asked him.

“Yeah it is, how come you haven’t been keeping up the garden?” Poppa asked me

“I’m not ready Poppa. I’m still sad that Momma’s gone,” I said.

“It’s okay honey, we’ll both be better in time,” Poppa said with a smile.

After spending some quiet time looking at the garden, Poppa had to go to work and I had to finish getting ready for school. As soon as I finished breakfast I said farewell to Poppa as he left to go to work and waited by the bus stop to get picked up from school. A few minutes after I got to the bus stop at the end of the street, the bus arrived to pick me up. I sat by my best friend Janice.

“Any news on your Mom’s killer?” Janice asked me.

“Not that I know of,” I said to Janice.

When the bus arrived at school, Janice and I walked to our homeroom. After lunch our school had a special assembly on safety and violence. They showed a bunch of videos on gang violence and protecting yourself from getting hurt. Then TV news special came on involving a high-speed car chase. Janice looked at me and said to me quietly:

Do you think the police are chasing the person that shot your Mom?

“Don’t know, anything’s possible” I said to Janice shrugging my shoulders.

Janice and I spent the remainder of the day wondering:

What if that was the person that had shot my Momma?

After school I said farewell to Janice and got off the bus. When I went inside Poppa was cooking spaghetti and meatballs on the stove.

“How’s your day at school?” Poppa asked me taking a quick glance at me.

“It was alright, we had an assembly after lunch on violence and during the assembly they played the news special about the high speed car chase. Poppa do you think the person in the car was the person that shot Momma?” I asked him.

“I don’t know darling, maybe,” said Poppa shrugging his shoulders.

After dinner, Poppa and I cleared our plates and went to bed.



Chapter Seven

The next day while I was in Mr. Jones English class, I was busy working on my vocabulary when Mr. Jones tapped me on my shoulder. I looked up at him and he said to me quietly:

Sierra, you need to go the Principal’s office. They need to talk to you.

“What is it about Mr. Jones? Am I in trouble?” I asked, worried that I did something wrong.

Mr. Jones placed his hand on my shoulder and said to me:

“No Sierra your not in trouble. I don’t know exactly what it is about. My hunch is telling me it has to do with your Momma’s death.”

I nodded to my teacher and walked down to the principal’s office. When I got there I saw my Poppa sitting across from the principal. Now I was really curious what was going on.

“Poppa why are you here?” I asked

“I have some news about your Momma’s killer. They have caught him and they want us to attend his court hearing.” Poppa said to me with serious eyes.

“How come Poppa?” I asked

“I guess we need to identify him and hear him out,” Poppa answered back.

After the discussion about my Momma’s killer, I gathered my books and walked out the door with Poppa. I have no clue what to expect so I just stood by Poppa’s side the whole time. We drove for a while until we got to a large fenced in facility. When we arrived at the entrance two big heavy metal doors opened. I walked side by side with Poppa grasping his hand tightly and trying to be a shadow walking unnoticed. When we got to the desk a dark skinned man was sitting upright with a clean and crisp suit on.

“How may I assist you sir?” he asked in an abrupt voice.

“Yes, Officer my name is Darren Mackroll, I got a call a while ago to come here and identify the man who killed my wife Rosanna Mackroll.” Said Poppa clear as day.

“Oh yes now I remember. Just wait right here and I will have Office Daly escort you back to the holding area.” The officer said to Poppa as he was filing his paperwork.

Poppa and I took a seat patiently waiting for the officer to come get us. After a while a woman officer came through the door.

“Mr. Mackroll, my name is Officer Daly I am here to escort you to the holding area.” Officer Daly said with a stern smile.

Poppa and I got up from our seats and followed Officer Daly to the holding area. When we arrived, there was an African American guy in mid twenties wearing a white t-shirt and torn up jeans. He was sitting down with his hands and feet cuffed up.

“Poppa, I don’t want to go see him.” I whined to Poppa.

“I know it is tough on both of us but we must face our fear,” said Poppa

Poppa and I took in a deep breath and slowly walked into the room. I walked towards the man in chains and just let out all my emotions out.

“How could you kill my Momma? She did nothing to you and you had to kill her,” I screamed at him.

Poppa went over to me and laid his hand on my shoulder. He gently whispered into my ear:

Honey, I know you are upset but we have to be strong

I snuggled up against my Poppa and started crying.

“I don’t think I can Poppa. That man killed my Momma and I want my Momma back,” I cried with tears pouring down my cheeks.

“Think about what Momma would want you to do,” Poppa reminded me.

“If Momma was here she would want me to find it in my heart to forgive him. I just can’t do it now Poppa,” I said.

After the discussion, Officer Daly came in to get us.

“He will be going to court tomorrow, I suggest you both come. You can hear the truth,” Officer Daly told us.

Poppa and Officer Daly shook hands and we headed towards the car. We had a quiet ride back home. When we arrived I could tell the roses are beginning to wilt.

“Poppa how come the flowers are dying?” I asked Poppa

“Cause nobody has taken care of them honey” answered Poppa.

Poppa went into the house while I stood there in front of the rose garden remembering my Momma.

“Honey, dinner is ready” Poppa yelled from the kitchen.

“Okay Poppa, I’m coming,” I said as I ran into the house and shut the door.

We both sat down at the table and thought about tomorrow’s court hearing. The only thing going through my mind was hoping that guy would pay the ultimate price for my Momma’s death. We finished our hotdogs and baked beans and finished cleaning up after supper. I went to get dressed and ready for bed. I knew tomorrow was going to be a big day. Poppa followed me in the family room where I sleep. He tucked me in and whispered into my ear:

Get a good night sleep sweetheart; tomorrow is a big day for both of us. Try to remember what your Momma taught you.

I quietly said back to him “I love you Poppa. Good night”



Chapter Eight

That night my Momma came to in my dreams. She was wearing her yellow sundress and her old tattered sunhat to shade her eyes from the sun. She was busy working in her rose garden. While she was digging out weeds, she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said:

Sierra, I know you hear me. I hope one of the biggest lessons I taught you was in order for this world to become a better place you must be the bigger person. No matter how angry you are or how much sorrow you have since I passed; you must find it in your heart to be strong enough to forgive, let go and move on.

Just like that, she faded away like dust in the wind. As soon as Momma vanished from my dreams, I suddenly woke up to my Poppa’s voice telling me that breakfast is ready.

“Sierra, breakfast is ready. Come and eat before we go to court,” he yelled down the narrow hallway.

“I’m coming Poppa,” I yelled back.

I jumped off the Futon and walked down to the kitchen. I could smell eggs over easy and bacon fresh off the stove. I took a seat at the round table and waited for Poppa to bring my breakfast to me. He laid my food down at the table and grabbed himself some breakfast and took a seat across from me.

“Poppa, Momma came to me in my dreams” I said with a mouthful of bacon.

“What did Momma say in your dreams sweetheart?” Poppa asked with a smile.

“She told me to be strong and find it in my heart to forgive the man that killed her” I replied back.

“You should listen to Momma, all wounds take time to heal but we all got to move on,” said Poppa.

“I know Poppa, I know,” I said with a smile.

Poppa and I finished up our breakfast and got dressed to go to court. Poppa was the first one out the door and he started up the car to warm it up. I followed him but before I got into the car I took one last look at Momma’s dying rose garden. I thought to myself:

Before I let go of Momma’s death, I first must bring Momma’s spirit back and do whatever I can to bring her roses back to life.

I ran into the house as quickly as possible and grabbed Momma’s old watering can and start to water her roses.

“Sierra, come on we are going to be late for the hearing. What are you doing?” Poppa shouted from the van.

“Coming Poppa, I had to water Momma’s roses,” I shouted back.

I put the watering can away and ran to the van as fast as I can. Poppa and I drove off to the courthouse. During the trip there, it was quiet for most of the way there. Poppa decided that it was too quiet and started trying to carry on a conversation.

“You finally found the courage to nurture the roses back to health” said Poppa as he took a quick glance at me.

“Yes Poppa. Ever since my dream of Momma, I have decided that in order to forgive I first must be willing to bring back Momma’s spirit and keep my promise to her by tending and caring for her rose garden” I answered back.

“Momma will be proud of you honey. I’m proud of you too” said Poppa with a big grin.

We arrived at the courthouse with fifteen minutes to spare. We got out of the van and speed walked to the entrance. We finally made it just before they shut the doors to the courtroom. We sat in the very front row of the room and waited quietly for the judge to come in.

“All stand for Honorable Dean Metz” the bailiff said out loud.

We all stood up and saw a slender elderly man come towards the stand.

“Please take a seat,” Judge Metz said in a bold voice.

We all sat down and waited for my Momma’s killer to come to the stand. Then after hearing a couple witnesses talk about that day the shooting happened, the man was told to come to the stand.

“We are calling Micah Newton to the stand your honor” the appointed lawyer called out.

With all eyes focused on him, Poppa and I watched him approach the bench. When he finally arrived, he stood there not moving a muscle and repeated these words:

I swear to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God

He took a seat at the bench and the lawyer approached him quietly.

“So Micah, what were doing on February 23 around four in the afternoon?” he asked.

“My posse and I were minding our own business and all a sudden our rival gang The C-Clan started shooting at the house. We got fired up and started going after ‘em. They injured a few of my men and wanted to get revenge. We had no idea others were going to get hurt as well,” Micah said shrugging his shoulders.

The judge stood up and said:

“Is there anyone here who would like to speak for or against this man?”

I decided to be brave and stand out amongst the crowd in the courtroom. I got up from my seat and said:

“Your Honor, my name is Sierra. My Momma became victim to this gang violence and passed away a week ago. My Momma was an innocent bystander just caught in the middle of this shooting. She has taught me find it in my heart to forgive even the worst of people. I think part of his sentence should include helping out my Poppa and I make a Memorial garden for my Momma.”

“Thank you Sierra for your thoughts. The jury will put that in consideration.” Judge Metz said as he took a seat back in his chair.

He picked up his javelin and announced that the court will have a five-minute recess so the jury could decide the verdict. Everybody scattered and stretched and Poppa and I went outside for some fresh air.

“What do you think is going to happen Poppa?” I asked looking up at Poppa.

“I think you made a good suggestion but who knows. Let’s see what the jury decides,” Poppa said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

Five minutes have gone by and people started going back into the courtroom in single file. Poppa and I took our seats back and waited for the jury to come back into the room.

When Judge Metz came back into the room we all stood up from our seats and waited for him to sit down.

“Have the jury come to a decision yet?” Judge Metz asked looking at the jury.

An older lady in her mid forties stood up and said:

“Yes we have honor”

“What is it?” Judge Metz asked

“We the jury find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter and thereby sentence him thirty days in prison and a 1000 hours of community service where him and his posse are required to help build this memorial rose garden in the town square park, clean up the graffiti off the walls, and take anger management classes twice a week,” the lady said as she sat back down.

After the sentence was brought out, the judge dismissed everybody. Poppa and I headed out of the room.

After he left, Poppa and I headed back to the car and went back home. When we arrived to the house I rushed inside to get the watering can so I could water her roses. Later that night at the dinner table I could feel Momma’s presence in the room. As I finished my first bite of tater salad I looked up at Poppa and said to him:

“Poppa, I think we all learned something today and I bet Momma is looking down at us and smiling.”

“You’re right I know she’ll be proud of you. You did a great thing today and I’m proud of you too,” said Poppa as he swallowed the last bite of his supper.

