The life of Christine

Once there was a girl named Christine who lived on a farm a small house. She has never left their property and has never met anyone other than her own family! Her family has been struggling to survive on the limited food and money they have. She lives with her mother, father, grandfather, her big brother Allen, and her little sister Faith. Her mother stayed at home while her father went to work at a butcher's shop in the near by town. Christine has always wanted to go there but her parents think she'll get mugged, not that there is much to steal from her. Her biggest dream is to leave home and explore the world. So on her 13th birthday she went out to the barn and fed her horse Angle and then put on her nicest outfit. It was a silky, dark blue dress that her mother made her when they had a lot more money than they did now. She let her mom curl her pretty dirty blond hair and put on her mother's white pearl necklace. When her mother was done she looked absolutely stunning. Then her father came upstairs and saw how gorgeous his little girl looked. All he could say was wow. She admired how nice her parents dressed for this special occasion. Her mother was in the prettiest fabrics she had ever seen and her father was wearing a nice coat and tie that made him look handsome. When they walked downstairs they saw her grandfather, Allen, and Faith were standing there and like the rest of them they dressed very nicely. They all sat down at the table and had a delicious brunch. When they finished they brought out the cake and sang her happy birthday. They had the awesome strawberry upside down cake with some homemade ice-cream. Her family handed her a few gifts. Her mom and dad gave her new horse riding equipment, Allen and Faith gave her some new riding clothes, and her grandfather gave her a nice dark blue bicycle and a kitten. She loved the gifts and she gave them all a hug and kiss and told them thank you. She named her little kitty Daisy.
She told her mom and dad that she would like to see what it is like out side home and to have a friend-and hopefully a boyfriend. They decided that she was finally old enough to see some new places. They said that they would take her out to the town with their horses that day if she was willing to behave. She wanted this gift so badly that she was willing to be good. So later that day she put on her riding clothes and saddled up. She put a few bottles of water, some money, a few apples and carrots, and a hairbrush into a backpack. She got every thing together and got on her horse while she waited for her father. Her father came out and asked her if it was ok if Allen and Faith could come along. She would love it if they came with them so she said sure. She kept waiting and waiting for them to come. She decided to practice her horse riding skills. After 5 minutes they were finally ready. Jackson was riding his horse Lightning and her father and Faith were riding her dad's horse Storm. They headed off to town.
When they reached the town it was kind of crowded. Christine was holding Faith's hand so she wouldn't get kidnapped. There weren't a lot of kids but the ones that were there looked as if they were popular. Christine told her father that she was going to take Faith to go look somewhere else. He didn't think that they should be wondering about by themselves so he told them that Allen was going with them. They didn't care. They went over to the pet booth. They were looking for the perfect collar for Daisy. They saw a light pink one with sunflower, another one was lavender with a little bell, and a dark green one with a little daisy on the side. She knew that the green one was the best pick out of the three. She went over to the woman who was selling the collar and asked how much it was. The woman was ignoring her and started talking to a man who was beside her. That made Christine's insides burn like fire. She walks over to her and waits for them to finish their conversation. When the man walked away she walked in front of her and asked her the question again. The woman told her,"This is not a children's store. Put that where you found it and leave!" This really ticked off Christine. She wanted to slap the woman, but she didn't. She walked over to Allen, handed him the collar, and told him the story. He walked over to the lady and said,"Excuse me, how much is this collar?" The woman told him,"Oh, darling since you were so nice I will give it to you for free." Allen was surprised so he told her that it was Christine's birthday. Her face lit up with guilt. She handed him a twenty dollar bill and told him to tell her that she was sorry. He handed Christine all of the money and put the collar in her bag.
They looked around a little longer. Faith saw the most prettiest doll ever. It had blue eyes, brown hair, and was wearing an Indian outfit. She had $15 to spend. She picked up the doll and walked over to the man selling it with Christine. The man was very nice and said the doll was only a dollar. The man who sold the doll had a son that was about Christine's age. She walked over to him and told him,"Hi, I'm Christine. Do you want to be my friend?" He looked very happy. He said,"Sure. By the way my name is James." They keep talking. Then Christine's dad walked over and saw them talking. He said,"Hi, sweetheart. Who is your friend?" She told him,"Father, this is James." He looked concerned. "That is nice sweetie." James said,"My father is over there if you want to talk to him." Christine's father looked behind him and saw a man helping a costumer. He knew that was James' father so he walked over to him and they started talking.
When everyone finished their conversations, the dads said that James was going to go over Christine's house tomorrow. So the next day, Christine and her father rode into town to pick up James and took him to their house. That day the sky became really dark. Thunder rattled the ground so hard that it seemed like small earthquakes. They didn't pay much attention to it until they heard loud sirens. "WHAT IS HAPPENING!" Faith asks. Her mom and dad yell, "Get to the basement! Now!" Everyone rushed to the basement and took cover. A tornado was coming!
