rose always walked ahead of them.
she was always the quiet one of the
three. she would hug her favorite doll
to herself and hum lightly enough that
the other girls couldn't hear but loud
enough for sarah, her doll, to listen.
she pretended that sarah was her
sweet little baby and that she was
her mother. rose had always wished
for a mother but her mother had
died long ago when she was born.
she promised herself that when she
had a baby herself she would not die.
she would always be there for her baby.