We finished eating supper and cleaned up the table. After everything was cleaned up we got ready for bed. Poppa leaned down to kiss me goodnight and whispered:

Goodnight sweetheart, I love you

“I love you Poppa,” I said as I kissed him back.





Chapter Nine

Everyday after school, I would water the garden and put my heart and soul into it. By the end of the month I could tell the difference a little water and a lot of love would make. The wilted roses slowly begin to sprout and come back to life. The roses started to fill the garden with an array of colors varying from red to yellow. It was a beautiful site and really brought color to the dark and meek life of the neighborhood.

The weekend came around and I was anxious to get started on Momma’s memorial rose garden. I got into my play clothes and gathered all my Momma’s gardening tools.

“Poppa, are you ready to take me to the town square park?” I asked Poppa as I quickly grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast.

“I’M COMING SIERRA!” Poppa yelled from his bedroom.

When we gathered everything we needed, we hopped into the van and headed down to the park. When we arrived Micah and his posse were waiting in their black SUV for us to arrive. As we got out of the van, Micah and his posse followed us to the center of the park. I handed a trowel and some seeds to Micah and his posse. I started to show them how to plant a garden.

“Micah, first dig a hole in the dirt and make sure its deep enough to plant the seed. Then gently place one of the seeds in the hole and cover it with back up with the dirt.” I said as I showed Micah and his gang step by step on how to plant the garden.

As we all got to work on planting the roses, Micah’s archrivals the C-Clan drove by and saw Micah and his gang working in the garden. They stopped their black Cadillac and opened up the window and started hollering.

“Whatcha doing?” Jerome the gang leader said.

“This is my sentence punk,” Micah said back giving Jerome and his gang a quick glance.

At first I thought this was going to be trouble but then for some reason Jerome and the gang got out of their car and actually started helping out Micah and his posse. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had to rub my eyes several times and ask my Poppa to pinch me to convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming. When the neighborhood recognized that change has come and people who were known for violence and hate were actually working in harmony together, more and more people gathered at the town square to help plant the roses for the memorial garden.

“Wow Poppa, look at all the people here helping out” I said in awe of the moment.

“Yes honey, there are sure a lot of people helping out here. We really made a difference in the community,” said Poppa as he looked down at me.

It seemed like the entire neighborhood and even outsiders stopped by to create a safe and lovely place for not just us but our children as well. After everybody got done planting the roses and some more trees we all called it a day. Poppa and I stopped at the Dairy Corner to get some ice cream to cool us off on the warm June day.

“What kind of ice cream would you like Sierra?” Poppa asked.

“I think the chocolate fudge swirl sounds tasty to me Poppa” I said to Poppa as I smacked my lips.

Poppa turned to the attendant at the counter and said:

“My daughter would like a double dip of the chocolate fudge swirl ice cream in a dish. I would like the Butter Pecan Supreme on a cone please.”

Poppa handed me my ice cream. I quickly took a seat by the window while he paid for the ice cream. I picked up my spoon and scooped up a big spoonful of the chocolate fudge swirl ice cream and put it to my mouth. I could taste the ice cream as it melts in my mouth, sending the chills down my back. Poppa came to the table and grabbed a couple napkins. He handed me the napkin and pointed to my nose.

“What’s wrong with my nose Poppa?” I asked.

“You got a chocolate freckle on the tip of your nose” said Poppa.

I got the napkin and wiped my entire face with it making sure I didn’t miss any spots. Then I looked over at Poppa and he had a pecan moustache from his ice cream. I pointed to his mouth and started bursting out into giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Poppa asked me

“Ha ha ha you’ve got an an ice cream moustache hehehe” I laughed out loud to Poppa.

Poppa wiped off his ice cream moustache and we finished enjoying our ice cream treats. When we were done we drove back home and got ready for dinner. Poppa was making his infamous barbeque chicken for dinner. It was well known back in the neighborhood were we used to live.

“Mmm smells good Poppa,” I said licking my lips.

“We’re goin’ to have a feast tonight honey. Momma’s birthday is in two weeks where we are going to have an opening ceremony to welcome everybody to the Rosanna Memorial Rose Garden” Poppa said.

We sat down at the table and pigged out on lip smackin barbeque chicken, scalloped potatoes, green salad and Momma’s delicious recipe of sweet potato pie for desert. After dinner we put away the dishes and got ready for bed. Poppa tucked me in under the covers and kissed me goodnight.

“Good night sweetheart, sweet dreams” said Poppa kissing me good night.

“G’night Poppa, I love ya,” I said back.

Poppa went to his room and he turned off the lights and went to sleep.





Chapter Ten

As it nears the big grand opening of my Momma’s memorial garden, the anxiety and excitement I felt was rapidly increasing. Poppa worked overtime so he could put money away for a plaque and I saved my weekly allowance to help chip in for the plaque. Everyday after school I would stop by and see how Momma’s Memorial garden is doing. I could see the rose buds beginning to sprout and the small trees beginning to bloom.

During breakfast, my mind was elsewhere. I could hardly touch the scrambled eggs my Poppa had prepared for me.

“Honey, why aren’t you eating your eggs? Your breakfast is getting cold,” said Poppa while working on his breakfast.

“What, what you say Poppa? Sorry I can’t stop thinking about the grand opening of Momma’s memorial garden,” I said as I started to pick at my breakfast.

“I’m excited but you can’t skip breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day,” said Poppa as he smiled at me.

“Okay Poppa, I’ll try to focus on my breakfast,” I said picking up my food.

After breakfast, I finished getting ready for school and walked to the bus stop. Other children in the neighborhood started coming up to me and talking to me. Talking about the grand opening of the memorial garden and how nicely the rose garden looks in front of the house.

.

Janice and I walked into our homeroom and started exchanging notes to each other about the posters we are going to work on after school. Through the entire school period I began to get antsy like I had ants in my pants. I could hardly stay in my seat long enough to pay attention to my teacher.

“Sierra,” Mr. Jones said loudly.

“Yes Mr. Jones” I said as I jumped out of my seat.

“What’s the matter with you today? You have been wriggling around in your seat ever since class started,” Mr. Jones asked me with his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry sir, I’m just really excited about my Momma’s garden that’s all,” I said trying to focus on my teacher.

“I would hate to send you to the Principal’s office,” Mr. Jones said with a serious look on his face.

“Okay, I will do my best to pay attention in class,” I said trying to give him my sad puppy dog eyes.



“Poppa, I know you told me not to worry helping out paying for the plaque but I saved up my allowance over the past few months and I would like to contribute towards the plaque,” I said showing him my piggy bank.

“That’s awfully nice of you honey. How much have you saved?” asked Poppa holding my piggy bank.

“I counted fifty dollars Poppa,” I said grinning.

“You can come with me to help pick out the plaque on Saturday” said Poppa handing me my piggy bank back.

“Okay” I said.

Poppa hugged me back and headed towards the Futon and went to sleep.



Chapter Eleven

Over the next month Poppa and I got busy calling catering companies and looking at different business to find the perfect plaque to prepare for the opening ceremony. After an endless search for the perfect plaque I came across a beautiful gold plated plaque with a cherry wood finish underneath it. The color of the wood reminded me of Momma’s red roses. I ran to Poppa excited to show him the perfect plaque.

“POPPA, POPPA, YOU GOT TO COME WITH ME, I FOUND THE PERFECT PLAQUE!” shouting to Poppa.

I think I shouted loud enough for the entire store to hear me. People turned to look at me as I ran to Poppa. I pushed and pulled Poppa, yanking at his arm trying to rush him to come see the plaque I found.

“Sierra, calm down, you about yanked off my arm,” said Poppa desperately trying to slow me down before I would accidentally knock down the other items in the store.

We finally made it to the plaque I found and started jumping up pointing at it.

“Isn’t it perfect? Doesn’t it remind you of Momma?” I said with joy.

“Yes it is honey, good job,” said Poppa holding my hand.

Poppa told the salesperson which plaque we wanted and told him what we wanted engraved on it. The more I thought about how great it is going to be to have a rose garden in Momma’s name the more I grew with excitement. After we paid and ordered the plaque we went back home and grabbed a bite to eat. Soon after Poppa had his dinner, he started working on the speech he wanted to give and I started to think about what I was going to wear.

On Friday Poppa decided to grill out his delicious BBQ chicken and have a neighborhood grill out. Everybody showed up. Anthony and his parents came, Marcus and his family came, and Janice and her family came. To my surprise Shauna and Denise showed up at our backyard. My heart suddenly stopped and I was breathless for a while.

“Denise! Shauna! You’re here!” I shouted running towards them with my arms wide opened.

“Hey girlfriend! Long time no see!” Denise said as she gave me a big hug.

“Yeah, we missed you all right. Thought to surprise you and be here for you when you open up the park,” said Shauna smiling at me.

I ran over to Janice and pulled her along with me so she could meet my two best friends from my old school.

“Janice I want you to meet my friends Shauna and Denise. Long time friends of mine back before I moved here,” I said introducing her to my other good friends.

“Nice to meet you two,” said Janice sticking out her hand to shake.

“Nice meeting you also” said Shauna and Denise at once.

The BBQ was a blast, for the first time in a long time everybody chatted and laughed. Everybody was in a good mood. After playing around with my friends and neighbors we all sat down and started chowing down on the BBQ chicken and potato salad. It was a delicious feast and it seems like everybody enjoyed the food.

“MMM Darren mm you have the best mm tasting chicken around” Marcus’s mom said in between bites of chicken.

“Well thanks, maybe we could trade recipes. Your delicious Devil Food Cake for my lip smacking BBQ chicken,” chuckled Poppa.

As soon as the chuckles stopped Poppa wanted to say something in the midst of dinner. He tapped on his glass to get everyone’s attention.

DING DING

Everyone turned their heads and gave Poppa their attention. When all was quiet he began to speak:

As you all know tomorrow is Rosanna’s birthday and on her birthday we are going to open up the memorial garden. She was a special woman and she showed us all how to put aside our differences and come together as a community to change the environment we live in better. I hope to see you all there tomorrow morning at the town park. I thank you for coming today.

After his speech, everyone raised up their glasses and shouted:

CHEERS!

Everyone finished eating and Poppa and I said our farewell to our neighbors and friends. When everyone went home to get some shuteye, Poppa and I went back into the house and got ready for bed.

“That was fun Poppa. I can’t believe Denise and Shauna showed up. That really made my day,” I said hugging Poppa.

“Yes, it was a blast. Let’s get some rest for the big day tomorrow,” said Poppa as he leaned over and kissed me on my forehead.

“Okay Poppa see you tomorrow morning,” I said as I laid down on the Futon.

I closed my eyes and went to sleep having wonderful dreams about tomorrow.





Chapter Twelve

I woke up at the crack of dawn and anxiously waiting for the grand opening. I was the first one up; believe it or not I had to wake up Poppa.

“Poppa, Poppa, wake up Poppa,” I said tapping his arm repeatedly.

“What, what time is it?” asked Poppa leaning over to look at the clock.

“Time to wake up. We have so much to do still before everyone shows up. Wake up sleepy head,” I said as my voice got louder.

“Okay, okay I’m up honey,” said Poppa rubbing his eyes.

I decided to attempt to cook breakfast. I kind of know how to cook scrambled eggs and I know how to make toast. I got the crate of eggs and a gallon of milk and turned the stove on. I cracked four eggs into the bowl and poured about four tablespoons of milk in with the eggs. After stirring it I poured the batter onto the frying pan and let it sizzle on the stove. By the time I was done mixing the eggs and milk I could see my Poppa walk into the kitchen like a zombie.