Faith, Allen, Christine, and James were crying and screaming bloody murder. They have never experienced anything like this before. After 30 minutes of taking cover, the tornado had passed. When they came up from the basement and saw that nothing was damaged or taken from the tornado. They were safe and sound. They waited for James' dad to come and pick him up. Finally, he arrived and hugged him so tight we thought he was going to pass out! They were crying just thinking about how they had a chance of never seeing each other ever again. That tornado could've torn them apart.
They left and didn't come back for a week. Christine and Allen went to the market to pick up some fruit. Christine went to visit James, but he wasn't there. Her first thought was that when they were going home the tornado sucked them up. She felt some one tap her shoulder. She quickly turned around and saw James standing there. She gave him a big hug. Then James looked at her and said," I am ok. Are you?" Christine told him, "Yeah I'm alright. I sure am glad your ok. Where have you been?" He had a strange look on his face. "Well, I have been out of town. I went to visit my mom's family in Virginia. I am sorry didn't tell you good bye." She looked at him and asked, "Then why do you have that look on your face?" He scratches his head and told her, "I told the family about you and how nice you are but then they went too far by telling me that you and I are starting to go out. We've only known each other for a few weeks." She didn't know what too say because she sort of liked him but he didn't feel the same apparently.
She decided to keep her love for him a secret. "Why would they say that?" she asked. "I guess it is from how excited I was to finally have a friend," he told her. She didn't know what to do or say. Then Allen came and told Christine that it was time to go home. She told James good bye and jumped on her horse. She left.
When she arrived at home, she heard screaming and crying. She was very concerned. She ran towards the sounds, to find her her grandfather laying on the floor not responding the family. She yelled, "What happened?" She got on the floor and started to try to wake him up by shaking him. Allen grabs her by the arms and pulls her back. He tells her, "Christine, that is not going to help." She tries to break free but he had a tight grip on her. All she could do is cry and scream at Allen to let her go. She felt hopeless.
Her grandfather didn't make it. She was devastated and and for the next week cried nonstop. All she thought about was how much she loved her grandfather and how her life is going to change now that he is gone. She hated the horrible thoughts. She spent most of her time in the barn so the family didn't have to listen to her anger. She didn't find it fair to the family.
When she finally stopped feeling so bad about her grandfather, she decided to take care of the family so the same thing didn't happen to them. She couldn't afford another family member to die. She didn't want them to choke, dehydrate, starve, ect. She had this feeling inside of her that was telling her that her grandfather was watching her from heaven. She couldn't give up on herself now.
A few years passed and she had a strong feeling in her stomach that was letting her know that her relationship with James was becoming more and more serious. Then the day came. James told her that he thought that they were a perfect match. She asked, "Are you saying what I think you are saying?" Then he asked her, "Christine, would you like to go out dinner in two days?" She was so excited. She told him in excitement, "Yes." She gave him a big hug. "Does that mean that we are dating now?" he asked. "Yes," she says in a normal tone.
When she came home she told the family the great news. They were so happy, except for her father. He didn't look so approved. She knew the reason why he wasn't really telling her congratulations. He didn't want his little girl to grow so quickly. Finally, he gave in. The days flew by quickly. James came to pick up Christine for their very 1st date. She was surprised that they were going by horse because she thought that were going to walk but horseback riding was perfectly fine with her. They climbed onto their horses and left. When they arrived at the place they were having dinner, they put their horses in the horse area and went inside. She loved it because it had a country theme. She wasn't a big fan of fancy places.
They had dinner and then left. James took Christine home safely. He didn't want anything happen to her. He knew he was in love with Christine. They reached Christine's house and James helped Christine down from her horse. She put Angel into the barn. When she came out she saw James standing there waiting for her so he could take her to the front door. They walked together and ran up the stairs. When they were at the door, James told Christine good bye and kissed her on the cheek. Then he left. She felt the love all over her body.
She walked into the door and saw her mother and father watching television. She skipped over to them and plopped down on the couch next to her mother. They talked about what Christine and James did on their date. Her parents looked approved about him being her boyfriend. She knew that he was the perfect guy for her. She was so lucky to have found the boy of her dreams.
She started to feel tired so she went to bed. At about 4 in the morning, she woke up to extreme heat and the smell of smoke. Somehow the house caught on fire. She ran out of her room and tried to save her family but she couldn't get to their rooms. So she ran outside hoping they made it out already but they weren't there waiting for her. They were still in there. She couldn't save them.
She called the fire department and waited for them to arrive. By the time they could get into the house it was too late. They weren't saved. She didn't know what she should do. Once again she was hopeless and wanted to go to heaven with the rest of her loved ones. She couldn't do that though. Allen was 20 & Faith was only 9. The firemen told her that the fire was caused from a piece of paper that was too close to a nightlight in her sister's room. She didn't think that could ever happen and kill her family. She was the only one left and she absolutely hated it. She didn't see this day coming.
