It Only Takes One

I was that girl you would see alone.

I’d sit alone on the bus, at a table in the lunchroom and the library. I loved reading, but I knew it was my _________, a way to look busy and not like I was being alone. I didn’t want to appear as though I had no _________— which was basically true.          

One morning, as usual, when getting on a bus, I got out my _________ and put my head down. Then, I heard someone ask if I minded her sitting next to me. I _________, and there stood a girl I didn’t know. She looked nervous as she introduced herself. Her name was Jane. She was new to the neighborhood, and this was her first day at school. That day at lunch, when she _________ me in the lunchroom, she hurried over and sat down.

In the following weeks, it wasn’t just Jane who looked to see if she could sit next to me—I looked for her, too. Little by little, we began to talk about school and other things and,_________, ourselves. We soon became best friends.

Isn’t it amazing how overnight your life can _________? I feel so different now. It only _________ one other person to make you feel as though you are no longer _________.

I no longer hide behind books—although I am still an enthusiastic reader. Jane also loves books, so we go to the library together, check out books, and __________back and forth when we finish reading them. Then we take them back to the library and check out new ones. Amazing! Just one other person makes you feel like you are really important.

Ever since an accident put him in a wheelchair, Dan has had one dream:_________

That is why he was_________to learn about a piece of research that could possibly lead to his_________.But there are two_________. First, the research may take years before it becomes a treatment. And the second is the most_________of all considerations: money. Motivated by_________for Dan, friends worked hard through a series of_________to raise 20, 000 pounds. Dan felt he could really start looking forward to the day when he could turn his_________into a reality.

Then he_________Brecon, a 5-year-old who__________from cerebral palsy(脑瘫). Dan read about a new surgical operation that could__________the little boy to walk unaided. But the surgery would__________more than 60, 000 pounds money. Brecon's parents were having a__________time raising.

Dan said, “I'm in pretty much the__________condition, but it appears that Brecon can__________walk if he gets his surgery, and I can’t right now. So I thought I might as well pass the money on to him. I’m__________to everyone who has helped me out, but this boy needs it__________I do at the moment.”

And so he took this dream out of the bank and__________it over to Brecon’s parents, telling them, “It would make me very happy to see the__________made to Brecon’s life.”

“I wanted to help someone whose life could get better,” he said. “If I can help someone to walk, I will. Even if it means__________a dream to do it.”

Sometimes people and things around you can remind you of yourself. I was _______to my writing group with a book to read on the journey. Because it was an old book I didn't want to "dog-ear" the pages, I _______in my pockets for something to use as a bookmark. I placed a ten-pound note between the _______.

Sitting on the bus I took the book out and was about to read but a young woman behind me who was speaking on her cellphone drew my _______. She was talking to her brother. She wanted to know where he was, why he wasn’t where he was_______to be, why he had lied to their mother again and whether he knew that their mum had _______ in tears that morning because of him.

She kept it quiet but she didn't pull any punches （留情）with him. She let him know exactly what she_______him but I could feel there was love under all the disappointment. She tried so hard to_______this young man to come see his mother, but I got the sign she was fighting a _______ battle.

When she left the bus, I________behind her and drew out the note in the book. “Excuse me," I said. “Do me a favor, would you? Take this money and buy your________a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers. And tell her a________man said that being a mother is the ________ but most important job in the world.”

Then I turned around and walked on,________if in some way I was saying a thank-you to my own mum. But I hoped I had raised a ________ on the face of a mother suffering for her child.