“Wow, that’s an unusual sight to see,” said Poppa as he scratched the back of his head.

“I thought since it is a special day today, that I would cook breakfast this morning,” I said glancing back at Poppa.

Poppa sat down at the table and picked up the paper to read while we waits for his breakfast.

“Breakfast is served,” I said handing him his scrambled eggs and toast.

“Not bad, not bad at all,” said Poppa as he started eating the eggs.

I grabbed myself a plate and sat down across from Poppa. We both ate a quiet breakfast. After we ate Poppa started getting ready for the ceremony. I picked out a beautiful dress Momma made me. It was a pink dress that went down to my knees with purple flowers on it. The dress was sleeveless and there was lace trimming at the bottom. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and put on my black church shoes.

I could smell Poppa’s aftershave a mile away. He looked really nice. After Poppa finished preparing himself he came over and tapped me on the shoulder.

“How’d I look?” asked Poppa slicking back his hair and straightening his bowtie.

“You look fine Poppa, you look fine,” I said holding my nose to avoid tasting his aftershave.

“What’s with you holding your nose?” asked Poppa laughing.

“Nothing, you just have some strong aftershave that’s all” I bursted out laughing. .

Poppa and I laughed for a while. After we all settled down Poppa and I hopped into the van and drove to pick up the plaque. We arrived at the store to pick it up. I could hardly wait to see what it would look like.

“Let me see, let me see,” I said jumping up and down trying to get a glance at the plaque.

“You’ll have to wait just like everybody else,” said Poppa tucking in the plaque to his chests.

After we got the plaque we left to head over to the park. Poppa made one last phone call to the caterers to make sure that the food was going to be there before people show up. We arrived at the town square at nine in the morning and started setting up.

“Honey help me carry this table over so we have a place to put the food,” said Poppa motioning at me to come over.

“Okay Poppa, I’m coming,” I said as I sped walked over towards Poppa.

When I got there I grabbed one end and he grabbed the other half and we carefully walked over to the left side of the park. We slowly lowered the table and stood it on all fours. Poppa grabbed a nice white cloth to put on the table. I grabbed our favorite picture of Momma and placed it in the middle of the table. A half an hour later the caterer’s came with the pigs in the blanket and cheese and crackers. Poppa pointed to where the food was going.

At ten o’clock people started showing up. A lot of people came neighbors; friends and even strangers from other neighborhoods came to see what the commotion was about. It was even better when both Micah and his Posse and Jerome and his gang the C-Clan showed up.

As soon as everyone came Poppa attempted to get their attention. When everyone started to quiet down Poppa started his speech.

Hello everyone and thank you for attending this grand ceremony. My wife Rosanna was a wonderful and strong woman. We have been through many tough times and yet she always finds a way to be positive. When we first moved here it was not a safe and peaceful place. Many bad things happened in our neighborhood and it was scary for a while. Despite the gloomy and dangerous environment that surrounded us Rosanna found peace in her rose garden. She loved her roses and poured her heart and soul into the garden. Today is her forty-fifth birthday and I am delighted and honored to welcome you all to the Rosanna Memorial Rose Garden. It is in the center of the town so you all can hopefully find peace and happiness there.

Soon as Poppa finished his speech he unleashed the plaque that we brought for this event. He grabbed the top of the red cloth that was hiding the plaque and gave it a quick yank. When the plaque was open for everyone to see it sparkled and shined in the sunlight. Everyone’s jaws dropped at the beauty of the plaque. The plaque said:

The Rosanna Memorial Garden: A wife, a mother and inspiration to us all.

I knew Momma was looking down and smiling. The roses have fully bloomed and it was a very bright and colorful sight to see. Everyone was smiling and talking and children were playing on the new swing set the community chipped in and brought. From the opening of the park at ten in the morning ‘til early evening around five o’clock the atmosphere was filled with laughter, joy and music.

“This is a wonderful ceremony Sierra. Your Momma would sure be proud of you,” said Denise.

“Yeah, it is a blasts. This sure will make my Momma happy,” I said hugging Denise.

By the end of the day Poppa and I said farewell to our neighbors and friends and thanked them for coming out to this event. When everyone left I stood by Poppa silently and smiled all day long. Poppa put his arm around my shoulder and we sighed together.

“Poppa, this project took a while but at the end it is all worth while,” I said looking up at Poppa.

“Yes it took a lot of work but it means a lot to both of us and represents your Momma in many ways,” said Poppa as he hugged me.

“Yep, it brought us all together.” I said squeezing Poppa as hard as I can.

After was all said and done, little changes occurred each day. Everybody was making strides on being the better person and trying to get along as a community. We all want our community to be a safe and happy place to live not just for us but also for the generations after us. I think that is what Poppa and I accomplished today.

I knew after Momma passed away that I wanted to make a difference. She had taught me many lessons about life but the biggest lesson she taught me was that there is beauty and love everywhere, even in the most unexpected places. That is what the Rosanna Memorial Garden represents. People can look at the garden and remember that there is love and hope, you just have to look for it and reach out and grab it.







THE END



















































Chapter One




It was a breezy September day when my life I cherished had changed for the worst. It all began when Papa was coming home from work. I was working on my multiplication tables in my bedroom. In the midst of my homework, I heard his rusty Toyota Pick-Up pull into our dirt driveway. I stopped what I was doing and went to the window to see who it was. Papa had just gotten out of his truck and closed the door. He was walking slowly to front door. I rushed to the door to greet him. When I opened the door, his face was pale like he has seen a ghost. I tugged on his plaid coat to see if I could his attention. He wiped the sawdust from his torn blue overalls and turned to look at me.

“Poppa what’s wrong?”

Papa bent down and gave me a hug. I felt like I was hugging air. The emptiness and hollow feeling I got when he hugged gave me goose bumps. He crept back up to his feet and took a couple deep breaths. He turned to hang up his plaid coat and walked past me. I knew something was wrong but didn’t know what since he hasn’t answered my question. Mama walked toward him, but he wouldn’t even look her in the eyes.

“What’s wrong love?” Mama lifted up his head with her fingers and waited patiently for him to answer.

Papa quietly said something in her ear, then I saw that both of them crying. Mama tried her best to hide her worry and the sadness from me but I knew something bad must have happened to make both of them so upset.

Mama calmly asked us to come to table for dinner. All three of us sat quietly down to the table. We said our grace and an uncomfortable silence followed. I couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Mama, Papa, what’s going on here? Why are you both crying?” I blurted out.

Papa put his hand on Mama’s shoulder and turned to look at me with puffy eyes. “Honey, I have some bad news. I don’t have a job anymore”

Gripping onto my Papa’s hand with all my might, the worry started to overfill my head.

“How come Papa?” I could feel my stomach tighten waiting for his response. Mama turned toward me and put her hand in mine and said calmly,

“Sometimes companies have more employees than they have money and can’t afford to keep all of them. Understand?”

“Yes Mama, I understand. What are we going to do though?” My heart was beating so fast that I couldn’t breathe so I buried my head in my Momma’s chest. Listening to her heart beating seemed to calm me down.

“Sweetie, I’m going to do whatever I can to find myself a job.” Papa reached out to hold my trembling hands.

After a long discussion, we finished dinner and all helped clear the table. It was almost bedtime so I headed towards my bedroom and changed into my pajamas.

Mama came in and tucked me into bed.

“I know right now we have a lot on our plates,” she turned her head for a second and wiped the tears from her eyes, then looked back at me. “With a little faith and courage we will make it through this rough patch.” She kissed my cheek and headed out the door.

“I love you Mama,”

“I love you too darling. Sweet dreams,” she said. Walking out of my bedroom.

The following morning I woke up and headed toward the kitchen for breakfast. Papa was sitting at the table with his only black suit, finishing up his breakfast. I walked over to Mama to see what she was making me for breakfast.

“Mama, what’s for breakfast?”

Mama turned toward me and wiped the grease on her hands on her “Greatest Mother” apron. She looked at me and said,

“Scrambled eggs and toast, sounds good?”

“Sure does. Smells like a piece of heaven.” I walked over to take a seat at the table. My stomach was getting the best of me today.

Mama hanged up her greasy apron on the stove, pulled back her long black hair her eyes and sat down at the table next to me. Mama handed me the pan of scrambled eggs and I put a large spoonful on my plate. I grabbed the raspberry jam and started to put it on my toast. Mama and I began to eat our breakfast.

“Mama, what’s going to happen to us?”

“What do you mean?” she asked. She wiped the jelly from her face and looked up at me.

“Do we have to move? Are you going to lose our house?” The questions started flowing from my mouth and the more I thought about what might happen to us, I started to lose my appetite.

“I don’t know sweetie. Let’s hope we don’t have to move, and pray that your Papa finds a job soon.” Mama put down her toast and rested her head in her hands.

I could tell by the way she covered her head that she is just as worried as I am. We finished eating our breakfast and I helped Mama with the dishes. As I was walking into my room to get ready for school, I saw Papa standing in front of the full-length mirror. He had his short black hair slicked back over his bushy

I saw Poppa eating a few quick bites of his breakfast and head towards his truck.

“Poppa what are you doing,” I asked. Yanking on his black dress coat.

“Trying to find myself a job,” said Poppa. Tapping me on my shoulder.

“Good luck Poppa,” I said. Giving him a giant bear hug.

Poppa kissed Momma and me on our foreheads and drove off. As soon as he disappeared, Momma and I went back inside and ate our breakfast. After breakfast I finished getting ready for school and headed out to toward the bus stop. When the bus came, Momma kissed me on my forehead and waved good-bye. I took a seat by Shauna and Denise sat behind me.

“What’s with the grim face?” asked Shauna. Looking right at me.

“Nothing much, just that Poppa got the boot from his boss. I don’t know what will happen next,” I said. Looking out the window.

“Well maybe, it won’t be so bad. You know, we never know,” said Denise. Smiling cheek to cheek.

“Who knows?” I said. Shrugging my shoulders.

Through the entire school day I tried my best to put my worries to the side and focus on my friendship with Shauna and Denise. They always have a way to bring some light into my darkness. When school was out for the day all three of us squashed up together and sat in the crowded seat of the bus. We were like a human sandwich and I was the Salami. All of a sudden I felt something come up and pinch me from behind.

“Ow, whose the one that pinched me,” I said. Trying to hold in my laughter.

I turned my head and looked at Denise and I could tell that she was going to burst out laughing any minute. I turned to look at Shauna and she just shook her head and pointing to Denise. We laughed all the way to the bus stop.

“See you guys tomorrow,” I said. Waving to them.

As I approached the door I could hear screaming going on inside the house. I slowly turned the doorknob and shut the door. Although I didn’t have any clue what the yelling was about, I knew it wasn’t good. I tapped my Momma on her back. She turned to see who it was. She covered the phone and began to speak to me.

“Wait one minute Sierra, can’t you see I’m busy?” snapped Momma. She turned around and finished yelling over the phone.

I ran into my room and slammed the door. I buried my head in my pillow and started crying a flood of tears. Finally I heard Momma slam the phone back on the hook. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm me down and wiped my tears on my sleeves. I quietly crept into the kitchen carefully not to startle Momma.

“What’s the matter Momma?” I asked. Tugging on her sweater.

