A helpful hand and warm hearts.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!" The sound of the alarm clock drilled through Jenny's peaceful rest and straight into her brain. With a loud grunt, Jenny grabbed the alarm clock and flung it across the room, where it proceeded to break into multiple pieces. Great, she thought, one more thing to add to my day. Sighing loudly and pushing aside the blanket, she set her feet down on the cold concrete floor, hissing at the coldness of it. Even though she by no means wanted to walk across that cold floor she had to get ready or she was going to be late. So, sucking it up she set herself to task getting ready for the day.

Once Jenny had on her jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes she headed to her little brothers room to wake him up. Pushing open the door and peering in she creeped forward only to to be startled as he jumped up screaming. Shouting and stumbling backwards she landed on her rump as her brother began laughing uncontrollably. "Ok, ok, Andy you got me, now cut it out and get ready for school." Still barely controlling himself he got up off the bed and held out a hand to help his big sister up, smiling she took it and gave it a strong pull. Andy came tumbling down onto her lap as she began to tickle him and kiss his little face all over. He was so silly and cute she couldn't help but be playful right back. He had a way of bringing out her inner child but after a moment she gave him a big hug and stood them both up. "Ok, get ready for real this time." With big grins they each set off to finish getting ready.

Walking out the door that morning Andy was unusually quiet, despite their earlier mischief. Jenny knew what he was going to ask even before the words left his mouth. " Jenny when is dad coming home?" Looking down at her brother she felt her chest ache and her throat tighten, he was only 8 he needed his dad. " I don't know but it'll be soon I'm sure." He didn't need to know that their dad had stopped writing them a while back, especially since she forged new letters to keep his heart from breaking. "Let's just go to school and get throught the day."

Later that day while sitting in English trying not to pass out, Jenny was startled when her name was called over the intercom. Heading to the office she began to feel a strong sense of dread like a chill on her spine and a weight in her gut. When she reached the office there was a military officer standing in front of her with a grim look on his face. Her dread worsened and her voice broke as she asked, "What's going on?" The tears began to fall as the officer explained that her father had been killed in action and he was sorry for her loss. Jenny fell to her knees and began to sob as her whole world crumbled. How would she tell her brother? Where would they go? She couldn't pay the rent by herself and she was still in school.

Being 18 Jenny checked herself out of school and headed for her car, preparing herself for the look on her brothers face. First though, she would go home and cry until she couldn't any more, she would have to be strong when she told Andy later. When she got home she went to her father's room and played down on the bed. He had only been gone a few months and the whole room still held his scent. Curling up in the bed and burying her face in his pillow she cried until no more tears came and then she got up and got ready to go get Andy from school.

That night she took Andy home and told him the news, he looked confused at first then he just started to cry. She held him while he cried and that night they slept in their fathers bed surrounded by his scent and the memory of his love.

After a couple of weeks it became obvious to Jenny that no one wanted to hire her and she began to lose hope. She was sure they were going to end up in the streets. Then sitting outside of her brothers school something amazing happened. An old lady with kind blue eyes walked right up and sat down beside her. The woman looked at Jenny and said: "It'll be alright dear." The smile on the womans face and the sweet reassurance in her voice nearly brought tears to Jenny's eyes as she looked at the woman. "My name is Susan but you can call me Nana, everyone does." With a small smile Jenny replied, " I'm Jenny, it's nice to meet you." The woman, AKA Nana, turned and looked towards the sky as she began to speak. "Jenny, I know who you are.im a teacher here and I heard through the grapevine that your father passed recently and I'd like to help." Utterly astounded Jenny simply asked, "How?" Nana gave a slight smile and said, "With a job, although my dear friend Allen, who just happens to own your apartment building, wants to give you a pass on the lest couple months of rent." Jenny didn't know what to say it was like this woman had shown up to be her own personal savior. "Why would you do that for us, either of you?" Reaching over and taking her hand she said, "Because it's the right thing to do. Your father was a good man who died for his country and you and your brother are good kids with hearts of gold and that's what you do for those in need, you help." Beginning to cry Jenny threw her arms around Nana's shoulders and through the tears she thanked her repeatedly. "It's not weak to ask for help or to need it, especially when times are hard. It's what makes a community. Oh, and did I mention that some of the teachers are going to cover the cost of Andy's lunch everyday as well as bringing home cooked meals on occasion?" Jenny looked at the sky and felt herself smile for the first time in 2 weeks, and it was real. It wasn't a polite smile, or a sad smile, it wasn't fake, it was real.

That night while they sat at home eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they began to hear singing and see a warm glow outside. When they looked out the window they couldn't believe their eyes, it was the whole town. From the homeless man down on Main Street to the sheriff, everyone one was there with candles lit. Swaying back and forth they sang amazing grace, it warmed their hearts. Opening the front door and stepping out Jenny and Andy met the gazes of their neighbors and friends as tears filled their eyes. They were loved, they may have lost their Dad but they were not alone.

For the first time in 2 weeks Jenny smiled a smile that was completely and totally real, it was a miracle.

After a few months Jenny was a manager at Nanas home grocery store and Andy was making friends and playing like a regular kid, no longer moping on the sidelines and feeling bad. Everytime Jenny saw Nana or Allen or any of Andy's teachers she couldn't help but smile and hope the day would come when she would get to return the favor. She had a long way to go but she was recovering, she was healing, and she was growing. She couldn't wait for the day when she could change someone's life for the better just like her small-town community had done for her.