Sierra was 6 years old when I first met her. She was a tiny, wee girl with big eyes and glasses. She lived with her mom in a transitional shelter. When I first tutored her, she was scared (and scarred) and would hide under the desk in the tutoring room. I sat with her under the desk for weeks, reading out loud and listening to her silence. One day I came to tutor, and there she was ….. sitting at the desk waiting for me to read her favorite book, Chrysanthemum. From that time on, we bonded every week for about two years.

Sierra was extremely bright and curious about the world and loved to go on field trips to pumpkin patches, zoos, and water parks. Her life, however, was filled with darkness and sorrow. Her mother abandoned her in the shelter and she went into the foster system. I kept tutoring her for another year and then lost touch when the foster family moved out of the county.

I never forgot her. She held a special place in my heart and I tried for years to find her. I posted messages on social media every year on her birthday wishing her (and hoping for) warmth, safety and love. Then, one day, about 12 years later, there was a friend request from Sierra! What joy.