Continued from pg. 18
My Dear Esther,
This necklace was given to me by my mother when I was 21 and now I am
giving it to you when you are 21. I hope that you pass this necklace down to your
daughter when she turns 21 and so on and so on. I look at you and you have such
a spark within you and I hope that spark never dies. I hope that you always stay
true to yourself even though others may tempt you to stray. I want you to know
that the world can be a scary terrible place, but if you are strong, intelligent, and
courageous you will overcome anything that comes your way.
With Love,
Mother.
I can't help but be filled with a sense of unexplainable joy as we
cross the bridge into New York City and I look up and see all these
skyscrapers and hear the bustle of the city and I am here surrounded
with the people who I care most about. In this moment, I swear I feel
like I have conquered the world.
January 21st 1861
After I had finally gotten the children to bed, and the baby had
finally gone down for the night, there was knock on the door that
almost woke the whole house. I hurried to the door as fast as I could,
tripping over a loose log of wood in the process.
"Yes?'' I asked.
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