By+Anonymous

I amin mylatefortiesand havetwoteenage daughters. My life has been difficult but， by the grace of God， I am a survivor.

My girls and I spent much of their childhood in shelters and living on the street. Although I am a hard worker， without a college education， the money just wasnt enough to support us. I figured I would give my girls a good education，evenifwehadtoliveonthestreet.

I managed to find a job as a waitress at a local coffee shop， and I enrolled my girls in a good public school. My job didnt pay enough for rent， so we moved from shelter to shelter.I wasnervousabouttheaddress， soI gotapostoffice boxandusedtheaddressfortheschoolpaperwork.

We had made a pact that we would not tell anyone we were homeless， because I was sure this fine school wouldnt allowmydaughtersremainiftheyknewaboutoursituation.

One day， several years later， one of the girls came back to the shelter and told me her friends mother Mary had invitedallthreeofusoverforsupperthenextevening.

Weknocked on the door of a beautiful two-story home. It was spotless and comfortable. We had a wonderful evening，andIknewIhadfoundafriend.

A few days later， Leticia， my youngest， came home and said that Mary had asked for our phone number. She wanted to call me to get together. Leticia told her we were having trouble with the phone， and she would have me call her. I hatedthatmygirlshadtolie.

I called Mary and again we got together at her house. She and I became good friends. I constantly told her that I wantedtohaveherovertoourplace，butthen I would lieand say we were having trouble with the landlord of our apartment building or that something wasnt working， like thestove，theairconditioning，etc.

Mary came into the coffee shop one day and asked if I could spend my break with her. We took a walk， and then she stopped at a vacant house a few blocks down the road. It hadaForRentsign outfrontand wasthemostadorablelittle home.

Mary said，“Do you like this place？”“Oh， very much！”Iexclaimed.“Butitswayoutofmyleague.”“Whydontwe call and find out？”Mary said. This upset me. I told her that themostIcouldaffordwas！350amonth.

Thenextday， Marycameintothecoffeeshop with a big grin on her faceand aFor Rentsign in her hands. She was so excited that she couldnt hold back the news.“I spoke with the owner of that house and guess what？ Theyre renting the house for $350 a month！ It couldnt be more perfect for you and the girls.”I told her，“Thats impossible. Houses rent for three times that much in this neighborhood.”She explained that the owners didnt really need the money. They just needed someone who would appreciate living thereandwouldtakespecialcareofit.endprint

A few weeks later， we moved in. We fixed the place up， and I even planted some flowers， which made me feel like I was planting my roots. I hoped to stay here a long time， raise mygirls，andalwayshaveaplaceforthemtocomehometo.

But secrets， Ive found， dont usually stay secrets. One month， I had mailed my rent check， but it was during the holidays， and I didnt want it to be late， so I decided to drop it off at the appropriate post office box. I was standing in line at the post office when I heard a familiar voice ask for a package from the box where I sent my rent. I peeked around thelineandwasshockedtoseeMary！

Shewasthumbingthroughhermailwhen I touched her arm. Tears were starting to form in my eyes， and I could barely speak.“Mary， is it your house were living in？ Did youdothisforus？”

Mary told me that Leticia had slipped and told her daughter we were homeless. She said it was her and her husbands first home. They had talked about it and wanted to rent the house to us. She hadnt wanted me to know becauseshewasafraidIwouldthinkitwascharity.

Mary is my Earth Angel， and I want her to know that I appreciateherkindnessandgenerosity，andthatIloveher.

I bring Mary fresh flowers every week from our garden.

