I woke up this morning. I thought everything was beautiful. Sunshine was coming into my room, and my room was as elegant as could be. But then I remembered my leg, my father, and the car accident.

“Mom! Can I go outside?” Emma whined to her mother for the third day in a row now. Emma was only ten years old, but a very stubborn girl. Every day she wore her hair up in a long ponytail. Emma always tried to look her best, but not now. She only wore an old shirt with a dog on it and black.

“No, maybe when your leg feels better,” Emma’s mother responded. Emma had a lime colored cast on that extended from her waist to the tip of her toe.
“Fine. But I feel better!” Emma pleated. There was no response, Emma’s father would have taken her outside. Unfortunately, Emma’s father was killed in the same car accident that injured Emma’s leg. Before the car accident, Emma’s father had bought her a necklace that she now wore every day. The necklace was a silver chain with a mint-colored stone in the middle.
Unfortunately, it was lunch time.








Emma remembered what would be on the menu: cheesy broccoli soup. The smell filled the room. Emma could taste the cheese and broccoli in her mouth. She frowned as she heard the timer go off on the stove. Emma’s mother popped into the living room with a humongous bowl of the thick soup. Emma could feel the warmth of it on her leg as her mother sat it down. Cheesy Broccoli is as bad as breaking your leg.

Emma ate her soup cautiously; she disliked the taste so much. Yet, she still had to eat it every day for lunch and dinner. Emma fell asleep immediately after she finished eating.





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Emma woke up and looked at the clock, “One thirty, I still have time.” Emma groaned over to the front door. The handle felt cold as Emma gripped it and swung the door open. A blast of cold air came roaring in at Emma. It was like a fan on high power blowing into her face. She rumbled down the porch stairs and walked in to the green-grassy field. The smell of darkness filled the air; the breeze was slapping Emma’s face. All of a sudden, Emma heard a snap! She put pressure on her leg but instantly fell over.

She gripped her leg in pain; it was like a train had just run into her. But she managed to hoist herself up and scamper inside while she gripped the necklace her father had given her.

“I need to keep this to myself,” she mumbled as she crept into the house she lived in.
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“Rise and shine, Emma!” Her mother yelled in a joyful voice as she walked down the stairs. Emma was thinking to herself, now or never! Emma stood up and started tumbling towards the bathroom.

“Sorry, I got to go to the bathroom.”








Emma’s mother stood frozen on the bottom step of the stairs. “Emma…how…how…how can you walk?” Emma’s mother said in a startled voice.
“Err…” Emma had to think of an excuse…and fast! “I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I practiced walking.” Emma said quickly.

“I’m so proud of you!” Emma’s mother ran over and gave her daughter a hug, almost knocking her over. [That was close!] Emma thought to herself.
That evening, just after Emma’s mother had fallen asleep, Emma quietly went outside, back to the field. The moon was very bright and a silvery white. It was like a flashlight beaming into her eyes. Was the moon watching for another miracle? The small breeze that was going through the field had picked up; Emma felt the grass as it brushed up against her feet, as though it missed her. Which it did. Ever since Emma had broken her leg, the field had missed her. Emma was drowning away in her thoughts, when all of a sudden she heard a crack! She cautiously put pressure on her leg and could still stand! Emma felt a tear run down her face. It fell to the grass. A magic field anointed with Emma’s tears.
“I’ll tell mom in the morning, and she’ll understand,” she cried in happiness as she drifted quietly back into her house.
“Good morning, Emma!” Her mother stammered into the living room. Her hair was messed up and her eyes still looked very tired.
“Morning. Um…mom…can I talk to you?”
“Sure, let me just go get some coffee.”
Her mother walked into the living room and sat down on the couch carefully, so she wouldn’t spill her coffee.
“What’s up?” She stated.
“Well, you know how my leg got better…” Emma stammered off, she was afraid to tell her mother.
“Yeah, does your leg hurt again? Should I call a doctor?”
“No, mom, look!” Emma stood up and started to walk around the room.
“Oh my goodness…you can walk!” her mother said in amazement. She thought that this would fix everything. Emma could go back to school, and life would be almost normal. Emma ran outside and her mother followed. They galloped, did cart wheels, and jumped all around. Through the trees, Emma saw a car emerging towards the house. Her mother wondered what Emma was looking at and saw the car too.
“EMMA, RUN!” Emma’s mother was sweating as she tried to think of something to do. She quickly thought of her husband and immediately began to cry. She was worried if someone saw them. What might happen to the family? Emma ran as fast as she could into the house. If anyone saw her, they wouldn’t believe her or her meadow of magic. She knew she needed to run inside as fast as she could.
“Oh…my…goodness…” Emma gasped through breaths, as she gripped the necklace her father gave her. Her father would never see how Emma had healed. He would never see anything. All she had was the necklace. All she had was a memory.
She saw outside that her mother was pretending to cry on the grass. The mystery car turned out to be police officers coming to check on the family. Since they lived far from the city, they thought it would be a good idea to check in on them once in a while.
“Good morning, Mrs. Smith. How are you today?” asked the police officer in a curious, but nice voice.

“Fine, thank you. I just needed some air.” Emma’s mother cried through tears.
“I see, well if you need anything…give the Montgomery Police Department a call. I will be back to check on you next week.”
“Thank you, Officer Johnson.”
The black and white police car drove away. Emma walked outside, taking small baby steps until the police officer was gone. She walked over to her mother and gripped her hands tightly.
“Mom, I learned something through this experience.”
“What is that?”
“Keep miracles to yourself.”
“I’m very proud of you, Emma.” They gave each other a hug.
“Emma, you know that your secret will be safe. You’re piece of happiness.” Emma knew her mother meant it. As her mother ran toward the farm house, Emma took the necklace off and tossed it in the field. She turned to follow her mother. Together, they would enjoy a bowl of broccoli soup in the July sun.