“That’s so sad. He’s definitely your brother. He’s got your eyes.”
“And I’m so scared of never seeing those big green eyes again,” I said, starting to cry. “Anything that you can spare,” I said. “I will compete again and again until I get enough money to save him.”
Daniella stood staring at me for a moment. She disappeared into the darkness of her house and then came back with her checkbook. “How does one thousand dollars sound?”
I hugged her and cried even harder; she hugged me back. “You tell your brother that he’s in my prayers.”
She tore off a pink check and smiled.
***
A few days later, I sat in my apartment staring at the check. What was I supposed to do with one thousand dollars? Then I saw the routing and account numbers at the bottom of the check.
“Ladouche,” I said, “you d