我年近50，有两个尚未成年的女儿。虽然日子过得很艰难，但是承蒙上帝的恩赐，我还是活了下来。

两个女儿和我在临时收容所和街头度过了她们童年的大部分时光。虽然我工作很努力，但没有受过高等教育，赚的钱不够维持家用。我盘算着，即使不得不流浪街头，我也要让两个女儿接受良好的教育。

我在本地一家咖啡馆找到了一份服务员的工作，把两个女儿送进了一所很好的公立小学。由于我的薪水还不够租房用，因此不得不在收容所之间辗转。然而，最令我头痛的还是我们的家庭住址。因此，我在邮局租了一个信箱接收学校寄来的书面文件。

我和两个女儿说好，无论如何都不能告诉任何人我们无家可归。因为我清楚，像这样的好学校，一旦知道了我们家的处境，就不会允许她们继续留在那儿上学了。

几年后的一天，我的一个女儿回到收容所后告诉我，她朋友的母亲玛丽邀请我们一家三口第二天晚上到家里去吃晚饭。

我们来到了一幢漂亮的两层楼前，敲开了房门。屋内一尘不染，舒适温馨。那天晚上，我们过得非常愉快，而且我知道我找到了一个朋友。

几天之后，小女儿莱蒂西亚回来告诉我，玛丽想要我们家的电话号码。她想打电话给我相邀再聚。莱蒂西亚告诉玛丽我们家的电话坏了，她会让我打电话给她。女儿不得不撒谎，可我无可奈何。

我给玛丽打了电话，我们再次来到她家聚会。于是，我们成了要好的朋友。我不断对她说我想邀请她光临寒舍，但是接下来我就会对她编造一些谎言，诸如我们跟房东有些小摩擦啦，或者我们家的炉灶、空调坏了。

一天，玛丽来到了我工作的那家咖啡店，问我可否在休息时间和她聊聊。于是，我们一起散步。走过几个街区之后，在一所闲置的房子前，她停了下来。这是一间十分惹人喜爱的小房子，房前贴着招租的广告。

“你喜欢这所房子吗？”玛丽问道。“噢，非常喜欢！”我惊叫道，“不过，它可不是我们这种人能够住得起的。”“我们为什么不打电话问一下呢？”玛丽说。她的话触到了我的痛处。我对玛丽说我最多一个月只能出到350美元租金。

第二天，玛丽笑容满面地来到了咖啡店，手里拿着那张招租广告。她兴奋得不能自已地告诉我：“我已经和那所房子的主人谈过了，你猜怎么着？他们同意每月只收350美元的租金！对于你和你的女儿来说，再也没有什么比这更理想的了。”“这怎么可能？”我对她说，“这一带房子租金是它的三倍啊！”玛丽解释说，其实房东不是真的需要钱，他们只是需要有人喜欢住在那里，好好照看房子。

几个星期之后，我们搬进了那所房子。我们把房子收拾妥当，我甚至在院子里种植了一些花，这使我感到我仿佛要在这里扎下根来。我希望能在这里长久地住下去，好好抚养我的两个女儿，让她们也好有一个地方可以回。

但是我发现，秘密总有揭开面纱的一天。有一个月，我本来打算将我的租金支票寄给房东，但是由于正赶上假期，为了避免延期，我决定把支票直接投入房东的信箱。当我正在邮局排队等候的时候，我突然听到一个熟悉的声音正对邮局的工作人员说要从一个信箱里取包裹，而那个信箱正是我要寄租金支票的信箱。我向队伍四周望去，令我为之震惊的是，那人竟是玛丽！

我碰了碰她的胳膊，她正在翻查她的邮件。倏然之间，泪水盈满了我的双眼，我几乎说不出话来。“玛丽，我们住的房子是你的吗？是你为我们做了这一切？”

玛丽对我说，是莱蒂西亚有一次不小心说漏了嘴，告诉她的女儿我们无家可归。她还告诉我，那房子原来是她和她丈夫住过的第一个家。他们讨论过想把房子租给我们居住。但是，她并不想让我知道，因为她担心我会认为她是施舍给我们住的。

玛丽就是我的人间天使。我想让她知道我非常感激她的仁慈和慷慨，我爱她。

每个星期，我都要从我们的花园里摘下鲜花送给玛丽。endprint