Lucy’s Wish Read Online Free

were wonderful things to see from the train’s wide windows. There were open stretches of land planted with green, growing things. Horses ran from the noisy engine and clattering cars. Cows either gave the train a curious stare or just kept grazing. And there were tidy farmhouses. Real houses! The children crowded to the windows.
    â€œLook at that white house with two chimneys! It’s so big. How many families do you think live in that house?” Lucy asked.
    â€œJust one family,” a boy named Eddie said. “Those houses are for rich folks.”
    As they passed a farmhouse, a woman put down the broom she’d been using to sweep her front stoop and waved at the children. Lucy eagerly waved back. Soon she might find herself living in a house like that one. Her new mother would be as friendly as that woman. And inside the house would be a smiling father and, best of all, a little sister.
    The days on the train seemed very long, even though Miss Kelly told stories and sang to the children. They ate bread and cheese and apples, which Miss Kelly pulled from a large basket. And they drank fresh milk, which Miss Kelly bought at some of the depots where the train stopped.
    But the seats on the train were hard, and the passenger car rocked and wobbled. The worst part was at night, when the lights were turned low. That was when Lucy was the loneliest.
    One night a few of the girls who were stillawake whispered about the families who might want them.
    â€œAt the orphan asylum we had to work or study every minute,” Aggie Vaughn said. “We had just half an hour to go outside. That was the only time we were allowed to talk to each other.”
    Jessie Kay Lester was shocked. “You could only talk for half an hour a day?”
    Virginia giggled. “Can you imagine Jessie not talking all day long?”
    Aggie didn’t smile. “Maybe the people who take us in will make us work just as hard as they did at the asylum.”
    There was silence for a moment. Then Daisy said, “They’ll be our new parents. We’ll have to do whatever they tell us to do.”
    There was a hard knot in Lucy’s stomach. She clung tightly to Baby. Their new parents would be good to them, wouldn’t they?
    No one had anything else to say. Daisy rested her head on Lucy’s shoulder, and Lucy used Baby as a pillow.
    I wish for someone to love me. I wish for someone to love me
, Lucy repeated until the words slid away into dreams.
    The next day was the fourth day of their journey. As soon as everyone had eaten breakfast, Miss Kelly told the children that the train’s first stop would be that very day in Harwood, Missouri. Miss Kelly’s announcement made Lucy terribly nervous. She tugged at Miss Kelly’s skirt and asked, “Will you help me find a family?”
    â€œOf course I will,” Miss Kelly said, hugging her tightly. But Lucy knew there wasn’t much Miss Kelly could do. Lucy’s wish was her only hope. But would wishing over and over again be enough to make it come true?
    Before they arrived in Harwood, the train came to a sudden stop. A man jumped from the train, waving a gun. There were men on horseback waiting for him, and they rode away in a hurry.
    The man had been in their car, but Lucy had hardly even noticed him. The older boys were excited and talked about Confederate soldiers androbbers and murderers until Lucy became scared all over again. Was this what the West was going to be like?
    Miss Kelly soothed the children. “He’s gone,” she said. “He won’t frighten us again.”
    Lucy relaxed and turned her thoughts to more important things. Soon the train would arrive in Harwood. People would come to see them and choose them. Would her new family be there?
    Miss Kelly brushed the girls’ hair and tied ribbons into big, white bows. Lucy loved her bow. It was the first one she’d ever had.
    Each child was given a clean cotton