I sat quietly at a table by the window, slowly eating the food that Aunt Fannie had brought me, and waiting for the place to clear out before I confronted her. As I watched the radiant sun set behind New York, I began to relax. The fiery red, bright orange, and sunflower yellow all blended so well to make such a stunning masterpiece. I also loved the way the setting sun caused eerie shadows to cascade down the buildings that surrounded us. It makes you think about how God is so great to have created all this, and it helps you see how small you really are, and how small your problems are. Yet, even though your life is so minuscule, so short compared to the universe and all of eternity, He still cares about even the littlest of your problems. I had had a lot of time to think about it, and I had even more time to wonder if he was watching over my mom.

I took out the picture of my family from all those years ago, and I stared at it until the diner started to empty out. Eventually, it was just me and an older couple who had come in for a late night snack. They still had a spark when they looked at each other, like they had just fallen in love. I wished that mom could of had something like that.

After they had gone, Aunt Fannie collected their plates then came over to get mine. She started to pick up my plate, then stopped suddenly. When I looked up at her, she had fixed her eyes on my photo. Her face was emotionless, so I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

I patiently waited for her to realize who I was, but all she said was, "I knew them." Her whisper almost echoed in the dim, silent room.

She stared at me for a second, then shifted her eyes back to the photo. "This picture- I took it. Where did you get it?"

She stared into my eyes until again she spoke, "Erin? Is that you?"

I met her soft, expectant brown eyes. They seemed to be clinging to a strand of hope that hadn't been there before. Where had it come from? Was it because of me? Is it possible that an eleven year old girl from this woman's past could reignite the fire that used to be in her? Could give her hope? The thought amazed me.

Slowly, I nodded. I watched her eyes widen, then she squinted in confusion. She seemed to shake that feeling off quickly, though, and soon she was rushing around, cleaning the tables and asking me question after question. I couldn't answer any of them because I still could not speak, but I didn't know the answers to most of them anyways.

Finally, she realized that I was not answering her and was just sitting there. She set the plate she was washing down and walked over. "Sorry honey. I don't think you've said a single word since you got here. I'm just so excited that you are here! I didn't get a call from your mom or anything in advance. Where is she? Is she still working so hard all the time? She never would learn to take a break." she continued, "I hope ya'll have been doing well. As you might can tell, things have gone downhill a bit since you were last here. I need to renovate, but that takes time and money. Two things I don't have at the moment. But enough about me! Sorry, I didn't mean to bore you with my problems. Where's your mom?" Good question, I thought to myself, wish I knew.

She was still staring at me, waiting for me to answer. Waiting for me to talk, to tell her where my mom was, but I couldn't. I didn't know. I did know, however, that I had to find a place to sleep tonight, so I looked at the door expectantly, like mom might walk through. Deep down, I hoped she would walk in. She'd wrap me in her arms and tell me that everything was okay. That she was okay. That's all I wanted right then, but this was no movie. This was life.

"Is she coming later? That's fine. Why don't we go on upstairs, to my apartment. I can call her later, if she doesn't arrive soon. C'mon Erin, up we go". I grabbed the picture and my backpack and followed her up the stairs to a small, dim apartment attached to The Nest. It had old wooden walls with peeling gray and white wallpaper. The ceiling was high and had wooden beams stretching across it, which made me wonder if mice ever scurried up there. The light wooden floors were scratched and faded from years of wear, and I was pretty sure I saw a mouse hole or two. It was no castle, but it was fine by me.

Aunt Fannie sat down on the worn blue couch and turned on the television. Looking over at me, she motioned for me to come sit next to her. I did, and although the couch was old and dirty, it was the safest place I had been all afternoon. I set the picture down on the coffee table in front of the couch to where we could both see it. That night, I fell asleep to the flicker of the television, curled up next to Aunt Fannie.

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