“The bank says if we don’t come down with the money soon, they will close down the house and we have no choice but to move,” said Momma. Wiping the tears off her cheeks.

“I don’t want to move Momma! I want to stay here,” I cried. Hugging Momma tightly.

“I know you don’t and neither do I. Let’s just hope that Poppa found a job so we can stay here,” said Momma. Kissing me on my forehead.

After the discussion, I unpacked my backpack and started to work on my multiplication tables. Midway through my homework I heard Poppa’s rusted old truck pull into the driveway. I stopped what I was doing and ran to greet Poppa at the door.

“How is the job hunting going Poppa?” I asked. Secretly crossing my fingers behind my back.

“Slowly,” Poppa said. With a blank look upon his face.

Momma walked toward Poppa and gave him a hug.

“Any luck honey?” asked Momma.

“None so far. Why what’s wrong?” asked Poppa.

“I just got off the phone with our bank and they are threatening to kick us out if we don’t come up with doe by next week,” said Momma. As tears started to streak down her face.

“Poppa, you need to find a job. I don’t want to leave our home,” I said. Squeezing Momma’s hand tightly.

“Honey, I’m trying really hard but sometimes it takes a while before anything happens,” said Poppa. Hugging me tightly.

We all sat down and begin to eat our dinner. We didn’t say a single word to each other at the table. We all got dressed for bed and went to sleep. The following morning while Momma was cooking breakfast, I heard someone knocking on the door loudly.

Knock Knock

I ran to the door to see who was at our front door.

“Wait Sierra, don’t open the door yet,” yelled Momma.

“Why not Momma?” I asked.

“Peek through the eye hole to see who it is first,” said Momma.

So I got up on a stool and went to peek through the eyehole on the door.

I saw two men dressed in black suits standing in front of the door.

“Honey, what do you see?” asked Momma.

“There are two men in black suits and serious looks upon their faces Momma,” I said. Turning to look at Momma.

Momma slowly opened the door to let the gentlemen in black inside our house.

“Sierra, go to your room please,” said Momma. With a stern look on her face.

“Why Momma? Who are these men?” I asked Momma.

“Just go to your room, this is probably about the house,” said Momma.

So I slowly walked to my room down the hall and listened quietly to the conversation in the living room. I could tell by the screaming going on between my Momma and the men that the news wasn’t good. As soon as I heard the door slam shut I ran to the living room. When I arrived, I saw that my Momma’s face was all flushed.

“What happened Momma?” I asked.

“Those men were from our bank,” said Momma. Wiping tears from her eyes. Taking a deep breath she continued.

“They told me that we have until the end of this month to pay for our house or they’ll foreclose the house,” said Momma. Looking up at me. Then burying her face in her hands.

“What we do Momma?” I asked. Hugging Momma tightly.

“I don’t know darling, maybe your Poppa found himself a job,” said Momma.

Right after Momma and I had our discussion, Poppa came home. When Poppa entered the house, Momma looked up at him with her puffy red eyes.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Poppa asked.

“We just got a visit from our bank. They give us till the end of this month to pay them before they foreclose our house,” said Momma. Burying her head into Poppa’s shoulder.

Poppa took a quick glance at the calendar and then looked down at Momma.

“That gives us two weeks before they kick us out. Hopefully by then I would have a job,” said Poppa. Trying to keep a calm face.

The next morning, I woke up and noticed that Poppa’s beat up truck was outside in the lawn with a sign on it. I walked over to Poppa and tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around and looked down at me.

“What’s the matter Honey?” asked Poppa.

“Poppa why are you selling your truck?” I asked him.

“Because we need the money, I haven’t had any luck finding a job and we have to do what we need to live,” explained Poppa.

“How are you going to search for a job Poppa, if you sell your truck?” I asked.

“Your Momma is going to lend me the van for the time being,” said Poppa. With a smile.

“Breakfast is ready,” called Momma.

Poppa and I sat down at the table and we all ate our breakfast. After breakfast I finished getting ready for school. Poppa came over to me and kissed me on the forehead.

“Wish me luck honey, let’s hope I get a job soon,” said Poppa.

“Luck Poppa, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” I said. Smiling back at him.

Poppa hopped into the van and drove off in search for a job. I picked up my school bag and headed out the door to wait for the bus.

“Bye Momma, see you after school!” I shouted. As I walked out the door.

“Love you honey, have fun,” said Momma. Smiling from cheek to cheek.

A few minutes after I made it to my bus stop, the bus arrived. As I walked onto the bus I could see my two best friends Shauna and Denise eagerly awaiting my arrival.

“What are you two clown so happy about?” I said. Trying to keep a straight face.

“Waiting for you of course!” said Denise and Shauna.

Something about them made me want to burst out into laughter.

“You guys crack me up,” I said. Bursting into laughter.

Through the entire bus ride to school Shauna and Denise kept me laughing. By the time we arrived to school, I could hardly breathe.

“Ha, now look what you did,” I said. Trying to calm myself down.

“Your face looks like a tomato,” said Shauna.

“You should see yourself now in a mirror,” said Denise. Laughing hysterically

“You started it though,” I said. Pointing to Shauna.

All three of us started laughing uncontrollably. We laughed so hard that it made my stomach hurt.

“Oh I hope I don’t have to move. You guys are the best friends that anyone could have,” I said. Giving a deep sigh.

“We hope you don’t move either,” said Shauna and Denise together.

School went by pretty quickly. Before I knew it, school was over and I was back on the bus again. This time we just sat quietly together for the whole way to my house. When the bus arrived I picked up my belongings and gave each of them a hug.

“Love you guys, see you tomorrow,” I said. As I stepped off the bus.

“Love you too,” shouted Denise and Shauna. Waving out the window.

When I walked into the house, Momma was sitting at the table.

“Momma, I’m home,” I shouted.

“Hi honey, how was your day?” said Momma.

“My day was fine, Momma what you doing?” I asked.

“Just counting to see how much money we have,” answered Momma.

“Do we have to move Momma?” I asked.

“It seems that way, let’s just see if your Poppa had any luck finding himself a job,” said Momma.

“Okay Momma, I’m going to my room to get started on my homework,” I said.

“I’ll come and get you for dinner sweetie,” said Momma.

As I started my homework, I heard the van pull up in the driveway. I ran up to the door to greet Poppa at the door.

“ Hi Poppa, did you find a job yet?” I said. Giving Poppa a big bear hug.

“No luck yet honey,” said Poppa. Hugging me tightly.

Poppa walked over to Momma and leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. Momma turned her head and looked up at Poppa.

“Did you find a job yet honey?” asked Momma.

“No not yet,” said Poppa. Shaking his head.

“We only have a thousand dollars left between the money we received from your truck and what’s left in our savings,” said Momma. Squeezing Poppa’s hand tightly.

“Well we have a week left to try to come up with the money before they come and kick us out,” said Poppa. Trying to reassure Momma that everything will be okay.

Poppa and I set the table while Momma finished cooking dinner. We all sat down and at dinner in complete silence.

The next morning I heard a bunch of racket going on in the room next door. So I went to go see what all the noise is about. I saw Momma and Poppa gathering some of our belongings.

“What’s going on Momma?” I asked.

“We need to get rid of some of things we don’t have to have so we can make money,” said Poppa. Putting some paintings and miniature statues away in a box.

We all got a bunch of boxes and started to put everything we could find into the boxes. We laid everything out in the lawn for the garage sale. The house seemed very empty since the majority of the stuff was gone. At the end of day, we all came back inside. Momma and Poppa sat at the table and counted up the earnings from the garage sale.

“How much money did we make Poppa?” I asked.

“ We made a little over a hundred dollars from the sale Sierra,” said Poppa.

“I guess we have no choice but to move then right Momma?” I asked Momma. Trying to hold in my tears.

“I’m afraid so honey,” said Momma. Hugging me tightly.

After we finished putting everything away from the sale, we got ready for dinner. While we sat down at the table eating our dinner quietly, there was a loud knock at the door disturbing our silence.

“Momma, who’s at the door at this time of day?” I asked Momma.

“I don’t know sweetie,” said Momma. Shrugging her shoulders.

Poppa got up from his seat and went to answer the door.

“Who is at the door honey?” called Momma from in the kitchen.

“It’s those guys from the bank,” said Poppa.

Momma and Poppa greeted the guys from the bank at the door. I went to stick my nose out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. I could tell it wasn’t good. As soon as they left I ran into the living room to see what was going on.

“What did they want Momma?” I asked her.

“They told us,” said Momma. Taking a few breaths she finished her sentence.

“That we have twenty four hours to pack our belongings and move out,” Momma continued. Burying her face into Poppa’s shoulder.

It’s not fair, what about my friends? Where do I go to school? Tears started streaking down my cheeks as the mere thought of leaving Shauna and Denise behind. The image of leaving them was making me sick to my stomach.









Chapter Two

I ran to my room in tears and my Momma followed me soon after.

“I know this is tough for all of us, sweetie but we all have to be strong and things will look up after awhile,” said Momma.

“It’s not fair Momma, it’s not fair” I said with tears still streaming down my face. “I know sweetheart, we will make it through this and everything will be all right, you’ll see,” said Momma. Trying to calm me down.

I finished getting ready for my final day at school. I kissed Momma good-bye and waited outside for the bus to arrive. When the bus finally arrived my heart was beating twice as fast than normal. I stepped into the bus and I could see Shauna and Denise with big grins on their face. I walked towards them with my head down.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Shauna.

“There isn’t anything wrong with me,” I said. Avoiding eye contact.

“If nothing’s wrong with you, then why can’t you look up at us?” asked Denise. Placing her hands on her hips.

I took a deep breath and started mumbling.

“Speak up girlfriend, you’re mumbling,” said Shauna.

I took in a couple of deep breaths and slowly looked at them with my puffy red eyes meeting up with their eyes. I started to explain to them why I was so upset.

“We have to move,” I said.

“Why do you have to move? Didn’t your Dad find a job yet?” asked Denise.

“No he hasn’t had any luck. I know he is really trying to find a job but with everybody after a job the pickings are very slim. We sold just about all our possessions and Poppa even sold his truck. We just don’t have enough money to stay here,” I explained. Before I knew it I was bursting into tears.

“That’s too bad. We’ll miss you,” said Shauna and Denise. Hugging me tightly

“Let’s make the most of our last day together,” said Shauna.

I nodded and the whole trip to the school we cracked jokes and made funny faces. They really know how to cheer me up. School went faster than I expecting. When I walked outside with my two best friends next to me I saw my Momma’s van waiting in the parking lot.

“Looks like someone is ready for you to hit the road,” said Denise. Giving me a slap across my back.

“Maybe she is but I’m sure not ready to say good-bye yet,” I said.

“Got a plan?” asked Shauna. With her hands on her hips anticipating an answer from me.

I look at her and gave them both a nod. We huddled up and started whispering a plan to one another. We ran the opposite direction of the crowd and into the gym. We decided to take out our frustration on the basketball court and started shooting hoops.

“You make a pretty basketball player when you’re angry,” teased Denise.

“Too bad I don’t get angry often, our basketball team might win,” I joked. Suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Is my Momma still out there?” I asked.

Shauna went to peek out the window.

“Yep, she looks like the only one left in the parking lot,” said Shauna.

“I’ll better get going then before she becomes angry,” I said.

“We’ll go with you then, make like Dorothy, scarecrow and the lion in the Wizard of Oz,” said Shauna and Denise together.

