Moi attended Keely T. Heir Middle School in Davenport, Iowa. It was a nice school, of course it was in a nicer part of town, but still, the bullies and bad kids could be found everywhere she went. Moi saved her nicest clothes for church, although this only included a long, shapeless, floral print dress with a folded collar and a pair of burgundy/red pants with a white blouse, this meant that her clothes for school were not the greatest. They were either dirty, ripped or torn, or just plain really out of style.
Today was Moi's birthday, which meant two things, she would be served the largest helping at dinner, and she would get to buy one new outfit from the cheap clothing store down the street. This excited her very much, as she stood at the door of her home, waiting for her mother to grab her purse and walk out the door. It being a school day, Jule had no kids to wrangle and get out the door. One more birthday perk, Moi got the day off school. Moi whipped around as soon as she heard the door to the house open. "Finally! We can go now!'' she shouted with excitement. "Yes, yes, yes," her mother replied as she dug through her purse, pulling out a small envelope. "What is this?" Moi asked curiously as she was handed the baby blue envelope. "Open it, "her mother replied, folding her hands across her chest. Moi pulled on the flap, giving way to a little purple card. The front read, "Happy Birthday to a very special girl...," and as she opened up the fold, she was amazed by what laid inside. "Mother, I-I can't," she stuttered as she lifted up the folded paper bill from the pocket inside the card. "Please Moi, you deserve it," her mother softly whispered. "Thank you!" Moi shouted as she pulled her mother in for a tight hug. Smiles appeared on both faces. No one in her family had ever gotten cash before. A full five dollars too! She was amazed.
They walked to the store, and as they neared, Moi's excitement grew. As they entered, her eyes grew wide. Where to start! She ran about pulling her mother along as she picked up and tried on item after item. After a while she settled on the following, a purple hair clip with a small flower, a blue netted blouse with flowers woven in and a matching floral set of leggings, a new set of plain white socks, and velvet-feeling purple flats. A total of $36.60. As her mother paid, Moi waited for her items to be placed in the bag, eager to get them home. They walked out of the store, bags in hand, but then paused when they saw some rough looking men suddenly appear from around the corner. It soon became clear that they were coming for Moi and her mother. "We don't have any money!" Jule shouted as they backed toward the wall behind them. "That's perfectly okay, "One of the men replied as they got ever closer. "Run," Jule whispered to Moi with urgency. Moi bolted to the right to try to avoid the three men, but was caught as a man lunged forward, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close. "Oh no you don't," he whispered in her ear as she struggled to get free. The other men closed in around the one holding Moi, and then they all started to walk toward the other side of the street, toward a blue minivan that had not appeared earlier. They opened one of the driver side doors and tried to shove Moi into the seat. She kicked back, making her captor stumble back, softening his grip long enough for Moi to slip out and duck under the others. She raced in the direction of her home, glancing back to read the plate on the back of the vehicle. The men ran to the doors of the car and raced away, afraid of being caught. Jule began to run after Moi, but soon collapsed on the ground, breath heavy. Moi, seeing her mother, ran faster to a passing woman and asked for her help to call 911.
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Be Kind to this Duck
AdventureA simple note carefully written on a rubber duck floating downstream. This story tells of a rubber duck, who floats all the way down the Mississippi River. It also tells of the lives of those who find the duck, and how they are changed because of it.
