1. Roses

Sheila loved flowers. And not just any kinds of flowers. Her favorite flowers were roses. When she was young, she would pore through magazines for gardeners just to see all the colorful rose pictures. Roses came in all shapes and sizes and colors, she learned. Their pets looked so soft. But she had never held or touched a rose. Oh, how she longed to have one! Her family did not have any land on which to grow any flowers.

As she grew, Sheila learned that there were other ways to get roses besides planting them herself. Every Valentine's Day, she saw more than a few people carrying bouquets or even singly wrapped roses. Where did they get those roses? she wondered. She was too shy to ask. But sometimes, she saw someone giving a rose to another person. Ah, so it was a gift! she realized. And so, she hoped and hoped with all her heart that someone would one day give her a rose as a gift.

Years passed and no one did.