Mark Mancuso’s phone rang. He looked at it. It was a calendar alert, telling him it was his mother’s birthday. His mother Amelia lived 200 miles away, a bit of a drive, but Mark had driven further for a lunch with a friend. He just couldn’t stand his mother’s complaints. Then he found a florist(花店). He smiled and got an idea.

Entering the florist, Mark smiled broadly, “Can you arrange to have flowers delivered in Syracuse, N.Y.? It’s my mother’s 65^th birthday and I wanted to send her some flowers.” Mark explained.

The florist said, “Of course, I just need your mother’s name and address, and I guess you want to send a note, a birthday message?”

“Yes,” said Mark, and he quickly recited his mother’s name and address and then added, “Please write: Happy birthday to the best mom in the world, love you and miss you. Your son, Mark.”

Mark was walking out with a feeling of accomplishment when he saw a girl sitting on the corner with tears running down her face. Mark squatted down(蹲下来)next to her and asked, “Hey dear, are you OK?”

“I’m Mandy and I wanted a rose for my mom,” the girl wept.

“But I don’t have enough money! The flower lady said I could only buy a daisy, but my mom loves red roses.”

“You just wait here,” Mark said, and then he walked back into the florist and bought a lovely red rose for Mandy. “Here you go,”he said, placing the rose in her hands. Mandy took the rose in her hands, smiled up at Mark and said,“Thank you! But could you take me to my mom? It’s not far but I’m not supposed to go on my own.”

Mark nodded. Mandy took his hand and walked with him down the street. After a while, Mandy turned right and Mark was surprised to see they were standing by the gates of a cemetery(墓地).

The girl gently placed the rose on a grave(墓碑).

Mark felt tears well up in his eyes.

It was a bright, sunny day and Amelia was on the way to the grocery store that was not far from her house.

Suddenly, she saw an old man holding a cardboard sign (纸牌) near a street crossing. Although some stores hired (雇佣) people to hold signs around, attracting business, this man was sitting on the ground, so Amelia thought he was homeless and asking for money. Luckily, she had some bills in her wallet and decided to give him some.     

As she got closer, she offered him a $5 bill. To her complete shock, the man refused it. “No, madam. I don’t need money. What I really need is a job,” the old man said.   

Amelia walked a few steps more to get a good look at his cardboard sign. It read: “A shoemaker is looking for work. I can repair any kind of footwear!” She realized the man was actually not a homeless man begging for money. “Oh! You’re a shoemaker. I think many factories out there will offer you some jobs,” she told the man, finally noticing some of his tools around him.

“No, miss. At my age, no one wants to hire me anymore, so I’m trying to find some work this way. If you know someone who needs shoe repair, please let them know about me,” the man said.

Amelia nodded, thinking about a few pairs of shoes at home that needed repairing. Generally, she would donate them and buy new ones, but if this man could repair them, she could keep using them. “What’s your name, sir?” Amelia asked.

“I’m Martin, young lady,” he said and smiled at her. “OK, sir. I have to go shopping now, but I’ll return with a few pairs of shoes that need some fixing,” Amelia told him with a smile and then walked towards the store. After she finished her shopping, she went back home.

At first, Nick Bostic could only see a faint orange light at the edge of his vision as he drove down the streets of Lafayette. It was not until he drove his car further that he finally figured out what he was seeing. Oh my god, he thought, that house was on fire!

It was an ordinary night for Bostic, who was still figuring out how to make his way through a life that hadn’t always been easy. He had spent his childhood between his mom and dad in different places, neither of them providing love and safety he needed. If you’d asked his friend to describe him as a kid, they might probably have said “a fool”. Even if people around Lafayette had to describe him now as a grown-up, they might say he was a guy with a big heart who didn’t know exactly what to do with it.

That night, he was on the road back to his apartment just after midnight when he saw the house on fire. Flames were climbing up, and his phone was dead, with no other vehicles around coming to the rescue. He ran around to the back door, not realizing that it was open. Without pausing to think about the danger, he ran into the burning building.

In the building were the Barrett families, and before the fire broke out, the Barrett couple had left home for a party, leaving their four children at home. Seionna, their 18-year-old daughter, was in charge. She was sleeping when she heard what sounded like an explosion, followed by the heat and smell of smoke. Immediately she woke up the other kids, but then a horrible realization hit Seionna. The 6-year-old Kaylani wasn’t there, who would like to sleep in the living room. And the living room was on fire.

Meanwhile, Bostic peered (盯) into each room of the burning house, searching to see if anyone was home. He had just started climbing the staircase when he looked up and saw three faces from a room at the top of the stairs and peer down at him, their eyes wide.

“Your house is on fire. You need to go!” Bostic yelled.

He ran forward and threw himself out of the window, with Kaylani landing on his shoulder after the fall.