We walked slowly out the door arm in arm to my old beat up van. When we finally arrived, Momma didn’t look too happy.

“What took you so long Sierra,” asked Momma. Her hands on her hips and tapping her foot. .

“Sorry Momma, I want to make the most of my last day of school, that’s all,” I said. Looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact with Momma.

“I know you’re going to miss your friends but we have a long trip ahead of us, understand?” said Momma. As she lifts my head so our eyes meet.

“Yes Momma I understand,” I said. Forcing a smile on my face.

Shauna, Denise and I huddled together one last time and gave each other a great big bear hug before climbing into the van.

“Keep in touch girlfriend, remember friends forever” said Shauna and Denise. In perfect harmony together.

Shauna put her “Friends Forever” necklace around my neck “Thanks, but I can’t take this from you. I gave it to you when you moved here,” I said. Carefully taking off the necklace from my neck.

“Don’t be silly, I want you to have it so you can remember us,” said Shauna. Carefully putting the necklace back on around my neck.

“I’ll never forget you,” I said. As tears started streaming down my face.

“Better not,” said Shauna and Denise. Trying their best to be strong and forcing a half smile on their faces.

I started to climb up in the van and sat down in the seat. I rolled down the window.

“I love you both, hope this isn’t the last time I will see you,” I said.

“Love you too,” said Shauna and Denise.

As Momma pulled out of the parking lot, all I could do was stare out the window watching Shauna and Denise wave. Farther from the school we got the smaller they got. When we arrived at the house Poppa had just finished packing. Momma and I got out of the van and helped Poppa pack the rest of the luggage into the van.

I sat in the van with Momma and Poppa. Staring out the window watching our house disappear in the background. I held on to the necklace Shauna and Denise gave me and stared at the picture of us the whole way there. We drove for hours until we reached a trailer park with about six homes. We finally arrived in to our small house. It was a small one-bedroom house with cracked windows and torn tapestry covering the windows. All of us started to unload the cars one by one into the house.

“Momma, its so small, we won’t all fit in here” I cried out.

“I know darling it is small but we can’t afford anything bigger for the time being” said Momma. As the tears started flowing down her cheeks. All I could think about was our old home and my friends back in the old neighborhood. After we finished packing, Momma made us all sandwich’s for dinner.

“How come you’re not eating honey?” asked Momma.

“I’m not hungry,” I said.

“You need to try to eat to keep up your strength,” said Momma.

“I don’t feel good, I miss my friends Momma,” I cried. Tears started to pour from my eyes.

“I know you do, I miss our old house too,” said Momma. Hugging me tightly. Being away from my friends was making me home sick and I just couldn’t stomach much of anything. After dinner I walked into the cramped living room and went to lie down on the small and scrunched up Futon. Through out the entire night I kept tossing and turning only dreaming about my friends and neighbors back home. So I sneaked into Momma and Poppa’s room and crept into their bed.

“What’s wrong Sierra?” asked Poppa. With his eyes half open.

“I can’t sleep Poppa, I keep dreaming of Shauna and Denise,” I said. Snuggling close to Poppa’s chest.

“It’s alright, you can sleep here if you want to,” whispered Poppa.

“Thank you, love you Poppa,” I said quietly.

“Love you too,” said Poppa.

I suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning I woke up and headed towards the kitchen and I saw Poppa g

“Where are you going Poppa?” I asked with a smile.

“Looking for a job honey,” Poppa said smiling back at me.

Poppa drove away in the van searching for a job. Momma had finished making breakfast and called for me to come in and eat.

“Sierra! Breakfast is ready!” called Momma.

“Coming Momma,” I called back. Running to the kitchen.

I took a seat and ate breakfast with Momma. After breakfast Momma and I washed the dishes in the sink and laid them out to dry. Momma went into her bedroom and changed into some gardening clothes.

“Momma what are you doing?” I asked.

“Getting ready to add some color to this bleak house,” said Momma. Smiling.

“Can I help you Momma?” I asked.

“Sure you can sweetie, go get the watering can and my trowel,” said Momma.

She pointed the gardening can and the trowel that was sitting at the side of the house. I walked over to the side of the house and grabbed the watering can and trowel. I followed Momma





While Momma started making breakfast I heard loud noises coming from outside so I went to the window to see where the noise was coming from. A few doors down from our house I saw a man banging on the door and screaming.

“LET ME IN OR I”LL BREAK THE DOOR DOWN!” the man yelled as his voice got louder and louder.

“Honey, get away from the window!” yelled Momma from a distance.

“Why Momma? I just want to see what’s going on over there,” I whined at Momma.

“It’s not safe Sierra, if that man sees you he might come after us next. So I am begging you to please stay away from all windows and doors until he is gone.” Momma said angrily.

“Oh alright Momma,” I said as I slowly back away from the window.

Momma very quickly closed the tapestry over the cracked window and double bolted all the doors. I carefully and quietly turned off the lights and TV; I waited patiently and silently for the noise and the danger to disappear.





Chapter Three

After the noise faded Momma went to peak out the window to make sure it was safe. When it was all clear, Momma finished making me breakfast and started to gather her planting tools and put her sunhat on. When I finished my breakfast I followed my Momma outside.

“Momma, what are you planting?” I asked with a grin on my face.

“Roses my love, to represent beauty and love,” said Momma glancing at me. “Think of like this sweetie, at first it is just a seed, but with love, care and plenty of attention it grows into something filled with the beauty and love that we give,” Momma said to me with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Can I help plant the flowers Momma?” I asked

“Sure you can Baby. You can help by pulling all the weeds out of the garden.” Momma said as she was handing me the trowel.

I started to work in the garden with Momma digging out the weeds in the garden while Momma planted rows for the seeds. Momma gave me a handful of seeds and showed me how to plant them in the soil. After all the seeds were planted Momma handed me the watering can to water the flowers.

Right after we finished planting the roses, Poppa came home after searching for a job. I could tell by the expression on his face that he was exhausted from hunting for a new job. When he stepped out of his truck, I ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

“Poppa, you’re home!” I shouted with joy.

Momma got up from her knees, brushed off the dirt on her pants and gave Poppa a kiss on his forehead.

“How did the job hunting go, dear?” Momma said with a grimace of hope on her face.

“I interviewed at two different places and filled out over a dozen applications. So I should hopefully hear from them sometime by the end of the week,” said Poppa holding onto Momma’s hands.

After we sat down to eat lunch we went out and took a look at the new school that I would be going to tomorrow morning. When we arrived, it was a smaller school than what I am use to. Principal Marcus greeted us at the door. He was a slim man with just a ring of hair around the crown of his head.

“Hi Mr. And Mrs. Jenson, my name is Marcus Mallard I am the principal here at Denton Middle School.” Principal Marcus said as he was shaking Momma and Poppa’s hands.

“Hi Mr. Mallard, My name is Rosanna and this is my husband Darren. This is my daughter Sierra, who will be attending your school here.” Momma said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

Principal Marcus showed us the school and introduced me to my new teacher. They all seemed nice but deep down inside I was scared out of my pants and the more I wanted to be with my friends Denise and Shauna. After the tour we all said good-bye to Principal Marcus and thanked him for taking the time to show us around. We got into the van and drove off to our small one bedroom shack.

As soon as we got home Momma started to cook dinner. I could smell something heavenly coming from the kitchen.

“Momma, what are you cooking up tonight?” I asked her as I was taken in by the heavenly scents.

“Pot roast baby, and mashed potatoes with gravy,” Momma said with a smile.

“MMM smells yummy Momma,” I said as I was rubbing my stomach.

When dinner was finished cooking, we all sat down and ate dinner. I didn’t have much appetite since tomorrow I will be starting at a new school.

“Honey, why aren’t you eating?” Momma asked me with a concerned look upon her face.

“How can I eat when I will be at a new school tomorrow morning? I will be a small fish among many. What if nobody likes me? I don’t wanna go to school Momma,” I cried as a buried my face in my hands.

Momma gently lifted my head from my hands until we are eye to eye and said to me in a soft voice:

“I know your scared baby girl, but there ain’t no reason why people wouldn’t like you. You’re super sweet and a very bright young girl.”

Momma and I hugged each other for a while.

“I love you Momma,” I said as I was drying my tears.

“I love you too sweetie” said Momma with a smile.

After dinner I got ready for bed and hopped onto the Futon. Momma and Poppa both followed me and tucked me under the covers.

The following morning I woke up to the sunrise and started getting dressed for school. I could smell the sweet aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon brewing on the gas stove. I walked into the crowded kitchen and gave my Momma a big squeeze.

“It smells delicious Momma,” I said while seating myself at the table. .

“You need to eat a big breakfast, it is a big day for you,” said Momma as she handed me a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

Poppa came in and started to sit down at the table. Momma and I headed towards the van. We went our separate ways and drove towards the school. When we arrived there were so many students at the school. My legs were shaking in my shoes. Momma helped me out of the van and I clutched her hand as tight as I could squeeze and we slowly walked towards the entrance. By the time we got to the entrance, the bell rang for class to start. So I hugged my Momma one last time before heading into Mrs. Robbins classroom.

She said to me in a calm voice:

It is okay, be brave sweetheart. You will make friends in no time.

“I love you too Momma” I said back.

I never felt so nervous in my entire life. When I got into the class everybody stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me.

“Everybody I would like you all to meet Sierra. She just moved here so everybody say hi to her,” Mrs. Robbins said.

I waved shyly to the class and took a seat in the back row. During lunchtime I found a table by myself and took a seat and started eating my lunch. Then all of a sudden one of the students decided to sit at my table.

“Hi, my name is Janice. May I sit by you?” said Janice as she stuck out her hand.

“Yes sure I guess,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

Janice and I talked over lunchtime and we hanged out everyday during lunchtime and recess. We became very close and it made my school days go fast. At three thirty I got on the school bus and couldn’t wait to see how much the roses have grown since Momma and I planted. When the bus stopped a block from our small shack I ran towards the rose garden to see if anything has sprouted. When arrived at our home I saw Momma watering the garden.

“Momma, how come they haven’t sprouted yet?” I asked.

“It takes time baby, just like you don’t grow up overnight. Roses don’t sprout into beautiful flowers overnight either,” said Momma as she was turning off the hose.

While Momma was cooking dinner, Poppa came home. He looked exhausted and glad to be back home.

“How was your day dear?” asked Momma as she was giving Poppa a hug.

“It was a long day but it feels good to be working again,” Poppa said with a smile.

Once dinner was finished cooking we all sat down and talked about our day.

“How was your first day of school Sierra?” asked Momma

“At first I was scared and worried that I wouldn’t like it. At lunch I met a nice girl named Janice and the more we talked the better friends we became,” I said with a big grin.

“I’m glad to hear that sweetie,” said Momma as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

After dinner we all did our share of work and helped put away dishes and clean the table. When everything was done we all went to sleep.

Everyday after school I would jump off the bus and run towards the garden to see if the seeds have grown into roses yet. When summertime came, Momma and I would drench the roses with the watering hose so they wouldn’t dry up. One summer day, I was playing in the backyard and I saw some green over by the garden. I went closer to the garden to see what it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes so I ran inside to find Momma and when I did I shouted:

“Momma, momma, look your flowers are growing!” She walked outside with me and I pointed at the green sprouts in her garden.

“Yep your right. Our beautiful roses are beginning to bloom,” she said as she gave me a big hug.

