I showed her how I would stand with my arm slightly in front of me to hide the blemish from my factory-second pants from the farmers’ market. My best blouse was a find at a yard sale, slightly faded but still pretty.

Anne suggested that we go shopping, and we took the bus to a local store. She took me to the shoe department, and we found a beautiful pair of leather shoes. She told me to try them on, but I thought it was just for fun as neither of us had ever owned anything that expensive before. It was like playing dress-up. But this time was different. Anne handed me the boxed shoes and said, “Here, I’ll buy these for you.”

“But . . .” was all I could say. “You deserve them,” she replied. “This interview is important. I want to see you get that scholarship.” I was speechless as I knew this was a lot of money for her, and she would probably have to eat nothing but ramen noodles for at least a month.

I went to the interview and crossed my legs so that my beautiful new shoes shone with pride. I won the scholarship and became an engineer. Although they were nice leather everyday shoes, I didn’t wear them much because they were so special. I hope Anne didn’t think I did not like them or something. Now, after 20 years have passed, I still have that pair of shoes with me, and I just wear them on those little occasions when I need to feel special. It’s kind of like having magic ruby slippers when you’re homesick. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)