Christine called James and told him the bad news. He was startled. He rode his horse over to her house. He felt horrible for her so he gave her a hug and wouldn't let her go. She didn't want him to let her go. She was terrified and sad. What was going to happen to her now that she had no parents to take care of her. She felt as if her life was thrown in the garbage! She felt doomed.
What is going to happen to me, she thought. Then a police officer walked over to her and told her that she was going to be taken to an orphanage. That made her heart skip a few beats. She was afraid of living with a different family. What if she had to break up with James? What if she had to move and live in a different country, state, or city? What was she going to do? She already lost her family, everything she owned, and house but now she might lose James too! James was holding on to her and refused to end their relationship. She still felt like life was over!
Tears were now seeming as if they could form an ocean. Then everyone started to leave when a police officer- with the name Officer Ray- walked over and asked if she was ready to be taken to an orphanage. She told him, "Can I have a minute or two?" He looked at her with caring eyes and said, "Take all the time you need." She ran over to the ruins of her house with James and they sat down on the grass. She told him that if he couldn't visit her they would have to break up. Just saying that broke her heart. He understood and he said that he would do his best to keep this relationship going. He would be depressed without her in his life. Finally, they stand up and Christine wiped away a tear running down her left cheek. She walked away but James stood there and watched her leave. He started to walk into the ruins of Christine's house when he heard something under his feet. He took a step back to see Faith's doll that she had bought from his dad.
He looked to see if he could see the police car that held Officer Ray and Christine. He saw the car not too far away so he jumped on his horse and followed. The car was too fast but eventually caught it when it came to a stop at the orphanage. He called Christine's name and she turned around with a smile on her face. He handed her the doll. She knew exactly who's it was and bursted into tears once more. He hugged her and comforted her, letting her know that she was going to be ok. He told her good bye and left.
Officer Ray came over to her and escorted her inside. It was large room with a lot of doors and windows. There were five chairs lined up against one of the walls and sat down in one. It was comfortable and the leather was cold. Officer Ray was talking to the woman in the front. She had silky dark brow hair that sparkled in the light and bold brown eyes. One of the most stunning women she had ever seen. As she waited, she sat there stroking the doll's hair and she started thinking about the fire and her family. I never even had the chance to say goodbye, she thought. Then the lady walked over to he and sat in the chair next to her. She said softly, "Hi, I am Ms. Holly. I am so sorry about what happened to you Christine. If would like I could put you in therapy." She nodded her head.
Officer Ray had left and Ms. Holly was getting ready to lead her to the room with all the other children. Finally she lead her into a huge room with 39 kids. Every one looked at her and it made her uncomfortable. Then Ms. Holly told everyone, "This is Christine. I want all of you to be really nice to her, especially you Kate." A girl that was on the top bunk of a bunk bed in a corner, rolled her eyes and started to play Piano Tiles on her phone. She had bleach blond hair and looked like she was fifteen. Ms. Holly told her, "You go find an empty bed and I will bring you some clothes to put on." "Ok," she replied. She had totally forgotten that she was still in he nightgown. She looked around the room and spotted an empty bed -and it wasn't a bunk bed. It had a dark green comforter and the pillows were a cream color. She sat down and noticed that it was a waterbed. She liked it and sat Faith's doll on the pillow.
Then Ms. Holly came over to her and handed her some cloths. The shirt was purple with a red heart on it. With the shirt was a pair of blue jean shorts and white Vans. She went to the bathroom to change. When she was done she walked out and Ms. Holly was standing there with a hairbrush. As Ms. Holly brushed her hair, Christine thought about Faith struggling to get out of bed and out of her room. She had a picture of it in her head. Faith was asleep and the fire got to her without her having time to scream. She burned to death! Christine screamed and ran around the room. Ms. Holly grabbed her and tried to calm her down. Christine was crying so much that she could have cried an ocean. Ms. Holly held onto her and knew that if she let go that Christine then she would run around the room like crazy again. Then one of the other kids could get hurt, and she couldn't take that chance. She held her tightly and sang her a soft little song. Christine finally chilled out and laid in bed for almost an hour.
She couldn't stop thinking about Allen, Faith, her mom and dad, James, the fire, and what was going to happen to her. One of the kids came over to her and said,"Hi, I am Lillian. Are you ok because you went a little crazy earlier?" She felt kind of embarrassed and felt her face burning. She finally replied, "Yeah, I just wish I could have saved my family from the burning flames that burned down my house and I am worried I will never see my boyfriend again." Lillian looked a little surprised after she heard those words come out of Christine's mouth. All Lillian could say was oh.
