Opening Up

Elizabeth blew out the candle and headed up the stairs for bed. It had been a long day, and she was tired. She climbed into bed with her two little sisters. Elizabeth was the second-oldest in her family. She and her older brother Ben used to laugh and run and play as kids, but when their parents both died of the flu, they had assumed heavy loads of responsibility. Elizabeth’s family wasn’t the only one that had suffered losses from the flu epidemic. Many families in town had lost members of their family. Elizabeth’s friend, Anne, had lost her mother as well. Anne and Elizabeth got together frequently to can jams and vegetables.

Early the next morning, Elizabeth glanced out the window and saw Anne’s wagon coming up the drive. “That’s odd,” thought Elizabeth. “We didn’t have any plans today.”

Anne climbed out of the wagon and began pulling at a huge trunk. Ben stepped around Elizabeth to give Anne a hand.

“What’s inside?” questioned Elizabeth.

“Dresses! More dresses than you will ever want,” explained Anne. She opened the trunk to display beautiful gowns with lace and bows.

“No, I can’t,” said Elizabeth.

“Yes, you can,” said Anne. “Mrs. Langston insisted that I take this trunk and share it with you. She said we could have every one of these dresses.”

Elizabeth was stunned and didn’t know what to say. “What can I say?”

“Say thank you,” suggested Ben, giving Elizabeth a hug. “You deserve it.”