We both looked in awe as we imagined what our roses would look like when they are fully bloomed.

It really made our days, watching them begin to grow.







Chapter Four

One day while I was coming home from school I saw Momma watering her garden. Right before I got to the house I saw her slowly fall to the ground. I ran up to her as fast as my legs could go and caught her just in the nick of time right before her head landed on the dry dirt.

“Momma, momma, what happened? How come you fell? ” I said with tears running down my cheeks.

“There was a drive by shooting right before your bus showed up at the bus stop and I guess a stray bullet must of hit me baby,” said Momma looking up at me.

“You can’t die on me Momma, you have to fight, tell me you’ll be alright,” I pleaded with Momma.

“Honey, as much as I love you, I have lost too much blood and I don’t think I have the strength anymore. I need you to be strong; you are now in charge of my rose garden. Cherish it with all your heart and I’ll always be with you and the garden,” Momma said as the twinkle in her eyes began to fade.

Within moments her spirit faded away as she died in my arms. I held her head close to my heart and just sat there crying. All I could think to myself was:

Why? She can’t leave me. It wasn’t fair, not fair to Poppa and I.

I heard my Poppa’s truck pull up in the driveway. When Poppa got out of the truck I looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes and said:

“Momma dead Poppa, Momma was hit by a bullet and died in my arms”

Poppa ran to my side and held her limp body up to his chest.

“Why did you leave sweetheart? This isn’t fair” Poppa looked up shouting out to the sky.

We gathered around Momma’s lifeless body and held each other through the rest of the day. Later that night I couldn’t go to sleep; I tossed and turned on the Futon so I got up and woke up my Poppa.

“Poppa, I miss Momma. I can’t sleep. Can I sleep with you?” I asked Poppa as I tapped him on his shoulder.

“Sure you can honey, hop into the bed with me” said Poppa as he tapped the bed.

I hopped onto the bed next to Poppa and dozed off to sleep.





Chapter Five

The next morning Poppa and I took a week off to grieve Momma’s death. We planned the funeral together.

“Poppa instead of having a traditional funeral can we decorate the church with roses. Since Momma always loved her rose garden?” I asked Poppa.

“That is a wonderful idea, Momma would very pleased with her funeral,” said Poppa.

Poppa called the florists and picked out the colors for the roses. I wanted to do something special for her funeral so I decided to write a poem and recite it at her funeral. With Poppa’s help I was able to create a beautiful piece I called Rose.

“Listen to this poem Poppa and tell me what you think,” I said with a smile.

“Okay, I’m all ears,” said Poppa

Rose you are a sign of everlasting beauty that flows through your stem to your leaves. With love, care and attention we give you and in return you give me hope and dreams. I will shower you with all my heart like Momma use to do so Momma can spread her love through your beauty divine and she’ll stay in your heart and memory and in mine.

I recited to Poppa.

“That is beautiful honey, I bet your Momma would love it too,” said Poppa as he was wiping the tears from his eyes.

The day of the funeral all the friends and family came to the church and were in awe of how beautiful the church looked and how heavenly the church smelled. When everyone was seated it was my turn to recite the poem I wrote for the funeral.

After I read the poem the whole church was flooded with tears, but I did my best to be strong just like I promised her. It was a beautiful ceremony we had for Momma’s funeral; I knew Momma would be smiling down from heaven from watching her own funeral.

After the ceremony, everyone followed one by one down the road in a line to our house. Everyone stepped out of their cars and walked over to the rose garden. We decided to spread her ashes in her rose garden since that is what she treasured the most.

Poppa wanted to say something before we sprinkled her ashes in the rose garden.

“Rosanna loved working her rose garden. The garden represents everything about her. Even in the darkest of times she seems to overcome the worst and bloom. Let us all remember what and who she represents and never forget her.”

After his speech, he wipes the tears from his eyes and we all bow our heads in silence. He grabs her ashes and together Poppa and I sprinkle them into the garden. Everybody walks to their cars and headed back home. As soon as everybody left, we went back to the church and gathered the roses and decorations and went back home. Poppa and I used the left over roses as centerpieces and placed them all over the house.

We ate in silence during dinnertime and quietly cleaned up after dinner and headed to bed. A couple of days later Poppa went back to work and unfortunately I had to go back to school. Since Momma is gone I became the mother of the household. Luckily she taught me how to do laundry and cook.





Chapter Six

It has been a week since my Momma passed away and although I am going to school I am not completely done grieving. Poppa has been working overtime since Momma’s passing so I hardly ever see him.

Everyday after school I would stop by Momma’s rose garden and pause before going into the house. Every time I looked at the roses in bloom images of Momma kneeling down on the dirt and picking the weeds from the garden filled my head. Each memory of her sent a wave of sadness. As the depression hit me tears began to run down my cheeks and I would burst out crying. I spent many nights crying myself to sleep. Other times Poppa would run into the family room waking me up. I remember one night I would have these dreams about my Momma and I would wake up all hot and sweaty.

“Momma, Momma, don’t leave me Momma,” I would cry out in the middle of the night.

“Wake up, wake up honey. It’s just a dream,” said Poppa as he was shaking me to wake me up.

I laid my head on my Poppa’s chest and started bursting out crying.

“Poppa, I miss Momma. Why did she leave us Poppa? Why?” I cried.

“Sierra honey, sometimes bad things happen to good people. It wasn’t our fault she died. Even though she isn’t here physically, she’ll always be in your heart,” said Poppa wiping the tears from my cheeks.

For the remainder of the night I slept in Momma and Poppa’s room hoping that I wouldn’t wake up screaming again.

The next couple days I could see the neglect the roses are getting from not being watered. The red and pink shades of the rose petals are turning brown and black. The sweet aroma that the roses gave off is now gradually disappearing. As much as I wanted to nurture the plants back to health it was killing me on the inside. Before going to the bus stop and going inside the house I would take a quick glance at the garden and walk away. Within a couple weeks as the temperature dropped the rose garden died and all there was left were some dried up dirt and leaves. When the wind blew picking up the dried leaves I could imagine my Momma’s soul floating away in the wind.

One day Poppa came outside and looked at the sad and very grim garden. He just stood there and shook his head. I went outside to see what he was up to.

“Poppa what’re you doing?” I asked him

“Looking at the garden and thinking about your Momma,” he said as he looked at me.

“Sad looking isn’t it?” I asked him.

“Yeah it is, how come you haven’t been keeping up the garden?” Poppa asked me

“I’m not ready Poppa. I’m still sad that Momma’s gone,” I said.

“It’s okay honey, we’ll both be better in time,” Poppa said with a smile.

After spending some quiet time looking at the garden, Poppa had to go to work and I had to finish getting ready for school. As soon as I finished breakfast I said farewell to Poppa as he left to go to work and waited by the bus stop to get picked up from school. A few minutes after I got to the bus stop at the end of the street, the bus arrived to pick me up. I sat by my best friend Janice.

“Any news on your Mom’s killer?” Janice asked me.

“Not that I know of,” I said to Janice.

When the bus arrived at school, Janice and I walked to our homeroom. After lunch our school had a special assembly on safety and violence. They showed a bunch of videos on gang violence and protecting yourself from getting hurt. Then TV news special came on involving a high-speed car chase. Janice looked at me and said to me quietly:

Do you think the police are chasing the person that shot your Mom?

“Don’t know, anything’s possible” I said to Janice shrugging my shoulders.

Janice and I spent the remainder of the day wondering:

What if that was the person that had shot my Momma?

After school I said farewell to Janice and got off the bus. When I went inside Poppa was cooking spaghetti and meatballs on the stove.

“How’s your day at school?” Poppa asked me taking a quick glance at me.

“It was alright, we had an assembly after lunch on violence and during the assembly they played the news special about the high speed car chase. Poppa do you think the person in the car was the person that shot Momma?” I asked him.

“I don’t know darling, maybe,” said Poppa shrugging his shoulders.

After dinner, Poppa and I cleared our plates and went to bed.



Chapter Seven

The next day while I was in Mr. Jones English class, I was busy working on my vocabulary when Mr. Jones tapped me on my shoulder. I looked up at him and he said to me quietly:

Sierra, you need to go the Principal’s office. They need to talk to you.

“What is it about Mr. Jones? Am I in trouble?” I asked, worried that I did something wrong.

Mr. Jones placed his hand on my shoulder and said to me:

“No Sierra your not in trouble. I don’t know exactly what it is about. My hunch is telling me it has to do with your Momma’s death.”

I nodded to my teacher and walked down to the principal’s office. When I got there I saw my Poppa sitting across from the principal. Now I was really curious what was going on.

“Poppa why are you here?” I asked

“I have some news about your Momma’s killer. They have caught him and they want us to attend his court hearing.” Poppa said to me with serious eyes.

“How come Poppa?” I asked

“I guess we need to identify him and hear him out,” Poppa answered back.

After the discussion about my Momma’s killer, I gathered my books and walked out the door with Poppa. I have no clue what to expect so I just stood by Poppa’s side the whole time. We drove for a while until we got to a large fenced in facility. When we arrived at the entrance two big heavy metal doors opened. I walked side by side with Poppa grasping his hand tightly and trying to be a shadow walking unnoticed. When we got to the desk a dark skinned man was sitting upright with a clean and crisp suit on.

“How may I assist you sir?” he asked in an abrupt voice.

“Yes, Officer my name is Darren Mackroll, I got a call a while ago to come here and identify the man who killed my wife Rosanna Mackroll.” Said Poppa clear as day.

“Oh yes now I remember. Just wait right here and I will have Office Daly escort you back to the holding area.” The officer said to Poppa as he was filing his paperwork.

Poppa and I took a seat patiently waiting for the officer to come get us. After a while a woman officer came through the door.

“Mr. Mackroll, my name is Officer Daly I am here to escort you to the holding area.” Officer Daly said with a stern smile.

Poppa and I got up from our seats and followed Officer Daly to the holding area. When we arrived, there was an African American guy in mid twenties wearing a white t-shirt and torn up jeans. He was sitting down with his hands and feet cuffed up.

“Poppa, I don’t want to go see him.” I whined to Poppa.

“I know it is tough on both of us but we must face our fear,” said Poppa

Poppa and I took in a deep breath and slowly walked into the room. I walked towards the man in chains and just let out all my emotions out.

“How could you kill my Momma? She did nothing to you and you had to kill her,” I screamed at him.

Poppa went over to me and laid his hand on my shoulder. He gently whispered into my ear:

Honey, I know you are upset but we have to be strong

I snuggled up against my Poppa and started crying.

“I don’t think I can Poppa. That man killed my Momma and I want my Momma back,” I cried with tears pouring down my cheeks.

“Think about what Momma would want you to do,” Poppa reminded me.

“If Momma was here she would want me to find it in my heart to forgive him. I just can’t do it now Poppa,” I said.

After the discussion, Officer Daly came in to get us.

“He will be going to court tomorrow, I suggest you both come. You can hear the truth,” Officer Daly told us.

Poppa and Officer Daly shook hands and we headed towards the car. We had a quiet ride back home. When we arrived I could tell the roses are beginning to wilt.

“Poppa how come the flowers are dying?” I asked Poppa

“Cause nobody has taken care of them honey” answered Poppa.

Poppa went into the house while I stood there in front of the rose garden remembering my Momma.

“Honey, dinner is ready” Poppa yelled from the kitchen.

“Okay Poppa, I’m coming,” I said as I ran into the house and shut the door.