The day passed quickly. All the kids were called to come eat at about 6. The table was very long. It was enough to hold more than all 39 kids and the entire staff. She just wanted to get a plate of food and go riding on Angel through the woods. She hated the thought of eating a meal without her family. Even though she didn't want to eat she was starving because she didn't eat breakfast nor lunch. So she made herself a plate of mashed potatoes, baked chicken, and corn. Holly then offered her a glass of water. She said, "Yes please," and so she watched Holly fill up a cup with ice water and sit in front of her. Once everyone was seated, they said their prayers and dug in.
She ate quickly and then went back to her bed. She grabbed Faith's doll and stroked it on top of it's head. She heard someone enter the room so she looked up and saw Lillian walking toward her. Lillian knelt down be side the bed and asked if she wanted to sleep with her. Christine agreed and they walked over to Lillian's bed to get her stuff. They brought them back and they just started talking. She found out that Lillian was unwanted and so her mom left her on the side of the road when she was only 5.
It was one of the saddest stories she had ever heard. But it made her realize something. Even though she was abandoned she never stopped looking for a better future. Maybe there was a happy ending for her after all. She has keep looking up out of the gloom or she will never find her happiness. Life isn't over after all. It is like how there is always a rainbow after a tornado.
A month passed and Christine and Lillian were like sisters. The did everything together and told each other everything. James and Christine were still in a relationship. In that month 6 children were adopted.
One day a woman came and said that she would like to adopt two girls. Lillian and Christine looked at each other and ran to grab a book off or their bookshelf. They jumped onto Christine's bed hoping it won't burst. They acted natural and snuggled up with each other and started reading. The woman walked in the room and looked at all the kids. When her eyes landed on the two of them. She let out an aww! She knew they were perfect.
She went over to the two and asked them a few questions. She wanted the two young ladies. She told Holly that they were the ones she wanted. So 15 minutes later Holly walked in and told them to pack their bags. The girls nearly screamed and ran to pack everything. When they finished, they rolled their suitcases out of the room and into the lobby. The lady said that her name was Sarah Ram but they could call her anything they want. They both decided to call her Sarah. Sarah led they girls out to her car after they said their goodbyes to everyone.
One their way to their new home, Christine noticed that it was the same road she lived off of! She wanted to go see James and look at her old house again. The moment she reached the new house, she jumped out of the car and ran down the street. Sarah and Lillian started calling for her and ran after her. She first ran to James's house knocked on the door. He came out, saw Christine, and grabbed her into a hug. After he released her, she grabbed his hand and ran towards her burned down house. They didn't stop until they finally reached their destination.
Lillian and Sarah finally caught up and then realized why she ran. She was back home! In silence, they looked at the ruins knowing what happened there. As Christine started crying, James put his arm around her and squeezed her. Finally, Sarah said that they should get going and her and Lillian should unpack.
James stood up and helped Christine up. He hugged her tightly and told her that he would see her tomorrow. She was so happy to hear that. She let him go and Lillian came over and put her arm around Christine. They slowly walked home together. When they reached the house, Sarah led Lillian and Christine to their rooms. Christine walked into her new room and looked around. It was a lot bigger than her old room. She quickly unpacked and then went to take a shower. She had soot all over her shins.
She got out of the shower and looked at the clock it was 6:48 so she went ahead and put on some pajamas. Then she walked downstairs to see Lillian reading a book at the dinning room table and Sarah out on the back deck cooking steaks on the grill.
Christine sat down across from Lillian and looked at the book she was reading. It was "The Call of the Wild" and she immediately told her that that was her favorite book in the whole entire world!
Sarah walked in and asked them if they were ready to eat. They said yeah and Sarah sat a plate with a big steak in front of them. Christine ate quickly and then went to her room. She looked around for paper and a pencil. She found them in a desk by her window. She wanted to write James a note saying that she missed him and wanted to tell him how she felt about everything.
She eventually fell asleep while writing. Sarah came in to tuck her in and tell her good night. Then, she saw her asleep in the desk chair with her head on the desk. She gently picked up Christine and lied her down in her bed. She lightly pushed her bangs up and kissed her on the forehead. She took one last look at the child and smiled before she left the room.
The next morning she woke up to see a familiar face. She sat up and then realized that it was James. James said, "Good morning sunshine. Did you sleep well?" Christine stood up and stretched and said, "Yeah." She then remembered the note that she wrote last night. She walked over to her desk and handed him the note and said, "Read this while I get dressed." He walks out into the hall and Christine put on a orange shirt and some blue-jean shorts.
She called out to James saying that she was done. He came in and pulled her into his arms. He held her close and whispered in her ear, "I missed you more!" She looked up and told him, "I don't think so!" He just smiled and kissed her on top of her head.
At that moment, she realized maybe life isn't over after all. After every tragedy, something good will eventually happen. It can be soon or not as soon as you may hope. You just have to keep looking up to find your happiness.