August 19, 1914
Dearest Papa,
I got your letter. I miss you a lot too. School closed a couple weeks ago because of the war. Before I left school, my teacher pulled me aside and gave me a book called, "There Is Hope." It's about a boy whose father is in a war, just like you.
Do you remember when you were back home, I would always read to you and Mamma? I wish I could still do that. Mamma seems really perturbed lately, so I didn't want to pester her with my reading. Since I couldn't read to you or Mamma guess who I read to? An elephant. Yeah, I know it's hard to believe but listen, I'll explain.
The day I came home from the last day of school I was really anxious to read the book my teacher gave me. Mamma was really mad because Amanda and Alice were both crying. We were out of food. Mamma was waiting for me to come home, so I could go to the market. Why does Africa have to send so much food to other places? We are already poor. The prices here have gone up, so Mamma can only afford one meal a day. I went to the market, got some rice and dropped it off at home.
I wanted to get away from all the commotion, so I went to the dessert carrying my book. That's when I saw him, the elephant who weighed probably a thousand pounds. Each step he took forward, I took back. To tell the truth, I was actually kind of scared, just a little. He noticed the fear in my eyes, so he turned around and started walking in the other direction.
I yelled, "Wait!" I needed company and I guessed that he did too. He walked towards me and sat down. Sand flew at my face but I covered it with my book. Then, I sat down, opened my book and began to read, " There is hope..." I guess you can never be too big to get read to. We finished the whole book. It had a happy ending, which made my glad. I'm sure there will be a happy ending for our country too.
Sincerely,
Amal
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