We both sat down at the table and thought about tomorrow’s court hearing. The only thing going through my mind was hoping that guy would pay the ultimate price for my Momma’s death. We finished our hotdogs and baked beans and finished cleaning up after supper. I went to get dressed and ready for bed. I knew tomorrow was going to be a big day. Poppa followed me in the family room where I sleep. He tucked me in and whispered into my ear:

Get a good night sleep sweetheart; tomorrow is a big day for both of us. Try to remember what your Momma taught you.

I quietly said back to him “I love you Poppa. Good night”



Chapter Eight

That night my Momma came to in my dreams. She was wearing her yellow sundress and her old tattered sunhat to shade her eyes from the sun. She was busy working in her rose garden. While she was digging out weeds, she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said:

Sierra, I know you hear me. I hope one of the biggest lessons I taught you was in order for this world to become a better place you must be the bigger person. No matter how angry you are or how much sorrow you have since I passed; you must find it in your heart to be strong enough to forgive, let go and move on.

Just like that, she faded away like dust in the wind. As soon as Momma vanished from my dreams, I suddenly woke up to my Poppa’s voice telling me that breakfast is ready.

“Sierra, breakfast is ready. Come and eat before we go to court,” he yelled down the narrow hallway.

“I’m coming Poppa,” I yelled back.

I jumped off the Futon and walked down to the kitchen. I could smell eggs over easy and bacon fresh off the stove. I took a seat at the round table and waited for Poppa to bring my breakfast to me. He laid my food down at the table and grabbed himself some breakfast and took a seat across from me.

“Poppa, Momma came to me in my dreams” I said with a mouthful of bacon.

“What did Momma say in your dreams sweetheart?” Poppa asked with a smile.

“She told me to be strong and find it in my heart to forgive the man that killed her” I replied back.

“You should listen to Momma, all wounds take time to heal but we all got to move on,” said Poppa.

“I know Poppa, I know,” I said with a smile.

Poppa and I finished up our breakfast and got dressed to go to court. Poppa was the first one out the door and he started up the car to warm it up. I followed him but before I got into the car I took one last look at Momma’s dying rose garden. I thought to myself:

Before I let go of Momma’s death, I first must bring Momma’s spirit back and do whatever I can to bring her roses back to life.

I ran into the house as quickly as possible and grabbed Momma’s old watering can and start to water her roses.

“Sierra, come on we are going to be late for the hearing. What are you doing?” Poppa shouted from the van.

“Coming Poppa, I had to water Momma’s roses,” I shouted back.

I put the watering can away and ran to the van as fast as I can. Poppa and I drove off to the courthouse. During the trip there, it was quiet for most of the way there. Poppa decided that it was too quiet and started trying to carry on a conversation.

“You finally found the courage to nurture the roses back to health” said Poppa as he took a quick glance at me.

“Yes Poppa. Ever since my dream of Momma, I have decided that in order to forgive I first must be willing to bring back Momma’s spirit and keep my promise to her by tending and caring for her rose garden” I answered back.

“Momma will be proud of you honey. I’m proud of you too” said Poppa with a big grin.

We arrived at the courthouse with fifteen minutes to spare. We got out of the van and speed walked to the entrance. We finally made it just before they shut the doors to the courtroom. We sat in the very front row of the room and waited quietly for the judge to come in.

“All stand for Honorable Dean Metz” the bailiff said out loud.

We all stood up and saw a slender elderly man come towards the stand.

“Please take a seat,” Judge Metz said in a bold voice.

We all sat down and waited for my Momma’s killer to come to the stand. Then after hearing a couple witnesses talk about that day the shooting happened, the man was told to come to the stand.

“We are calling Micah Newton to the stand your honor” the appointed lawyer called out.

With all eyes focused on him, Poppa and I watched him approach the bench. When he finally arrived, he stood there not moving a muscle and repeated these words:

I swear to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God

He took a seat at the bench and the lawyer approached him quietly.

“So Micah, what were doing on February 23 around four in the afternoon?” he asked.

“My posse and I were minding our own business and all a sudden our rival gang The C-Clan started shooting at the house. We got fired up and started going after ‘em. They injured a few of my men and wanted to get revenge. We had no idea others were going to get hurt as well,” Micah said shrugging his shoulders.

The judge stood up and said:

“Is there anyone here who would like to speak for or against this man?”

I decided to be brave and stand out amongst the crowd in the courtroom. I got up from my seat and said:

“Your Honor, my name is Sierra. My Momma became victim to this gang violence and passed away a week ago. My Momma was an innocent bystander just caught in the middle of this shooting. She has taught me find it in my heart to forgive even the worst of people. I think part of his sentence should include helping out my Poppa and I make a Memorial garden for my Momma.”

“Thank you Sierra for your thoughts. The jury will put that in consideration.” Judge Metz said as he took a seat back in his chair.

He picked up his javelin and announced that the court will have a five-minute recess so the jury could decide the verdict. Everybody scattered and stretched and Poppa and I went outside for some fresh air.

“What do you think is going to happen Poppa?” I asked looking up at Poppa.

“I think you made a good suggestion but who knows. Let’s see what the jury decides,” Poppa said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

Five minutes have gone by and people started going back into the courtroom in single file. Poppa and I took our seats back and waited for the jury to come back into the room.

When Judge Metz came back into the room we all stood up from our seats and waited for him to sit down.

“Have the jury come to a decision yet?” Judge Metz asked looking at the jury.

An older lady in her mid forties stood up and said:

“Yes we have honor”

“What is it?” Judge Metz asked

“We the jury find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter and thereby sentence him thirty days in prison and a 1000 hours of community service where him and his posse are required to help build this memorial rose garden in the town square park, clean up the graffiti off the walls, and take anger management classes twice a week,” the lady said as she sat back down.

After the sentence was brought out, the judge dismissed everybody. Poppa and I headed out of the room.

After he left, Poppa and I headed back to the car and went back home. When we arrived to the house I rushed inside to get the watering can so I could water her roses. Later that night at the dinner table I could feel Momma’s presence in the room. As I finished my first bite of tater salad I looked up at Poppa and said to him:

“Poppa, I think we all learned something today and I bet Momma is looking down at us and smiling.”

“You’re right I know she’ll be proud of you. You did a great thing today and I’m proud of you too,” said Poppa as he swallowed the last bite of his supper.

We finished eating supper and cleaned up the table. After everything was cleaned up we got ready for bed. Poppa leaned down to kiss me goodnight and whispered:

Goodnight sweetheart, I love you

“I love you Poppa,” I said as I kissed him back.





Chapter Nine

Everyday after school, I would water the garden and put my heart and soul into it. By the end of the month I could tell the difference a little water and a lot of love would make. The wilted roses slowly begin to sprout and come back to life. The roses started to fill the garden with an array of colors varying from red to yellow. It was a beautiful site and really brought color to the dark and meek life of the neighborhood.

The weekend came around and I was anxious to get started on Momma’s memorial rose garden. I got into my play clothes and gathered all my Momma’s gardening tools.

“Poppa, are you ready to take me to the town square park?” I asked Poppa as I quickly grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast.

“I’M COMING SIERRA!” Poppa yelled from his bedroom.

When we gathered everything we needed, we hopped into the van and headed down to the park. When we arrived Micah and his posse were waiting in their black SUV for us to arrive. As we got out of the van, Micah and his posse followed us to the center of the park. I handed a trowel and some seeds to Micah and his posse. I started to show them how to plant a garden.

“Micah, first dig a hole in the dirt and make sure its deep enough to plant the seed. Then gently place one of the seeds in the hole and cover it with back up with the dirt.” I said as I showed Micah and his gang step by step on how to plant the garden.

As we all got to work on planting the roses, Micah’s archrivals the C-Clan drove by and saw Micah and his gang working in the garden. They stopped their black Cadillac and opened up the window and started hollering.

“Whatcha doing?” Jerome the gang leader said.

“This is my sentence punk,” Micah said back giving Jerome and his gang a quick glance.

At first I thought this was going to be trouble but then for some reason Jerome and the gang got out of their car and actually started helping out Micah and his posse. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had to rub my eyes several times and ask my Poppa to pinch me to convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming. When the neighborhood recognized that change has come and people who were known for violence and hate were actually working in harmony together, more and more people gathered at the town square to help plant the roses for the memorial garden.

“Wow Poppa, look at all the people here helping out” I said in awe of the moment.

“Yes honey, there are sure a lot of people helping out here. We really made a difference in the community,” said Poppa as he looked down at me.

It seemed like the entire neighborhood and even outsiders stopped by to create a safe and lovely place for not just us but our children as well. After everybody got done planting the roses and some more trees we all called it a day. Poppa and I stopped at the Dairy Corner to get some ice cream to cool us off on the warm June day.

“What kind of ice cream would you like Sierra?” Poppa asked.

“I think the chocolate fudge swirl sounds tasty to me Poppa” I said to Poppa as I smacked my lips.

Poppa turned to the attendant at the counter and said:

“My daughter would like a double dip of the chocolate fudge swirl ice cream in a dish. I would like the Butter Pecan Supreme on a cone please.”

Poppa handed me my ice cream. I quickly took a seat by the window while he paid for the ice cream. I picked up my spoon and scooped up a big spoonful of the chocolate fudge swirl ice cream and put it to my mouth. I could taste the ice cream as it melts in my mouth, sending the chills down my back. Poppa came to the table and grabbed a couple napkins. He handed me the napkin and pointed to my nose.

“What’s wrong with my nose Poppa?” I asked.

“You got a chocolate freckle on the tip of your nose” said Poppa.

I got the napkin and wiped my entire face with it making sure I didn’t miss any spots. Then I looked over at Poppa and he had a pecan moustache from his ice cream. I pointed to his mouth and started bursting out into giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Poppa asked me

“Ha ha ha you’ve got an an ice cream moustache hehehe” I laughed out loud to Poppa.

Poppa wiped off his ice cream moustache and we finished enjoying our ice cream treats. When we were done we drove back home and got ready for dinner. Poppa was making his infamous barbeque chicken for dinner. It was well known back in the neighborhood were we used to live.

“Mmm smells good Poppa,” I said licking my lips.

“We’re goin’ to have a feast tonight honey. Momma’s birthday is in two weeks where we are going to have an opening ceremony to welcome everybody to the Rosanna Memorial Rose Garden” Poppa said.

We sat down at the table and pigged out on lip smackin barbeque chicken, scalloped potatoes, green salad and Momma’s delicious recipe of sweet potato pie for desert. After dinner we put away the dishes and got ready for bed. Poppa tucked me in under the covers and kissed me goodnight.

“Good night sweetheart, sweet dreams” said Poppa kissing me good night.

“G’night Poppa, I love ya,” I said back.

Poppa went to his room and he turned off the lights and went to sleep.





Chapter Ten

As it nears the big grand opening of my Momma’s memorial garden, the anxiety and excitement I felt was rapidly increasing. Poppa worked overtime so he could put money away for a plaque and I saved my weekly allowance to help chip in for the plaque. Everyday after school I would stop by and see how Momma’s Memorial garden is doing. I could see the rose buds beginning to sprout and the small trees beginning to bloom.

During breakfast, my mind was elsewhere. I could hardly touch the scrambled eggs my Poppa had prepared for me.

“Honey, why aren’t you eating your eggs? Your breakfast is getting cold,” said Poppa while working on his breakfast.

