That night she fed them rice, beans, and vegetables. They ate like children who had not seen a full meal in far too long. The girl introduced herself as Emma. Her brothers were Caleb and Noah. Their parents were dead. An aunt had supposedly taken them in, then disappeared. They had been surviving alone.
Linda listened, and with every word, their story felt heartbreakingly familiar.
Before the night ended, she had already made the decision.
She would keep them.
Not for a night. Not until something easier came along. She would raise them.
The next morning Emma asked simply, “Can we stay?”
Linda answered, “Yes. As long as you want.”
That was how she became a mother.
Every dollar she earned from the food stand went into those children. Food. School uniforms. Books. Clothes. Medicine. Some nights she went hungry so they could eat and told them she was not hungry anyway. They knew she was lying, but they were children, and children need to survive before they can fully understand sacrifice.