“What, what you say Poppa? Sorry I can’t stop thinking about the grand opening of Momma’s memorial garden,” I said as I started to pick at my breakfast.

“I’m excited but you can’t skip breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day,” said Poppa as he smiled at me.

“Okay Poppa, I’ll try to focus on my breakfast,” I said picking up my food.

After breakfast, I finished getting ready for school and walked to the bus stop. Other children in the neighborhood started coming up to me and talking to me. Talking about the grand opening of the memorial garden and how nicely the rose garden looks in front of the house.

.

Janice and I walked into our homeroom and started exchanging notes to each other about the posters we are going to work on after school. Through the entire school period I began to get antsy like I had ants in my pants. I could hardly stay in my seat long enough to pay attention to my teacher.

“Sierra,” Mr. Jones said loudly.

“Yes Mr. Jones” I said as I jumped out of my seat.

“What’s the matter with you today? You have been wriggling around in your seat ever since class started,” Mr. Jones asked me with his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry sir, I’m just really excited about my Momma’s garden that’s all,” I said trying to focus on my teacher.

“I would hate to send you to the Principal’s office,” Mr. Jones said with a serious look on his face.

“Okay, I will do my best to pay attention in class,” I said trying to give him my sad puppy dog eyes.



“Poppa, I know you told me not to worry helping out paying for the plaque but I saved up my allowance over the past few months and I would like to contribute towards the plaque,” I said showing him my piggy bank.

“That’s awfully nice of you honey. How much have you saved?” asked Poppa holding my piggy bank.

“I counted fifty dollars Poppa,” I said grinning.

“You can come with me to help pick out the plaque on Saturday” said Poppa handing me my piggy bank back.

“Okay” I said.

Poppa hugged me back and headed towards the Futon and went to sleep.



Chapter Eleven

Over the next month Poppa and I got busy calling catering companies and looking at different business to find the perfect plaque to prepare for the opening ceremony. After an endless search for the perfect plaque I came across a beautiful gold plated plaque with a cherry wood finish underneath it. The color of the wood reminded me of Momma’s red roses. I ran to Poppa excited to show him the perfect plaque.

“POPPA, POPPA, YOU GOT TO COME WITH ME, I FOUND THE PERFECT PLAQUE!” shouting to Poppa.

I think I shouted loud enough for the entire store to hear me. People turned to look at me as I ran to Poppa. I pushed and pulled Poppa, yanking at his arm trying to rush him to come see the plaque I found.

“Sierra, calm down, you about yanked off my arm,” said Poppa desperately trying to slow me down before I would accidentally knock down the other items in the store.

We finally made it to the plaque I found and started jumping up pointing at it.

“Isn’t it perfect? Doesn’t it remind you of Momma?” I said with joy.

“Yes it is honey, good job,” said Poppa holding my hand.

Poppa told the salesperson which plaque we wanted and told him what we wanted engraved on it. The more I thought about how great it is going to be to have a rose garden in Momma’s name the more I grew with excitement. After we paid and ordered the plaque we went back home and grabbed a bite to eat. Soon after Poppa had his dinner, he started working on the speech he wanted to give and I started to think about what I was going to wear.

On Friday Poppa decided to grill out his delicious BBQ chicken and have a neighborhood grill out. Everybody showed up. Anthony and his parents came, Marcus and his family came, and Janice and her family came. To my surprise Shauna and Denise showed up at our backyard. My heart suddenly stopped and I was breathless for a while.

“Denise! Shauna! You’re here!” I shouted running towards them with my arms wide opened.

“Hey girlfriend! Long time no see!” Denise said as she gave me a big hug.

“Yeah, we missed you all right. Thought to surprise you and be here for you when you open up the park,” said Shauna smiling at me.

I ran over to Janice and pulled her along with me so she could meet my two best friends from my old school.

“Janice I want you to meet my friends Shauna and Denise. Long time friends of mine back before I moved here,” I said introducing her to my other good friends.

“Nice to meet you two,” said Janice sticking out her hand to shake.

“Nice meeting you also” said Shauna and Denise at once.

The BBQ was a blast, for the first time in a long time everybody chatted and laughed. Everybody was in a good mood. After playing around with my friends and neighbors we all sat down and started chowing down on the BBQ chicken and potato salad. It was a delicious feast and it seems like everybody enjoyed the food.

“MMM Darren mm you have the best mm tasting chicken around” Marcus’s mom said in between bites of chicken.

“Well thanks, maybe we could trade recipes. Your delicious Devil Food Cake for my lip smacking BBQ chicken,” chuckled Poppa.

As soon as the chuckles stopped Poppa wanted to say something in the midst of dinner. He tapped on his glass to get everyone’s attention.

DING DING

Everyone turned their heads and gave Poppa their attention. When all was quiet he began to speak:

As you all know tomorrow is Rosanna’s birthday and on her birthday we are going to open up the memorial garden. She was a special woman and she showed us all how to put aside our differences and come together as a community to change the environment we live in better. I hope to see you all there tomorrow morning at the town park. I thank you for coming today.

After his speech, everyone raised up their glasses and shouted:

CHEERS!

Everyone finished eating and Poppa and I said our farewell to our neighbors and friends. When everyone went home to get some shuteye, Poppa and I went back into the house and got ready for bed.

“That was fun Poppa. I can’t believe Denise and Shauna showed up. That really made my day,” I said hugging Poppa.

“Yes, it was a blast. Let’s get some rest for the big day tomorrow,” said Poppa as he leaned over and kissed me on my forehead.

“Okay Poppa see you tomorrow morning,” I said as I laid down on the Futon.

I closed my eyes and went to sleep having wonderful dreams about tomorrow.





Chapter Twelve

I woke up at the crack of dawn and anxiously waiting for the grand opening. I was the first one up; believe it or not I had to wake up Poppa.

“Poppa, Poppa, wake up Poppa,” I said tapping his arm repeatedly.

“What, what time is it?” asked Poppa leaning over to look at the clock.

“Time to wake up. We have so much to do still before everyone shows up. Wake up sleepy head,” I said as my voice got louder.

“Okay, okay I’m up honey,” said Poppa rubbing his eyes.

I decided to attempt to cook breakfast. I kind of know how to cook scrambled eggs and I know how to make toast. I got the crate of eggs and a gallon of milk and turned the stove on. I cracked four eggs into the bowl and poured about four tablespoons of milk in with the eggs. After stirring it I poured the batter onto the frying pan and let it sizzle on the stove. By the time I was done mixing the eggs and milk I could see my Poppa walk into the kitchen like a zombie.

“Wow, that’s an unusual sight to see,” said Poppa as he scratched the back of his head.

“I thought since it is a special day today, that I would cook breakfast this morning,” I said glancing back at Poppa.

Poppa sat down at the table and picked up the paper to read while we waits for his breakfast.

“Breakfast is served,” I said handing him his scrambled eggs and toast.

“Not bad, not bad at all,” said Poppa as he started eating the eggs.

I grabbed myself a plate and sat down across from Poppa. We both ate a quiet breakfast. After we ate Poppa started getting ready for the ceremony. I picked out a beautiful dress Momma made me. It was a pink dress that went down to my knees with purple flowers on it. The dress was sleeveless and there was lace trimming at the bottom. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and put on my black church shoes.

I could smell Poppa’s aftershave a mile away. He looked really nice. After Poppa finished preparing himself he came over and tapped me on the shoulder.

“How’d I look?” asked Poppa slicking back his hair and straightening his bowtie.

“You look fine Poppa, you look fine,” I said holding my nose to avoid tasting his aftershave.

“What’s with you holding your nose?” asked Poppa laughing.

“Nothing, you just have some strong aftershave that’s all” I bursted out laughing. .

Poppa and I laughed for a while. After we all settled down Poppa and I hopped into the van and drove to pick up the plaque. We arrived at the store to pick it up. I could hardly wait to see what it would look like.

“Let me see, let me see,” I said jumping up and down trying to get a glance at the plaque.

“You’ll have to wait just like everybody else,” said Poppa tucking in the plaque to his chests.

After we got the plaque we left to head over to the park. Poppa made one last phone call to the caterers to make sure that the food was going to be there before people show up. We arrived at the town square at nine in the morning and started setting up.

“Honey help me carry this table over so we have a place to put the food,” said Poppa motioning at me to come over.

“Okay Poppa, I’m coming,” I said as I sped walked over towards Poppa.

When I got there I grabbed one end and he grabbed the other half and we carefully walked over to the left side of the park. We slowly lowered the table and stood it on all fours. Poppa grabbed a nice white cloth to put on the table. I grabbed our favorite picture of Momma and placed it in the middle of the table. A half an hour later the caterer’s came with the pigs in the blanket and cheese and crackers. Poppa pointed to where the food was going.

At ten o’clock people started showing up. A lot of people came neighbors; friends and even strangers from other neighborhoods came to see what the commotion was about. It was even better when both Micah and his Posse and Jerome and his gang the C-Clan showed up.

As soon as everyone came Poppa attempted to get their attention. When everyone started to quiet down Poppa started his speech.

Hello everyone and thank you for attending this grand ceremony. My wife Rosanna was a wonderful and strong woman. We have been through many tough times and yet she always finds a way to be positive. When we first moved here it was not a safe and peaceful place. Many bad things happened in our neighborhood and it was scary for a while. Despite the gloomy and dangerous environment that surrounded us Rosanna found peace in her rose garden. She loved her roses and poured her heart and soul into the garden. Today is her forty-fifth birthday and I am delighted and honored to welcome you all to the Rosanna Memorial Rose Garden. It is in the center of the town so you all can hopefully find peace and happiness there.

Soon as Poppa finished his speech he unleashed the plaque that we brought for this event. He grabbed the top of the red cloth that was hiding the plaque and gave it a quick yank. When the plaque was open for everyone to see it sparkled and shined in the sunlight. Everyone’s jaws dropped at the beauty of the plaque. The plaque said:

The Rosanna Memorial Garden: A wife, a mother and inspiration to us all.

I knew Momma was looking down and smiling. The roses have fully bloomed and it was a very bright and colorful sight to see. Everyone was smiling and talking and children were playing on the new swing set the community chipped in and brought. From the opening of the park at ten in the morning ‘til early evening around five o’clock the atmosphere was filled with laughter, joy and music.

“This is a wonderful ceremony Sierra. Your Momma would sure be proud of you,” said Denise.

“Yeah, it is a blasts. This sure will make my Momma happy,” I said hugging Denise.

By the end of the day Poppa and I said farewell to our neighbors and friends and thanked them for coming out to this event. When everyone left I stood by Poppa silently and smiled all day long. Poppa put his arm around my shoulder and we sighed together.

“Poppa, this project took a while but at the end it is all worth while,” I said looking up at Poppa.

“Yes it took a lot of work but it means a lot to both of us and represents your Momma in many ways,” said Poppa as he hugged me.

“Yep, it brought us all together.” I said squeezing Poppa as hard as I can.

After was all said and done, little changes occurred each day. Everybody was making strides on being the better person and trying to get along as a community. We all want our community to be a safe and happy place to live not just for us but also for the generations after us. I think that is what Poppa and I accomplished today.

I knew after Momma passed away that I wanted to make a difference. She had taught me many lessons about life but the biggest lesson she taught me was that there is beauty and love everywhere, even in the most unexpected places. That is what the Rosanna Memorial Garden represents. People can look at the garden and remember that there is love and hope, you just have to look for it and reach out and grab it.







THE END